Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Arrayit installs microarray platform at NIH

Arrayit Corporation has completed installation and technical training of its proprietary microarray platform at the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, in Rockville, Maryland. In 2010, the NIH will invest more than $31.2 billion in medical research for the American people through 50,000 competitive grants to 325,000 researchers at 3,000 universities, hospitals, companies, medical schools and scientific institutions in the United States and around the world.

21 Sep 2010

Medicare receives increased scrutiny regarding fraud, payment issues

USA Today: "Proposed regulations being unveiled today seek to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud by subjecting operators of certain medical firms to fingerprinting and stopping payments when credible fraud allegations are made, documents show. The rules would give federal health officials key powers to identify fraud early and reduce the estimated $55 billion in improper payments made each year in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, said Peter Budetti, director of the new anti-fraud office at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services" (Young, 9/20).

20 Sep 2010

Adenovirus exposure may cause obesity in children: Study

The emerging idea that obesity may have an infectious origin gets new support in a cross-sectional study by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers who found that children exposed to a particular strain of adenovirus were significantly more likely to be obese.

20 Sep 2010

AMDAI launches 'Don't Surrender to AMD' public awareness campaign

Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), which affects more than 10 million older Americans, continues to be the leading cause of vision loss in the United States. The global cost of the disease according to a recent report by AMD Alliance International (AMDAI) is estimated at $343 billion, underscoring the need for swift actions to raise awareness of prevention and treatment options.

18 Sep 2010

Investigators uncover new insights on adolescent fighting

UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators have uncovered new insights on adolescent fighting: what triggers it, and how to stem it. Varied real-life factors pile on daily to put teens on edge: destructive behaviors like drug abuse, drinking or high-risk sexual encounters; poverty; academic troubles; and even depression. Data analyzed by researchers at UT Southwestern suggests that when teens perceive support from their families and/or schools, it can help mitigate violence.

17 Sep 2010

WHO urges development programs to include mental and psychosocial disabled patients

People with mental and psychosocial disabilities are among the most marginalized groups in developing countries. Even though development actors have pledged to focus their work on the most vulnerable in a community, many programmes continue to ignore and exclude this vulnerable group.

17 Sep 2010

FDA Advisory Committee recommends approval of Alkermes' VIVITROL for opioid dependence

Alkermes, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 12 to 1 that VIVITROL® (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) should be approved for the treatment of opioid dependence.

17 Sep 2010

Severe acne linked to suicidal thoughts in teenagers

According to a new study on Norwegian youth, compared to clear-skinned peers, teens who have bad acne are more than twice as likely to have mental health problems and are at greater risk of having suicidal thoughts.

16 Sep 2010

Forest Pharmaceuticals to pay $300 million as penalty for criminal actions

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), working in close coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ), today announced that Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. entered into a plea agreement in which the company accepted responsibility for criminal actions including distribution of an unapproved new drug, distribution of a misbranded drug, and obstruction of an FDA inspection.

16 Sep 2010

Lofty altitudes increase prevalence of suicides

The Intermountain West is renowned for the beauty of its towering mountains and high deserts, but according to new research from an investigator with the University of Utah Brain Institute the region's lofty altitudes significantly influence a deadly problem: the high prevalence of suicides in this part of the country.

16 Sep 2010

Abbott issues statement in response to FDA's mixed vote for weight loss medication sibutramine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today held an Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee to review the results of SCOUT and the weight loss medication sibutramine (sold as Meridia® in the United States).

16 Sep 2010

Researchers find clue behind ASD affecting males than females

New research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), both in Toronto, Canada provides further clues as to why Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects four times more males than females. The scientists discovered that males who carry specific alterations of DNA on the sole X-chromosome they carry are at high risk of developing ASD. The research is published in the September 15 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

16 Sep 2010

Study raises questions about effectiveness of campaigns projected to improve health literacy

A joint study by Indiana University and Columbia University researchers found no change in prejudice and discrimination toward people with serious mental illness or substance abuse problems despite a greater embrace by the public of neurobiological explanations for these illnesses.

15 Sep 2010

Burnout in medical students likely to self-report unprofessional conduct: Study

Medical students with higher levels of distress (burnout) were more likely to self-report unprofessional conduct related to patient care and less altruistic professional values, according to a study in the September 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.

15 Sep 2010

Depression and distress among medical students

Medical students with moderate to severe depression more frequently endorsed several depression stigma attitudes than nondepressed students and had a higher rate of suicidal thoughts, according to a study in the September 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.

15 Sep 2010

Study on spinal cord stem cells paves way for post stroke symptom treatment

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that its spinal cord stem cells survived in rat brains affected by stroke and differentiated predominantly into neurons. The transplanted animals showed significant improvement in some motor skill and strength measurements. The study entitled, "Intracerebral Implantation of Adherent Human Neural Stem Cells To Reverse Motor Deficits in Chronic Stroke Rats," was presented earlier today by senior study author, Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin, M.D., Ph.D., at the Stem Cells USA & Regenerative Medicine Conference

15 Sep 2010

Medical students experience high rate of depression than general population: Study

Medical students experience depression at a higher rate than the general population and attach high levels of stigma to the mental illness, according to U-M research to be published Sept. 15 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

15 Sep 2010

Neurocrine Biosciences announces GSK561679 antagonist's efficacy in major depressive disorder

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. today announced top-line efficacy and safety results from a Phase II clinical trial utilizing Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF1) receptor antagonist GSK561679 in patients currently experiencing a major depressive episode.

15 Sep 2010

Heart patients with Type D personality at higher risk of future cardiovascular problems

Heart patients with the "distressed" (Type D) personality profile may face a higher risk of future cardiovascular problems, according to a summary article published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

15 Sep 2010

Researchers identify risk gene for schizophrenia

An international team of researchers has identified a risk gene for schizophrenia, including a potentially causative mutation, using genome-wide association data-mining techniques and independent replications.

15 Sep 2010