Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Depression News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/depression/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156438.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156438.php Professor Bo Malmberg and Professor Gerdt Sundström at the School of Health Sciences in Jönköping, Sweden have studied loneliness among older people. A common stereotype about older people is that loneliness is typical for older women, rather than for older men. One problem with this stereotype is that feelings of loneliness are not particularly common among either men or women in the Nordic countries. Seniors / Aging Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156390.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156390.php Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found in humans. Neurology / Neuroscience Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156433.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156433.php Psychotherapy consists of a series of techniques for treating mental health, emotional and some psychiatric disorders. Psychotherapy helps the patient understand what helps them feel positive or anxious, as well as accepting their strong and weak points. If people can identify their feelings and ways of thinking they become better at coping with difficult situations. According to Medilexicon's Psychology / Psychiatry Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156327.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156327.php "The Food and Drug Administration announced (Wednesday) that it is requiring the smoking-cessation drugs Chantix and Zyban to carry the strongest type of safety warning possible to alert patients that the medications can cause serious mental health problems, including depression and suicide," the Washington Post reports (Stein, 7/1). Smoking / Quit Smoking Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156251.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156251.php A study in the July 1 issue of the journal SLEEP suggests that postpartum depression may aggravate an already impaired sleep quality, as experiencing difficulties with sleep is a symptom of depression. Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156285.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156285.php PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is triggered by a traumatic event - it is a kind of anxiety. The sufferer of PTSD may have experienced or seen an event that caused extreme fear, shock and/or a feeling of helplessness. Most of us experience a brief period of difficulty adjusting and coping with traumatic events. However, we gradually get better with time and healthy coping methods. Psychology / Psychiatry Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156195.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156195.php Sepracor Inc. (Nasdaq: SEPR) announced that it has completed the analysis and validation of the preliminary results of a Phase II, 514-patient study evaluating the efficacy and safety of SEP-225289 for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, including patients with melancholic and atypical features. Depression Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156131.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156131.php So-called 'empty nest syndrome' does not affect parents living in rural areas as much as previously thought, according to a new study carried out in Thailand. In fact, parents whose children have all migrated to urban areas of Thailand are less likely to experience depression than parents whose children stay at home. Psychology / Psychiatry Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156052.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156052.php A new neuropsychological memory test is helping to uncover how Parkinson's disease can alter people's ability to learn about the consequences of the choices they make. The test was developed by Dr. Mark Gluck, professor of neuroscience at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University, Newark, working with co-researchers at Rutgers, New York University, and in Hungary. Parkinson's Disease Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155606.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155606.php Women who have depression symptoms prior to becoming pregnant are at an increased risk for having preterm births, with the risk twice as high for black women as for white women, according to a study in the Journal of Women's Health, Reuters reports. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155547.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155547.php The widely used antidepressant and pain medication amitriptyline--but not other closely related drugs -- can impersonate the brain's own growth factors, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have shown. The results are published online and will appear in the June 26 issue of the journal Chemistry & Biology. Depression Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155346.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155346.php A new study from Bradley Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, as well as two other institutions, adds to mounting evidence that clinicians consider irritability as a symptom when diagnosing pediatric bipolar disorder. Bipolar Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155105.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155105.php Depression in older adults too often goes unrecognized and untreated, resulting in untold misery, worsening of medical illness, and early death. A new study has identified one important remedy: Adding a trained depression care manager to primary care practices can increase the number of patients receiving treatment, lead to a higher remission rate of depression, and reduce suicidal thoughts. Depression Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155114.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155114.php A study that attempted to replicate the "seminal" study that laid the foundation for psychiatry's "serotonin theory" of depression, claiming a genetic- serotonin impairment underlying depression, has been debunked by the data from 14 similar studies claiming a genetic underpinning to depression. Depression Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155072.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155072.php A group of German investigators demonstrated that the early increase in phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) is related to treatment response and does not depend on pharmacological interventions or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plasma levels. For the first time, cellular biological markers could be associated with response to psychotherapy. Psychology / Psychiatry Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155073.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155073.php Cross-sectional studies have reported an association between major depressive episode (MDE) and obesity. The objective of this longitudinal analysis was to determine whether MDE increase the risk of becoming obese over a 10-year period. Data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey (NPHS) were used, a longitudinal study of a representative cohort of household residents in Canada. Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154801.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154801.php Clinical Data, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA) announced today that the United States Adopted Name Council (USAN) has approved the generic name vilazodone hydrochloride. Depression Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154543.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154543.php Mental health refers to our cognitive, and/or emotional wellbeing - it is all about how we think, feel and behave. Mental health, if somebody has it, can also mean an absence of a mental disorder. Approximately 25% of people in the UK have a mental health problem during their lives. The USA is said to have the highest incidence of people diagnosed with mental health problems in the developed world. Mental Health Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154494.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154494.php Enhancing the response to teen depression and suicide is the focus of a new planning grant announced on June 12 by the Stanford Medical Center. The $100,000 grant, funded by Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, the Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Hospital & Clinics, will support collaboration among Palo Alto-area providers of health care resources for teens. Depression Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154399.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154399.php A group of Australian researchers investigated in medical disorders the effects of comorbid dysthymic disorder as compared to major depressive disorder (MDD) on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) and disability days in the general population. In a population-based study 4,181 individuals were assessed for the presence of dysthymic disorder and depression, utilizing the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Depression Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154332.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154332.php Contrary to a previous report, an analysis of 14 previous studies does not find an association between a serotonin transporter gene variation, stressful life events, and an increased risk of major depression, according to an article in the June 17 issue of JAMA. The authors did find that the number of stressful life events is associated with depression. Genetics Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154218.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154218.php It is well known that chronic pain and clinical depression go together, but a study in The Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, shows that the connection between pain and depression is strongest in middle-age women and African Americans. Researchers at Wayne State University studied a representative community sample of 1,100 Michigan residents and found that the incidence of chronic pain, defined as pain persisting for six months, was 22 percent. Pain / Anesthetics Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154132.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154132.php Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), announced the results of a wide-ranging animal study offering more evidence that Serdaxin™ may be an effective therapeutic for the treatment of anxiety disorders in humans. Serdaxin is Rexahn's leading anxiety and depression drug candidate, and is currently in Phase II clinical trials. Anxiety / Stress Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154014.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154014.php People with memory problems who are depressed are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease compared to people who are not depressed, according to a study published in the June 16, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. However, the research also shows that the popular Alzheimer's drug donepezil may delay the progression to Alzheimer's disease for depressed people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or memory problems. Alzheimer's / Dementia Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154024.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154024.php H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) jointly announced headline results from the first three clinical trials in the phase III development programme with Lu AA21004 in major depressive disorder (MDD). Previously reported clinical phase II data showed equal efficacy with the 5 and 10 mg doses. In the recently completed phase III clinical trials, Lu AA21004 was tested in doses of 2.5, 5 and 10 mg. Depression