Archive for February, 2007
« Previous Entries Next Entries »A Simple Test Distinguishes Between Bipolar Disorder And Depression
Saturday, February 17th, 2007Type II bipolar disorder is an underdiagnosed disease which can be easily confused with depression. Contrarily to what happens in type I bipolar disorder, depressive symptoms and, above all, manic symptoms alternated in this form of the disease are not evident and difficult to identify. In fact, patients suffering from it usually go to the doctor because they are depressed, without thinking that they have also had slight manic episodes (euphoria and other cognition disorders). [click link for full article]
Using Octopuses To Understand Depression
Saturday, February 17th, 2007Researchers often use animals to help them resolve problems that can be applied to people. Dr. Jean Boal, a biology professor at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, is developing a new and unique way to research the causes and effects of depression with the help of octopuses. Boal, along with Dr. Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq, a visiting postdoctoral fellow from Universite de Caen in France, is performing behavioral experiments with octopuses. [click link for full article]
Young Adolescent Girls’ Depression Is Tied To More Stressful Life Events
Saturday, February 17th, 2007Children’s conduct problems–skipping school, sneaking out of the house, lying to parents, shoplifting, or bullying other children–are a major source of concern for parents and teachers. As a potential cause of these problems, parents’ marital conflict has received a lot of research attention. Now a new study finds that parents’ fighting may not be to blame but rather that parents who argue a lot may pass on genes for disruptive behavior to their children. [click link for full article]
Multidisciplinary Expert Panel Highlights Boehringer Ingelheim´s Continuing Commitment To Research In Parkinson´s Disease
Saturday, February 17th, 2007Boehringer Ingelheim announced today first results of a pan-European study1 investigating the importance and relevance of depressive symptoms in Parkinson`s disease (PD). These first study findings clearly show that depressive symptoms of PD are highly prevalent. Depressive symptoms were observed in 27 percent of the 1023 PD patients studied, of which as many as 64 percent received therapy for their depressive symptoms. [click link for full article]
Controversial Electroconvulsive Therapy Helps Severe Depression, From The Harvard Mental Health Letter
Saturday, February 17th, 2007Passing an electric current through the brain to induce a seizure is not everyone’s idea of a therapeutic procedure. So it’s no surprise that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been controversial. Fears of misuse are common, and efforts to restrict or abolish the practice have had some success. [click link for full article]
Symptoms Of Depression Linked To Early Stages Of Artery Disease
Saturday, February 17th, 2007Depressive symptoms especially physical signs, such as fatigue and loss of appetite may be associated with thickening arteries, which may reflect an early sign of coronary artery disease, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. [click link for full article]
Sharp Rise In American Youth Suicides
Saturday, February 17th, 2007A report by the US government shows a sudden sharp rise in youth suicide rate. The year 2003 to 2004 (the latest data does not show anything more recent) shows a sudden 18 per cent rise for suicides among the under 20s, from 1,737 to 1,985. The rise is largely driven by increases in deaths among older teenagers. This is a sudden reversal in a trend that has shown a steady decline in the 10 years before that. [click link for full article]
CDC Finds Increase In Teen Suicide; NYU Child Study Center Responds — Identifies Warning Signs And Provides Tips For Parents
Saturday, February 17th, 2007The New York University Child Study Center has identified warning signs of depression in teenagers for parents and tips for helping teens who may be depressed, in light of a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC study, published in the February 2007 issue of Pediatrics finds that suicide rates in children under 19 years of age increased between 2003 and 2004. [click link for full article]
Search For Genes That May Predispose Some People To Severe Depression
Saturday, February 17th, 2007Some people appear to be genetically predisposed to developing severe depression, but researchers have yet to pin down the genes responsible. Now, a specific region rife with promise has been located on one chromosome by a consortium of researchers working under Douglas Levinson, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. [click link for full article]
Research Investigates Whether Vitamin Folate Helps To Treat Depression
Saturday, February 17th, 2007New research commissioned by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme is looking into whether the vitamin folate can help in the treatment of depression. One in five people experience depression during their lives and only half of these people respond to antidepressant treatment. Folate, a vitamin found in foods such as green vegetables, helps to produce chemicals that regulate brain functions, including mood, sleep and appetite. [click link for full article]
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