Entries tagged as Depression

A New Generation Of Rapid-Acting Antidepressants?

On March 11, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression / No Comments

Conventional antidepressant treatments generally require three to four weeks to become effective, thus the discovery of treatments with a more rapid onset is a major goal of biological psychiatry. The first drug found to produce rapid improvement in mood was the NMDA glutamate receptor antagonist, ketamine. In a new issue of Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, researchers from the National Institutes of Health report that another medication, scopolamine, also appears to produce replicable rapid improvement in mood. (read the full story)

Tags: , , , ,

Critical Brain Chemical Shown To Play A Role In Severe Depression

On March 9, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression / No Comments

The next advance in treating major depression may relate to a group of brain chemicals that are involved in virtually all our brain activity, according to a study published today in Biological Psychiatry. The study is co-authored by Drs. Andrea J. Levinson and Zafiris J. Daskalakis of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). This study shows that compared to healthy individuals, people who have major depressive disorder have altered functions of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). (read the full story)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Obesity Associated With Depression And Vice Versa

On March 9, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression, Obesity / No Comments

Obesity appears to be associated with an increased risk of depression, and depression also appears associated with an increased risk of developing obesity, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. “Both depression and obesity are widely spread problems with major public health implications,” the authors write as background information in the article. (read the full story)

Tags: , ,

Diabetes And Depression Are Associated With A Higher Risk For Major Complications

On March 4, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression, Diabetes / No Comments

People with type 2 diabetes and coexisting major depression are more likely to experience life-threatening diabetes-related complications, according to a recent NIMH-funded study published in the February 2010 issue of Diabetes Care. Research has shown that depression is commonly associated with diabetes. People who have both diabetes and depression tend to have more severe symptoms of both diseases, higher rates of work disability and use more medical services than those who only have diabetes alone. (reading the full story)

Tags: , , ,

Severe Complications Of Diabetes Higher In Depressed Patients

On February 28, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression, Diabetes / No Comments

Depression raises risks of advanced and severe complications from diabetes, according to a prospective study of Group Health primary-care patients in western Washington. These complications include kidney failure or blindness, the result of small vessel damage, as well as major vessel problems leading to heart attack or stroke. The findings were published this week in Diabetes Care, a scientific journal of the American Diabetes Association. (read the full story)

Tags: , , , ,

Caregivers Of Patients In Intensive Care Units (ICU) Are Collateral Damage Of Critical Illness

On February 24, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression / No Comments

family enters hospitalIntensive care unit (ICU) patients are not the only ones likely to be severely depressed in the aftermath of hospitalization. Family and friends who care for them often suffer emotional and social hardship, too, according to a prospective study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine that is the first to monitor patients and caregivers during a one-year period for predictors of depression and lifestyle disruption. (continue reading)

Tags: , , ,

Research Identifies Gene With Likely Role In Premenstrual Disorder

On February 16, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression / No Comments

Human_GenomeScientists have identified a gene they say is a strong candidate for involvement in premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and other maladies associated with the natural flux in hormones during the menstrual cycle. In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Rockefeller University researchers detail experiments in mice showing that a common human variant of the gene increases anxiety, dampens curiosity, and tweaks the effects of estrogen on the brain that impairs memory. The researchers say that if applied in the clinic, the work could help diagnose and treat cognitive and mood disorders related to the menstrual cycle and inform treatments during menopause, such as hormone replacement therapy. (continued reading)

Tags: , , ,

Same Genes Suspected In Both Depression And Bipolar Illness

On February 9, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Bipolar Disorder, Depression / No Comments

Source: UCSC Genome BrowserResearchers, for the first time, have pinpointed a genetic hotspot that confers risk for both bipolar disorder and depression. People with either of these mood disorders were significantly more likely to have risk versions of genes at this site than healthy controls. One of the genes, which codes for part of a cell’s machinery that tells genes when to turn on and off, was also found to be over-expressed in the executive hub of bipolar patients’ brains, making it a prime suspect. (continue reading)

Tags: , , ,

Surplus Of Serotonin Receptors May Explain Failure Of Antidepressants In Some Patients

On January 24, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression / No Comments

A new study from researchers at Columbia University Medical Center shows that an excess of one type of serotonin receptor in the center of the brain may explain why antidepressants fail to relieve symptoms of depression for 50 percent of patients. The study in a mouse model is the first to find a causal link between receptor number and antidepressant treatment and may lead to more personalized treatment for depression, including treatments for patients who do not respond to antidepressants and ways to identify these patients before they undergo costly, and ultimately, futile therapies. (continue reading)

Tags: , , , ,

Migraine And Depression May Share Genetic Components

On January 23, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression, Headache / No Comments

New research shows that migraine and depression may share a strong genetic component. The research is published in the January 13, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Understanding the genetic factors that contribute to these disabling disorders could one day lead to better strategies to manage the course of these diseases when they occur together,” said Andrew Ahn, MD, PhD, of the University of Florida in Gainesville, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study and is a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “In the meantime, people with migraine or depression should tell their doctors about any family history of either disease to help us better understand the link between the two.” (continue reading)

Tags: , ,

Do Antidepressants Cure Or Create Abnormal Brain States?

On January 10, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression / No Comments

Emerging research suggests that anti-depressants may only help those with severe depression as previously discussed in Antidepressant Medications May Benefit Only Persons With Severe Depression and Anti-Depressant Medication & The Placebo Effect. Readers may be interested in a well-written article by Moncrieff & Cohen (2006) that discusses questionable theoretical paradigms and research that contributed to anti-depressants becoming the front-line treatment for all severities of major depression. This is a must read for all physicians and psychologists. (continue reading)

Tags: , , , , , ,

Deep Brain Stimulation Successful For Treatment Of A Severely Depressive Patient (World’s First Operation)

On January 9, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Deep Brain Stimulation, Depression / No Comments

Neurosurgeons from University Hospital Heidelberg performed the world’s first operation on the ‘habenula’ to treat depression with cooperation from psychiatrists at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim. The team of neurosurgeons and psychiatrists have for the first time successfully treated a patient suffering from severe depression by stimulating the habenula, a tiny nerve structure in the brain. The 64-year-old woman, who had suffered from depression since age 18, could not be helped by medication or electroconvulsive therapy. Since the procedure, she is for the first time in years free of symptoms. (continue reading)

Tags: , , , ,

Antidepressant Medications May Benefit Only Persons With Severe Depression

On January 6, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression / No Comments

BMED Report detailed the effectiveness of anti-depressant medication with only the most severely depressed in 2008 in “Anti-Depressant Medication & The Placebo Effect”. A new analysis of randomized trials indicates that compared with placebo, the magnitude of benefit of antidepressant medications varies with the severity of depressive symptoms, and may provide little benefit for patients with mild or moderate depression, but appear to provide substantial benefit for patients with very severe depression, according to an article in the January 6 issue of JAMA. These studies appear to provides consistent evidence across two separate analyses that anti-depressant medication may not be an efficacious or effective treatment for persons with mild to moderate depression. (continue reading)

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Only Half Of Americans Diagnosed With Major Depression Receive Care With A Shift In Preference For Psychotherapy Over Medication

On January 5, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression, Psychotherapy / No Comments

Overall, only about half of Americans diagnosed with major depression in a given year receive treatment for it, and even fewer – about one fifth – receive treatment consistent with current practice guidelines, according to data from nationally representative surveys supported by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Among the ethnic/racial groups surveyed, African Americans and Mexican Americans had the lowest rates of use of depression care; all groups reported higher use of past-year psychotherapy vs. medication for depression. (continue reading)

Tags: , , , , ,

Major Depressive Episode and Treatment Among Adults

On November 2, 2009 / By Chris Fisher / In Depression / No Comments

NSDUH_Report_LogoDepression is a public health problem that affects millions of adults every year. It affects persons in all demographic groups, although some groups are more likely to experience depression than others. There are different treatment options for depression, including various psychotherapeutic approaches and medications. Moreover, treatment services are offered through a variety of sources, such as primary care physicians and psychiatrists. Gaining a better understanding of the rates of depression and the patterns of service use can help policymakers and administrators ensure that services are available to individuals who need them, that disparities in treatment can be addressed, and that effective services are offered through venues that people are most likely to use. (more…)

Tags: , , , ,
Browse Older Entries »