Mood Disorders Category Archives - Page 18 of 21

Brain Stimulation May be More Effective Than Antidepressants

February 4, 2010 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

For those who are dealing with debilitating depression, antidepressants are meant to provide relief. Recent research, however, has identified that more than one third of patients with depression may not be achieving a satisfactory response from their medication. A recent post in Science Daily shows that deep brain stimulation (DBS), a form of targeted electrical …

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Study Finds Genetic Mutations Associated with Suicide Risk among Depressed Patients

February 3, 2010 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

A new report reveals that single mutations in genes involved with nerve cell formation and growth appear to be associated with the risk of attempting suicide among individuals with depression. The study will appear in the April print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Excessive Internet Use Linked to Depression

February 3, 2010 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

People who spend a great deal of time browsing the Internet are more likely to show depressive symptoms, according to the first large-scale study of its kind in the West by University of Leeds psychologists. The researchers found striking evidence that some users have developed a compulsive Internet habit, whereby they replace real-life social interaction …

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Stimulating the Brain’s Pleasure Center to Treat Depression

January 26, 2010 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

Even with the best of available treatments, over a third of patients with depression may not achieve a satisfactory antidepressant response. Deep brain stimulation (DBS), a form of targeted electrical stimulation in the brain via implanted electrodes, is now undergoing careful testing to determine whether it could play a role in the treatment of patients …

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Excess Serotonin Receptors May Explain Why Antidepressants Don’t Work for Some Patients

January 18, 2010 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

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, a new study from researchers at Columbia University Medical Center shows. The study is the first to find a causal link between receptor number and antidepressant …

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Deep Brain Stimulation Successfully Treats Severe Depression

January 11, 2010 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

A team of neurosurgeons at Heidelberg University Hospital and psychiatrists at the Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim 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 …

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Antidepressants Could Pose Stroke Risk for Older Women

January 8, 2010 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

Could antidepressants be bad for your health? According to a Women’s Health Initiative study, participants who reported taking an antidepressant drug had a statistically significant increase in the risk of stroke and of death compared with participants not taking antidepressants. This study was recently featured in a Science Daily post. “Depression is a serious illness …

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Few Americans with Major Depression Receive Treatment

January 7, 2010 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

Many adults in the U.S. with major depression do not receive treatment or therapy based on treatment guidelines, and some racial and ethnic groups have even lower rates of adequate depression care, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Postpartum Depression Prediction Tools Identified in Study

December 31, 2009 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

Until recently, postpartum depression was something a new mother often suffered from in silence. Classic signs may have been present, but without proper education into the risk and what to look for, many cases went undetected. Now, in a Health US News report, Spanish researchers announce they have developed ways to detect 80 percent of …

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Women at Greater Risk of Depression after Stroke

December 26, 2009 / By Promises Behavioral Health / Mood Disorders

Depression is a common side effect for a person who has suffered a stroke. In fact, it happens in as many as one-third of patients. According to a large new review of studies in the field, post-stroke depression is associated with greater disability, a reduced quality of life and an increased risk of death.