Depressed Jane

Combining antidepressant drugs with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) does a better job of reducing symptoms of severe depression and causes less memory loss than using ECT alone, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues. This finding could alleviate one of the primary concerns about ECT that it causes memory loss, said W. Vaughn McCall, M.D., M.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Professor Bo Malmberg and Professor Gerdt Sundström at the School of Health Sciences in Jönköping, Sweden have studied loneliness among older people. A common stereotype about older people is that loneliness is typical for older women, rather than for older men. One problem with this stereotype is that feelings of loneliness are not particularly common among either men or women in the Nordic countries.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found in humans.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Psychotherapy consists of a series of techniques for treating mental health, emotional and some psychiatric disorders. Psychotherapy helps the patient understand what helps them feel positive or anxious, as well as accepting their strong and weak points. If people can identify their feelings and ways of thinking they become better at coping with difficult situations. According to Medilexicon’s

Popularity: unranked [?]

“The Food and Drug Administration announced (Wednesday) that it is requiring the smoking-cessation drugs Chantix and Zyban to carry the strongest type of safety warning possible to alert patients that the medications can cause serious mental health problems, including depression and suicide,” the Washington Post reports (Stein, 7/1).

Popularity: unranked [?]

A study in the July 1 issue of the journal SLEEP suggests that postpartum depression may aggravate an already impaired sleep quality, as experiencing difficulties with sleep is a symptom of depression.

Popularity: unranked [?]

PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is triggered by a traumatic event – it is a kind of anxiety. The sufferer of PTSD may have experienced or seen an event that caused extreme fear, shock and/or a feeling of helplessness. Most of us experience a brief period of difficulty adjusting and coping with traumatic events. However, we gradually get better with time and healthy coping methods.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Sepracor Inc. (Nasdaq: SEPR) announced that it has completed the analysis and validation of the preliminary results of a Phase II, 514-patient study evaluating the efficacy and safety of SEP-225289 for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, including patients with melancholic and atypical features.

Popularity: 1% [?]

So-called ‘empty nest syndrome’ does not affect parents living in rural areas as much as previously thought, according to a new study carried out in Thailand. In fact, parents whose children have all migrated to urban areas of Thailand are less likely to experience depression than parents whose children stay at home.

Popularity: unranked [?]

A new neuropsychological memory test is helping to uncover how Parkinson’s disease can alter people’s ability to learn about the consequences of the choices they make. The test was developed by Dr. Mark Gluck, professor of neuroscience at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University, Newark, working with co-researchers at Rutgers, New York University, and in Hungary.

Popularity: unranked [?]