Depression News and Research

Latest Depression News and Research

Link between colicky babies and postpartum depression

A compelling connection exists between colicky babies and postpartum depression, according to a study conducted by a Brown Medical School professor and Rhode Island Department of Health family health experts.

3 May 2006

Premenstrual syndrome and self-policing: constructing and deconstructing premenstrual distress in lesbian and heterosexual relationships

Premenstrual distress: An unavoidable condition many women suffer with relentless regularity. Or is it? Can heterosexual women learn a thing or two from their lesbian sisterhood?

3 May 2006

Sildenafil plus recreational drugs equals risky sexual behaviour

A new survey has found that a significant number of young men have used erectile dysfunction, (ED), medications such as Viagra often in conjunction with other recreational drugs, and most without consulting a physician.

1 May 2006

Study indicates how drug efficacy can be increased by manipulating the signalling mechanism

Researchers believe they have found a way to change the action of 60 percent of currently available medications, in some cases making them many times more effective, according to an article published in the April 21 edition of the journal Science. The discovery has the potential to improve treatments for diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and arthritis. The study describes a new way to manipulate perhaps the most important signaling mechanism in human cells: G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).

28 Apr 2006

Prenatal exposure to alcohol can change child's circadian rhythms

Altered sleeping and eating patterns, behavioral problems, attention deficits and depression in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders may indicate that their biological rhythms, which are controlled by circadian systems, have been affected by alcohol exposure during development.

25 Apr 2006

Greater suicide risk for alcoholics with personality disorders

Alcoholics with a borderline personality disorder are at greatest risk for suicidal behavior.

25 Apr 2006

Study shows drugs work differently in the brains of men and women

A Johns Hopkins discovery could lead to tailored treatments for drug abuse and neurological diseases after providing what is believed to be the first evidence in people that amphetamines have a greater effect on men's brains than women's.

24 Apr 2006

Bullying pushes overweight kids away from sport, increasing health problems

Most kids are bullied at some point in their lives, but overweight children are more often the targets of bullies' slings and arrows. Now a new UF study reveals this frequently leads them to avoid situations where they have been picked on before, such as gym class and sports.

23 Apr 2006

Hypnotherapy relieves chest pain not linked to heart disease

According to a small study in the UK, hypnotherapy was helpful in relieving the angina-like chest pain experienced by some people which is not caused by heart disease.

23 Apr 2006

Sex not such a happy experience in male-dominated societies

According to the results of a global survey older men are more satisfied with their sex lives than their female equivalents.

23 Apr 2006

Popular antidepressants may affect fetus

A team from the Ottawa Health Research Institute, the University of Ottawa, and The Ottawa Hospital has found an increased risk of premature delivery, low birth weight, fetal death, and infant seizures among pregnant women who used a popular class of antidepressants during pregnancy.

20 Apr 2006

White girls become less depressed as they age while black girls continue feeling the same

Franko and her associates surveyed more than two thousand girls and young women of both ethnicities and concluded that the depression rate in Caucasian females drops over time, while it remains steady in their African-American counterparts.

19 Apr 2006

Promising treatment for Huntington's disease soon to be tested clinically

At the Institut Curie, CNRS and Inserm researchers have shown that cysteamine, which is already used to treat a rare disease called cystinosis, prevents the death of neurons in Huntington's disease. Like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, is characterized by the abnormal death of neurons.

19 Apr 2006

Brits get serious about drinking and depression

Experts in the UK are warning that the favorite ritual of a glass of wine at the end of a stressful working day is for many a form of "self-medication" and a substitute for seeking professional help with their problems.

18 Apr 2006

It's a vicious circle - exposure to stress causes anxiety and depression

Experts in the United States say the results of a study with mice suggests that stress in itself may cause anxiety and depression.

18 Apr 2006

Anxiogenic-like effect of chronic corticosterone in the light-dark emergence task in mice

Neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School and its affiliate McLean Hospital have shown that long-term exposure to stress hormone in mice directly results in the anxiety that often comes with depression.

18 Apr 2006

That mistake will cost you and your brain knows staight away!

According to a team of researchers in the U.S.a particular part of the brain called the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, or rACC, becomes much more active when a person realizes he or she has made an error that carries consequences - for instance, losing money.

12 Apr 2006

Interstitial cystitis average cost in first year after diagnosis $3000 or more

Wu and colleagues studied data for patients under age 65 with at least one diagnosis of Interstitial Cystitis (IC) from a de-identified administrative database of 2 million beneficiaries that included medical, drug and disability claims for 1999-2002.

11 Apr 2006

Targeted mutations in mice uncover two key molecular events linked to learning

Johns Hopkins researchers have used mouse mutants to define critical steps involved in learning basic motor skills. The study focuses on the behavior of two proteins and the specific steps they take to control a neuron's ability to learn by adapting to signals from other nerve cells.

11 Apr 2006

Men's and women's brains behave differently

A key part of the brain involved in processing emotionally-influenced memories acts differently in men and women, even in the absence of stimuli, UC Irvine researchers have found.

11 Apr 2006