Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Regular walking regimen can benefit cancer survivors

Researchers have affirmed that pancreatic cancer patients can literally take a step-by-step approach to combat fatigue. A study published in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons reports that patients who underwent an operation as part of their cancer treatment and then started a regular walking regimen experienced less fatigue than cancer survivors who did not do the walking program.

2 Apr 2012

Successful aneurysm treatment may not improve quality of life

Patients with unruptured brain aneurysms have significant reductions in several areas of quality of life—especially physical functioning, reports a study in the April issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

2 Apr 2012

MAPK/ERK2 pathway plays a major role in mediating testosterone's effects

Testosterone, the primary male sex hormone, appears to have antidepressant properties, but the exact mechanisms underlying its effects have remained unclear. Nicole Carrier and Mohamed Kabbaj, scientists at Florida State University, are actively working to elucidate these mechanisms.

2 Apr 2012

Scientists link two genes involved in serotonin production to PTSD

Why do some persons succumb to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while others who suffered the same ordeal do not? A new UCLA study may shed light on the answer.

2 Apr 2012

U.Va. establishes first college health database

The National Social Norms Institute and the Department of Student Health at the University of Virginia, with the help of funding from the Centers for Disease Control, have established the first college health database - representing more than 600,000 students at 19 schools.

31 Mar 2012

New report highlights numerous gaps in knowledge and management of epilepsy

A new report from the Institute of Medicine highlights numerous gaps in the knowledge and management of epilepsy and recommends actions for improving the lives of those with epilepsy and their families and promoting better understanding of the disorder.

31 Mar 2012

Online virtual communities may effectively train patients in mind/body techniques

A small study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers found that online virtual communities may be an effective way to train patients in meditation and other mind/body techniques. The ability to learn and practice approaches that elicit the relaxation response - a state of deep rest that has been shown to alleviate stress-related symptoms - in a virtual environment could help surmount several barriers that can restrict participation.

31 Mar 2012

Cortex reports net income of $832,000 for fourth quarter 2011

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported net income of approximately $832,000, or $0.01 per share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, compared with a net loss of approximately $984,000, or $0.01 per share, for the corresponding prior year quarter.

31 Mar 2012

Study shows how eating fast food is linked to increased risk of depression

A new study along the same lines as its predecessors shows how eating fast food is linked to a greater risk of suffering from depression. This study has been published in the Public Health Nutrition journal

31 Mar 2012

Physicians advised to use caution in prescribing sedatives for patients taking opioids

Adverse events associated with taking opioid pain medications increase in patients who concurrently use sedatives and alcohol. A study in The Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, advises physicians to use caution in prescribing sedatives for patients taking opioids, even if there is no history of substance abuse.

30 Mar 2012

First study to examine link between cumulative traumatic stress exposure and inflammation

Greater lifetime exposure to the stress of traumatic events was linked to higher levels of inflammation in a study of almost 1,000 patients with cardiovascular disease led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

30 Mar 2012

Narrative exposure therapy can be used with BPD patients in a standard clinical setting

An investigation published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics introduces a new treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) that ensues after a traumatic stress.

30 Mar 2012

Mind-pop experiences are related to hallucinations in people with schizophrenia

Almost everyone reports experiencing mind-pops at some time or another, but some experience them more than others according to research conducted by the University of Hertfordshire. In the paper to be published in Psychiatry Research, findings suggest that mind-pop experiences are related to hallucinations in those people suffering from schizophrenia.

30 Mar 2012

Lilly's ixekizumab Phase II trial on plaque psoriasis meets primary endpoint

New Phase II data, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that Eli Lilly and Company's ixekizumab, an anti-IL-17 monoclonal antibody, met its primary endpoint in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, with significantly more patients achieving at least a 75 percent improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores from baseline (PASI 75) compared with placebo at week 12.

29 Mar 2012

One-side parathyroid surgery has poorer long-term outcomes

Dr James Norman, MD and his partners at the Norman Parathyroid Center have published a landmark study in this week's Journal of the American College of Surgeons describing how the operation they developed and advocated for more than 19 years has significantly poorer long-term outcomes. The unilateral or "one-side" parathyroid surgical procedure to remove parathyroid tumors from patients suffering from hyperparathyroidism is a dramatic change from the large neck operation that it replaced.

29 Mar 2012

BHECN designs new online training modules to treat mental health issues

It's estimated that more than half of all U.S. mental health care takes place at the primary care level and that percentage jumps considerably in rural areas where there often are no mental health practitioners for hundreds of miles. New online training modules have been designed by the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) to help primary care providers better treat patients with mental health issues.

29 Mar 2012

Depression more prevalent among stroke and transient ischemic attack survivors

Depression is more prevalent among stroke and transient ischemic attack survivors than in the general population, researchers reported in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.

29 Mar 2012

New treatment approach halts spread of cancer cells into normal brain tissue

Treating invasive brain tumors with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation has improved clinical outcomes, but few patients survive longer than two years after diagnosis. The effectiveness of the treatment is limited by the tumor's aggressive invasion of healthy brain tissue, which restricts chemotherapy access to the cancer cells and complicates surgical removal of the tumor.

29 Mar 2012

Researchers design new treatment approach for invasive brain tumors

Researchers from Emory and the Georgia Institute of Technology have designed a new treatment approach that appears to halt the spread of cancer cells into normal brain tissue in animal models.

29 Mar 2012

Meditation decreases depression, anxiety and stress in school teachers

Schoolteachers who underwent a short but intensive program of meditation were less depressed, anxious or stressed - and more compassionate and aware of others' feelings, according to a UCSF-led study that blended ancient meditation practices with the most current scientific methods for regulating emotions.

29 Mar 2012