Stress and Depression Trigger Obesity in Girls

Researchers have found that depression raises stress hormone levels in adolescent boys and girls but may lead to obesity only in girls. Early treatment of depression could help reduce stress and control obesity, which is a major health issue.

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Husbands’ Anti-Social Behaviors Increase Wives’ Symptoms of Depression

In the United States, nearly 10 percent of the population suffers from a depressive disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. While the causes of depression vary, a new study at the University of Missouri reveals that marital hostility is a contributing factor. MU researcher, Christine Proulx, found that husbands’ hostile and anti-social behaviors increased their wives’ symptoms of depression over time.

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Happy Emotions Protect Against Heart Failure

People who are usually happy, enthusiastic and content are less likely to develop heart disease than those who tend not to be happy, according to a major new study published February 17. The authors believe that the study, published in the Europe’s leading cardiology journal, The European Heart Journal, is the first to show such an independent relationship between positive emotions and coronary heart disease.

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Depression and Cognitive Problems Not Necessarily Associated

Many clinicians believe that depression goes hand in hand with cognitive difficulties such as memory problems or difficulties concentrating and paying attention, but a recent review of nearly 20 years of literature conducted by researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center has found that depression does not always lead to such impairments.

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Researcher Develops Technique for Quick Diagnosis of Mental Conditions

Is it really as easy to detect depression and other mental conditions as it is to detect a heart problem? It may be as a diagnostic technique invented by a Monash University researcher could make diagnosis and treatment a much more simple and rapid task.

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Depressed People More Likely to Feel Gray, Not Blue

People with anxiety and depression are most likely to use a shade of gray to represent their mental state. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medical Research Methodology describe the development of a color chart, The Manchester Color Wheel, which can be used to study people’s preferred pigment in relation to their state of mind.

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Depression in Pregnancy Linked to Children’s Antisocial and Violent Behavior

Children from urban areas whose mothers suffered from depression during pregnancy are more likely than others to show antisocial and violent behavior later in life. Furthermore, women who are aggressive and disruptive in their own teen years are more likely to become depressed in pregnancy, so that the mothers’ history predicts their own children’s antisocial behavior. These are the conclusions of a new longitudinal study conducted by researchers at Cardiff University, King’s College London, and the University of Bristol. The research appears in the January/February 2010 issue of the journal Child Development.

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New Compound Could Become Important Antidepressant

Chemists at Oregon State University have discovered and synthesized a new compound that in laboratory and animal tests appears to be similar to, but may have advantages over, one of the most important antidepressant medications in the world. A patent has been applied for on the compound, and findings on it published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Continued animal studies and human clinical trials will be necessary before the compound could be approved for human medical use, researchers say.

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Brain Stimulation May be More Effective Than Antidepressants

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 stimulation in the brain, is undergoing careful testing to determine the role it could play in the treatment of patients who have not sufficiently improved during more traditional forms of treatment.

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Excessive Internet Use Linked to Depression

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 with online chat rooms and social networking sites. The results suggest that this type of addictive surfing can have a serious impact on mental health.

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