Recurrent Depression

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The role of genetic factors in adult ADHD
2009-09-15 14:27:00
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood. Worldwide, 3?% of children are affected with the disorder. Key symptoms of ADHD include age-inappropriate hyperactive and impulsive behaviour and/or a reduced ability to focus attention. Clinically, three different ADHD subtypes are classified, a primarily inattentive subtype, a primarily hyperactive/impulsive subtype, and a combined subtype in which patients show deficits in both domains. At the level of the brain, small aberrations in both structure and activity of specific brain regions, as well as the connectivity between brain regions have been observed in children and adults with ADHD (Valera et al., 2007; Schneider et al., 2006; Makris et al., 2008; Pavuluri et al., 2009; Broyd et al., 2009). Although ADHD has classically been viewed as a disorder of children, more than half of the patients carry symptoms, or even the full ADHD-diagnosis, into adulthood (Farao...
More About: Adult , Role

Removing the barriers of autism
2009-08-31 15:30:00
Autism can build a wall of poor communication between those struggling with the condition and their families. While a personal computer can help bridge the divide, the distraction and complexity of a keyboard can be an insurmountable obstacle. Using a unique keyboard with only two ?keys? and a novel curriculum, teachers with Project Blue Skies are giving children with autism the ability to both communicate and to explore the online world. At the heart of the project is a device called the OrbiTouch. Human-factors engineer Pete McAlindon of BlueOrb in Maitland, Fl., conceived of the concept behind the OrbiTouch more than a decade ago as a way to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and provide computer access to people with limited or no use of their fingers.
More About: Autism

Some conditions misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder
2009-08-13 15:53:00
A study published last year suggested that bipolar disorder may be over diagnosed in people seeking mental health care. Now new findings shed light on which disorders many of these patients actually have. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, involves dramatic swings in mood?ranging from debilitating depression to euphoric recklessness. In the original 2008 study, researchers at Brown University School of Medicine found that of 145 adults who said they had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, 82 (57 percent) turned out not to have the condition when given a comprehensive diagnostic interview. 
More About: Conditions

Hebrew U. researchers shed light on the brain mechanism responsible for pro
2009-08-12 18:23:00
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have succeeded for the first time in devising a model that describes and identifies a basic cellular mechanism that enables networks of neurons to efficiently decode speech in changing conditions. The research may lead to the upgrading of computer algorithms for faster and more precise speech recognition as well as to the development of innovative treatments for auditory problems among adults and young people. Our brain has the capability to process speech and other complex auditory stimuli and to make sense of them, even when the sound signals reach our ears in a slowed, accelerated or distorted manner.
More About: Light , Brain , Mechanism

Psychopaths have faulty brain connections, scientists find
2009-08-11 16:33:00
Psychopaths who kill and rape have faulty connections between the part of the brain dealing with emotions and that which handles impulses and decision-making, scientists have found. In a study of psychopaths who had committed murder, manslaughter, multiple rape, strangulation and false imprisonment, the British scientists found that ?roads? linking the two crucial brain areas had ?potholes,? while those of non-psychopaths were in good shape. The study opens up the possibility of developing treatments for dangerous psychopaths in the future, said Dr Michael Craig of the Institute of Psychiatry at King?s College London, and may have profound implications for doctors, researchers and the criminal justice system.
More About: Find , Scientists , Brain

Antibodies to strep throat bacteria linked to obsessive compulsive disorder
2009-08-11 15:11:00
A new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health?s Center for Infection and Immunity indicates that pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome and/or tic disorder may develop from an inappropriate immune response to the bacteria causing common throat infections. The mouse model findings, published online by Nature Publishing Group in this week?s Molecular Psychiatry, support the view that this condition is a distinct disorder, and represent a key advance in tracing the path leading from an ordinary infection in childhood to the surfacing of a psychiatric syndrome. The research provides new insights into identifying children at risk for autoimmune brain disorders and suggests potential avenues for treatment. OCD and tic disorders affect a significant portion of the population. More than 25% of adults and over 3% of children manifest some features of these disorders. Until now, scientists have been unable to convincingly documen...
More About: Bacteria , Strep Throat

PTSD raises heart disease risk in Iraq war vets
2009-08-05 18:10:00
Veterans who come home from Iraq and Afghanistan with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health diagnoses are hit with a double whammy: They also have greater risk factors for heart disease, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. PTSD related to military service has been linked to heart disease in the past, but, to the authors? knowledge, the present study is the first to examine the association for veterans of the current Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Given the time frame of the recent wars, the authors of the study did not look at heart attacks or other events, but examined risk factors for heart disease instead. PTSD and other mental disorders, such anxiety disorder, more than doubled the risk of tobacco use, for example, which is a well-known risk factor.
More About: Iraq War , Heart , Disease , Risk

Mental health problems seen in many U.S. veterans
2009-08-05 18:04:00
More than one-third of U.S. veterans seen at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals after serving in Iraq or Afghanistan were diagnosed with a mental health disorder, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression, according to a new study. Using national VA data on more than 289,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets, researchers found that the prevalence of new mental health diagnoses increased by six-fold between 2002 and 2008?from just over 6 percent to 37 percent. The steepest increase was seen in new diagnoses of PTSD, which rose from less than 1 percent of VA patients at the outset to 22 percent by the study?s end.
More About: Health , Mental , Mental Health , Problems

Back to School Stories: Sleep to STDs, Phobias to Rx Meds
2009-08-05 17:51:00
Tip No. 1: Know the signs of school phobia, separation anxiety and social phobia ? Starting or returning to school can stir up a bevy of emotions with a range of effects, from bothersome to debilitating. Knowing a little bit about a few of these problems helps parents and children manage and overcome them. School phobia ? extreme anxiety from going to school or even talking about it. Causes could range from being bullied to grieving for a lost pet. Reassure the child that fear is normal, remind him of good things in school, and don?t give in to a desire to stay home. 
More About: Stories , Back , Sleep , Back to School

Are you at risk for postpartum mood disorder?
2009-08-01 03:45:00
When Holly Betten, 28, came home from the hospital after a rough delivery, she had one day to adjust to her new life as a mom before her husband went back to working 12-hour days as a computer-software architect. Her son, Henry, became severely jaundiced, wouldn?t breastfeed, and almost landed back in the hospital for losing too much weight. ?All I could think was, ?What did I get myself into? I should never have become a mom,?? recalls Betten, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. ?I felt totally overwhelmed and inadequate?I couldn?t even feed my child.? Then Henry developed colic and began to wail all the time. Not surprisingly, so did Betten: ?I?d be happy one minute, then crying hysterically the next. I just wanted to leave the baby in his room and walk away.? Her husband worried that Betten was becoming depressed, but she insisted that she could soldier on. ?I just attributed it to stress and exhaustion, and refused to ask for help,? Betten recalls. And she knew that ?the baby blues?...
More About: Risk , Mood

Effective Depression Treatment Lends Hope to Many
2009-07-31 15:40:00
Depression treatment must be a holistic process. Depression itself is a jointly physical and psychological disease, one that infects the bodies of its victims as surely as it does their minds. No matter what causes depression, under those circumstances it should go without saying that no depression victim can be healed without achieving both physiological and emotional wellness. To settle for anything less is simply unacceptable. Some depression treatment facilities in Los Angeles target either the physical or psychological dimension of the disease while ignoring the other. This is an enormous mistake. The fact of the matter is that depression treatment is an enormously delicate process, and can only be successful if it?s administered in exactly the right way. From chronic depression to mood disorders, if you?re serious about getting better, it?s vital that you get help from people who can give you the right kind of support. 
More About: Depression , Treatment , Hope , Effective

Blood Pressure Med Protects Memory Decline
2009-07-28 06:25:00
New research discovers a common class of blood pressure medication could protect older adults against memory decline and other impairments in cognitive function. Wake Forest University School of Medicine scientists report that some of the drugs classified as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, specifically those types of ACE inhibitors that affect the brain by crossing the blood-brain barrier, may reduce inflammation that could contribute to the development of Alzheimer?s disease, a major cause of dementia. The study appears in the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
More About: Memory , Blood , Blood pressure

Improved Definition of Depression
2009-07-28 06:23:00
A group of researchers proposes the definition for major depressive disorder (MDD) should be shortened to include only mood and cognitive symptoms. If accepted, the 35-year-old definition found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) would not include symptoms that are associated with medical illness. The proposal is based on a study that appears in the online first edition of the journal Psychological Medicine. 
More About: Depression , Definition

Yikes! Seperation Anxiety!
2009-07-18 06:20:00
Caregivers and parents know that seperation anxiety can be stressful for all involved especially the child. Alex Barzvi, Ph.D.,Clinical director of the New York University Child Study Center?s Institute for Anxiety and Mood Disorders says, by 6 months,introduce your baby to other regular caregivers,such as relatives or a babysitter."your child needs practice being away from you,hopefully well before preschool. Here are some great suggestions from Barzvi.

Group reaches out to mentally ill
2009-07-18 06:18:00
This month, Georgia officially established its first branch in public health exclusively devoted to mental health. Mental health used to be lumped under the state resources department. ?The opportunity presented by this new department brings with it both a higher profile and higher expectations,? said Dr. Frank Shelp, commissioner of the newly formed Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. ?Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Perdue and the General Assembly, people in Georgia who have behavioral health issues, developmental disabilities and addictive diseases now have an agency that?s solely focused on supporting their well-being and independence.?
More About: Group , Mentally ill

Think Twice Before Allowing Your 10-Year-Old to Work
2009-02-24 18:17:00
A new study finds that ? despite being responsible enough to have a job at such a young age ? fifth-graders who work are more likely to exhibit bad health behaviors than their unemployed 10-year-old peers. Fifth-graders who work are more prone to use alcohol and marijuana and get into fights, according to the study in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Lead author Rajeev Ramchand, an associate behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation, and his colleagues interviewed 5,147 fifth-graders who lived in three large cities ? Birmingham, Los Angeles and Houston ? as part of the Healthy Passages study conducted between 2004 and 2006. The students reported whether they had held a job in the past 12 months, how many hours they worked and what kind of work they did. 
More About: Work , Year

Most depressed teens recover with treatment: study
2009-02-13 01:47:00
A majority of teenagers treated for major depression show lasting improvements, though it may take several months for the benefits to appear, a new study suggests. The study of 439 teenagers with major depression found that while only about one-quarter saw their symptoms go into remission after the first 12 weeks of therapy, that rate improved to 60 percent by the 9-month mark. When it came to long-term recovery, the researchers found that of teenagers who did respond to therapy early on, two-thirds maintained the improvements over 9 months. The same was true of 71 percent of teens who initially took longer than 12 weeks to respond to therapy.
More About: Teens , Study , Treatment , Depressed

Post-traumatic stress tied to metabolic syndrome
2009-02-06 18:50:00
A new study of U.S. veterans suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and metabolic syndrome, the group of symptoms that increases heart disease and diabetes risk, may be linked. Dr. Pia S. Heppner of the Veterans Affairs San Diego Health System in La Jolla and her colleagues found that the more severe a person?s PTSD symptoms, the more likely they were to also have the metabolic syndrome. Evidence is mounting that exposure to trauma can worsen physical health, including increasing heart disease risk, Heppner and her team note in the journal BMC Medicine. 
More About: Post , Syndrome , Stress

Family abuse of people with dementia common: study
2009-01-23 16:53:00
People caring for family members with dementia commonly abuse them with behavior such as swearing and shouting, researchers said on Friday in a study that shows a more widespread problem than previously thought. ?The study shows abusive behavior is very common and not something doctors are regularly asking about and therefore finding,? Claudia Cooper, a researcher at University College London, who led the study, said in a telephone interview. A third of family caregivers said their abuse of the person they were looking after was significant, including frequent insulting or swearing, and half said they occasionally screamed or yelled at the person.
More About: Family , Abuse , People , Study , Dementia

Medication for Anxiety Helps Older Adults
2009-01-21 09:43:00
Medication for anxiety is ?modestly beneficial? for very anxious older adults, according to a new study, but it takes four weeks or so to work. Researchers looked at one specific drug, Lexapro, part of a class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), to see if it could help relieve the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in older adults. Those with the condition worry chronically and can?t seem to stop, with their quality of life affected. SSRIs are medications prescribed for both anxiety and depression and are thought to work by correcting an imbalance of the brain chemical serotonin. ?Although these medications have been examined in younger adults, there has been very little examination of them in older adults,? says study researcher Eric J. Lenze, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis.
More About: Anxiety , Medication

Antidepressant Eases Anxiety in Older Adults
2009-01-21 09:35:00
Older adults with generalized anxiety disorder treated with the antidepressant Lexapro showed significant improvement in symptoms, a new study reports. Generalized anxiety disorder is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in older adults. Its symptoms include chronic worry and anxiety and other problems, such as muscle tension, sleep disturbance and fatigue. ?This was the first large-scale study of antidepressant medications as a treatment for anxiety disorders in older adults,? said lead researcher Dr. Eric J. Lenze, an associate professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
More About: Anxiety , Antidepressant

Postpartum Depression can be Prevented without Drugs
2009-01-21 09:25:00
It?s not unusual to have some mood swings after giving birth. After all, new mothers are usually sleep deprived for a while and they can be extra tired from the rigors of childbirth, too. But for some women, serious depression occurs. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), postpartum depression affects around 10 to 15% of women a few weeks to a year after they give birth. Symptoms include feeling restless, anxious, sad, having a sense of worthlessness and sometimes worrying about hurting themselves of their babies. Like actress Brooke Shields, who went public with her account of her own struggle with postpartum depression, many women are prescribed antidepressant drugs, usually SSRIs like Prozac or Paxil. But are those often side effect-loaded medications necessary? According to a new University of Toronto study just published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), there?s an effective non-drug way to prevent postpartum depression in many moms after childbirth. The...
More About: Drugs , Depression , Postpartum

Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder share gene factors
2009-01-18 03:05:00
A Swedish registry study involving more than 2 million families confirms that first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disease are at increased risk for both disorders. ?These findings highlight the need for identification of genes for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, as well as for genes common to both disorders,? lead investigator Dr. Paul Lichtenstein told Reuters Health. Epidemiological studies and genetics research have suggested a possible overlap in genetic susceptibility between the two disorders, but the data have been inconsistent, Lichtenstein at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and his associates note in The Lancet.
More About: Share , Bipolar , Gene , Bipolar Disorder , Schizophrenia

Stressed men more likely to suffer stroke: study
2009-01-14 05:10:00
A Japanese study conducted over 11 years has found that job stress can significantly increase the risk of stroke in men. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, involved 3,190 men and 3,363 women, aged 65 and younger. They were first interviewed between 1992 and 1995 and were then monitored over the next 11 years. They came from a variety of occupational backgrounds and included managers, professionals, technicians, clerks, salespeople, farmers, craftsmen and laborers, and were classified into four groups:
More About: Study , Stroke

Preemies face some risk of psychiatric disorders
2009-01-03 18:50:00
Results of a Swedish population-wide study hint that children born prematurely have some risk of developing anxiety, depression or other psychiatric disorder in adolescence and young adulthood. Children born ?preterm? should therefore be watched more closely for these disorders, the investigators suggest. Among 545,628 Swedish residents born in the 1970s and followed up until 23 to 29 years of age, Dr. Karolina Lindstrom from Sachs Children?s Hospital, Stockholm, and colleagues observed a stepwise increase in psychiatric hospital admissions with an increasing degree of preterm birth. 
More About: Face , Risk , Preemies , Disorders

Alcoholism increases osteoporosis risk in young men
2008-12-11 09:52:00
Brittle bones are a known consequence of alcoholism, and now new findings suggest that even young men are at risk of developing low bone mass. Surprisingly, a similar risk was not seen in their female counterparts. In a study of 57 alcoholic adults between the ages of 27 and 50, researchers found that one quarter of the men had lower than normal bone mass. Just 1 of the 20 women the researchers examined had a deficit in bone mass. The latter finding, the researchers speculate, might be explained by the women?s relatively high estrogen levels that, for the time being, may have protected their bone mass.
More About: Young , Osteoporosis , Risk , Alcoholism

Gum disease tied to worse mental function
2008-11-28 16:10:00
People with gingivitis (gum disease) have worse mental function than their peers whose gums are in better shape, a new analysis of US data shows. The findings raise the possibility that system-wide inflammation due to gum disease could have harmful effects on brain function. However, because the study only looked at a single time point it could not gauge whether or not there is a causal relationship between oral health and cognitive performance. Older people with bad teeth are more likely to have dementia and cognitive impairment, Dr. Robert Stewart of the Institute of Psychiatry in London and colleagues note, but it isn?t known whether a similar relationship is present in younger people, and whether factors that can affect both dental health and mental function such as heart disease, high blood pressure or smoking may be involved.
More About: Mental , Disease , Function , Gum disease

Simple test might catch early mental decline
2008-11-26 01:46:00
A short, simple screening test has shown early promise in detecting milder mental impairment in older adults, before they?ve progressed to dementia. Many older people who ultimately develop Alzheimer?s disease first go through a period of what doctors call mild cognitive impairment. There is no hard definition of this phase, but in general it means that a person has some memory loss or other signs of cognitive decline but no serious problems in day-to-day functioning. Because the changes are subtle, mild cognitive impairment often goes unrecognized, and there is no simple test for detecting it. Ideally, though, experts want such a test?a quick screen that primary care doctors can use routinely, akin to checking cholesterol or blood pressure levels.
More About: Mental , Simple , Early , Test , Catch

Inactivity a risk to depressed heart patients: study
2008-11-26 01:41:00
The main reason depressed heart disease patients are at higher risk for further heart trouble is because they exercise less and adopt other unhealthy habits, researchers said on Tuesday. In their study of 1,017 heart disease patients whose conditions were stable, the 20 percent who were depressed were at significantly higher risk of cardiovascular problems. Depression is about three times more common among heart attack patients than in the general population, and depression increases the risk of a second heart attack, earlier research showed.
More About: Study , Heart , Risk , Patients , Depressed

One in Five Hospital Admissions Are for Patients with Mental Disorders
2008-11-11 14:17:00
About 1.4 million hospitalizations in 2006 involved patients who were admitted for a mental illness, while another 7.1 million patients had a mental disorder in addition to the physical condition for which they were admitted, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The 8.5 million hospitalizations involving patients with mental illness represented about 22 percent of the overall 39.5 million hospitalizations in 2006. AHRQ?s analysis found that of the nearly 1.4 million hospitalizations specifically for treatment of a mental disorder in 2006: ? Nearly 730,000 involved depression or other mood disorders, such as bipolar disease. 
More About: Mental , Hospital , Patients , Disorders