In the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, researchers failed to find evidence for the use of aripiprazole (Abilify®) in depression. In this study the investigators assessed the efficacy of low-dose aripiprazole added to antidepressant therapy (ADT) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) with inadequate response to prior ADT. ...

The number of people living on their own has doubled over the last three decades to one in three in the UK and US. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that the risk of depression, measured by people taking antidepressants, is almost 80% higher for those living alone compared to people living in any kind of social or family group. Included in this report is ...

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. ...

More than 15 percent of Norwegian teenagers ages 15 to 16 reported “mental distress,” or symptoms of depression and anxiety, with significantly more girls reporting distress than boys, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Girls with mental distress were also more likely than their male counterparts to be prescribed psychotropic drugs — those that alter chemical levels in the brain, ...

Women recently diagnosed with breast cancer have higher survival rates than those diagnosed in previous decades, according to the American Cancer Society. However, survivors continue to face health challenges after their treatments end. Previous research reports as many as 50 percent of breast cancer survivors are depressed. Now, University of Missouri researchers in the Sinclair School of Nursing say a med ...

Depression may have more far-reaching consequences than previously believed. Recent data suggests that individuals who suffer from a mood disorder could be twice as likely to have a heart attack compared to individuals who are not depressed. This process has been poorly understood — until now. A new study led by Concordia University has found that depressed individuals have a slower recovery time after exer ...

A survey of police officers indicated that about 40 percent have a sleep disorder, which was associated with an increased risk of adverse health, safety and performance outcomes, according to a study in the December 21 issue of JAMA. Sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, and shift work disorder, affect 50 to 70 million U.S. residents. Most are undiagnosed and remain untreated. The stud ...

Critically ill patients who recover from a potentially deadly syndrome known as acute lung injury frequently emerge with new, apparently long-lasting depressive symptoms and new physical impairments that make them unable to perform many daily tasks, Johns Hopkins research suggests. Results of the new study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, also suggest that the de ...

Psychological interventions to prevent depression in children and adolescents can be useful and with protective effects that last for up to a year, finds a new systematic review. According to research cited in the new review, in 2002, depression ranked second greatest cause of disability in developed countries and first in many developing ones. The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library ...

Over a 10-year period, spending for Medicaid-enrolled patients with depression increased substantially but only minimal improvements in quality of care were observed, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The study was carried out by Catherine A. Fullerton, M.D., M.P.H., of Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance, Bosto ...