Science News about Depression

NIMH Expands Public Health Education Effort To Reach Latino Men With Depression

Press Release • October 07, 2005

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, today is launching a new effort in the Real Men Real Depression campaign — Spanish-language materials to inform the Latino community about depression and to encourage men who are depressed to seek help.

PTSD, Depression Epidemic Among Cambodian Immigrants

Press Release • August 02, 2005

More than two decades after they fled the Khmer Rouge reign of terror, most Cambodian refugees who resettled in the United States remain traumatized, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has found.

Depression Gene May Weaken Mood-Regulating Circuit

Press Release • May 09, 2005

A brain scan study suggests that a suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety and depression by weakening a circuit for processing negative emotion.

Actor-Patients´ Requests for Medications Boost Prescribing for Depression

Press Release • April 27, 2005

Researchers funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that requests from patients for medications have a "profound effect" on physicians prescribing for major depression and adjustment disorder.

Rat Brain’s Executive Hub Quells Alarm Center if Stress is Controllable

Press Release • February 11, 2005

Treatments for mood and anxiety disorders are thought to work, in part, by helping patients control the stresses in their lives.

Mutant Gene Linked to Treatment-Resistant Depression

Science Update • December 13, 2004

A mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin, a mood-regulating chemical messenger, has been discovered and found to be 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients than in control subjects, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Combination Treatment Most Effective in Adolescents with Depression

Press Release • August 17, 2004

A clinical trial of 439 adolescents with major depression has found a combination of medication and psychotherapy to be the most effective treatment.

Depression Traced to Overactive Brain Circuit

Press Release • August 02, 2004

Press Release August 2, 2004 Depression Traced to Overactive Brain Circuit A brain imaging study by the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has found that an emotion-regulating brain circuit is overactive in people prone to depression — even when they are not depressed.

“Care Managers” Help Depressed Elderly Reduce Suicidal Thoughts

Press Release • March 02, 2004

An intervention that includes staffing doctors’ offices with depression care managers helps depressed elderly patients reduce suicidal thoughts, a study funded by NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has found.

Mental Illness Genetics Among Science’s Top “Breakthroughs“ for 2003

Press Release • December 22, 2003

Research on the genetics of mental illness, most of it NIMH-funded and much of it in the Institute’s own laboratories, was named the #2 scientific "breakthrough of the year" by Science magazine in its December l9, 2003, issue.

Creation of New Neurons Critical to Antidepressant Action in Mice

Press Release • August 07, 2003

Blocking the formation of neurons in the hippocampus blocks the behavioral effects of antidepressants in mice, say researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Gene More Than Doubles Risk Of Depression Following Life Stresses

Press Release • July 17, 2003

Among people who suffered multiple stressful life events over 5 years, 43 percent with one version of a gene developed depression, compared to only 17 percent with another version of the gene, say researchers funded, in part, by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

NIMH Awards $22.6 Million for Center for Collaborative Research on Mental Disorders

Press Release • July 01, 2003

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has funded a five-year, $22.6 million Center for Collaborative Genetic Studies on Mental Disorders at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Medication and Psychotherapy Treat Depression in Low-Income Minority Women

Press Release • July 01, 2003

Treatment with medication or psychotherapy reduced depressive symptoms in women from minority populations, according to research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

NIMH Launches First Public Health Education Campaign To Reach Men With Depression

Press Release • April 01, 2003

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the National Institutes of Health, today announced the launch of the first national campaign to raise awareness that depression is a major public health problem affecting an estimated 6 million men annually.

Treatment for Minor Depression

Press Release • March 21, 2003

In a new approach to research on minor depression, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a four-year study to determine the safety and effectiveness of St. John's wort, a common herbal supplement, and citalopram, a standard antidepressant, compared to placebo.

Placebo, Antidepressant May Lift Depression Via Common Mechanism

Press Release • May 01, 2002

Whether it's a widely prescribed medication or a placebo, a successful treatment for depression must trigger a common pattern of brain activity changes, suggests a team of researchers funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

NIMH Awards Howard University $6.5 Million

Press Release • January 25, 2002

Howard University Hospital Department of Psychiatry in the College of Medicine (HUCM) has been awarded $6.5 million from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for a five-year project to implement and develop research studies pertaining to mood and anxiety disorders.