Depression
Study Examines GABA Involvement in Depression
As depression can greatly impact an individual, the continued research into its treatment is necessary. A recent Science Daily release revealed that the next advance in this treatment could relate to a group of brain chemicals that are involved in virtually all brain activity.
In a study co-authored by Drs. Andrea J. Levinson and Zafiris J. Daskalakis of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), researchers determined that compared to healthy individuals, those with major depressive disorder have altered functions of the neurotransmitter GABA.
This study found that those individuals with the most treatment-resistant forms of illness demonstrate the greatest reductions of GABA levels in the brain. This suggests that medications that correct a GABA imbalance could advance the treatment of major depressive disorder.
“Our findings build on the idea that some current medications do not help many patients because those drugs don’t affect the GABA-related brain chemistry,” said study author Dr. Andrea Levinson, in Science Daily.
The GABA neurotransmitter and its receptors are involved in many different brain functions. GABA is part of the brain system that enables individuals to fine-tune their moods, thoughts and actions with an incredible level of detail. It also provides the necessary inhibitory effect that individuals need to block out excessive brain activity that can lead to excessive negative thinking.
“We are advancing the goal of a truly personalized medicine,” says study co-author Dr. Daskalakis. “It is intriguing to think that we may soon be able to apply simple brain stimulation to identify which treatments are most likely to help the individual person, eliminating the guesswork. That is, through these findings we may be able to one day determine who is and who is not going to respond to traditional pharmacological approaches to depression.”
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Antidepressants Help Patients with Physical Illness
Antidepressants are effective against depression in patients suffering from physical illnesses, according to a new systematic review by Cochrane researchers at King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre in the UK. The researchers found the drugs were more effective than placebos at treating depression in these patients. One of the most neglected areas of healthcare research is the effects of physical illness on an individual’s mental health.
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Vitamin D May Lift Spirits in Cold Weather
A daily dose of vitamin D may just be what people in northern climates need to get through the long winter, according to researchers at Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON). This nutrient lifts mood during cold weather months when days are short and more time is spent indoors.
Short Online Questionnaire a Valid Tool for Screening Psychiatric Illnesses
A one-page, 27-item questionnaire that is available free online is a valid and effective tool to help primary care doctors screen patients for four common psychiatric illnesses, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers concludes. Results of the My Mood Monitor (M-3) checklist study are published in the March/April 2010 issue of Annals of Family Medicine.
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Some Antidepressants Bring Higher Risk of Developing Cataracts
A new statistical study has found that some antidepressant drugs are associated with an increased chance of developing cataracts. Researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and McGill University conducted the study, based on a database of more than 200,000 Quebec residents aged 65 and older, that showed statistical relationships between a diagnosis of cataracts or cataract surgery and the class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as well as between cataracts and specific drugs within that class.
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Meaningful Conversations Linked to Happiness
A new study examining how conversation connects to happiness found that substantial, meaningful conversations (as opposed to small talk) may make people happier. The researchers, led by Matthias Mehl at the University of Arizona, looked at the different types of conversation that happy and unhappy people participate in. The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, involved 79 undergraduates.
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Critical Brain Chemical Plays Role in Severe Depression
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). In the study, individuals with the most treatment-resistant forms of illness demonstrated the greatest reductions of GABA levels in the brain.
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Obesity Associated with Risk of Depression and Vice-Versa
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.
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Video Games that Include Exercise May Help Older Adults with Depression
Research at the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggests a novel route to improving the symptoms of subsyndromal depression (SSD) in seniors through the regular use of “exergames,” or entertaining video games that combine game play with exercise.
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Childhood Stress Contributes to Depression
New research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows that childhood stress such as abuse or emotional neglect, in particular when combined with genetic factors, can result in structural brain changes, rendering these people more vulnerable to developing depression. The study led by scientists at Trinity College Dublin has just been published in the international scientific journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
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