Research led by Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Cambridge has discovered mutations in the gene TRPC5, located on the X chromosome, that can cause obesity and postpartum depression. This gene is expressed in the hypothalamus in the brain and is thought to impact a number of different…

With better methods needed for matching patients with depression with appropriate treatments, researchers at Stanford University, reporting today in Nature Medicine, say they have identified six biological subtypes (biotypes) of depression. The team also identified existing treatments that could be more likely, or less likely, to be effective against three…

Coronary artery disease and major depression may be genetically interconnected via inflammatory pathways, according to researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). They used transcriptome-wide association scans to map single nucleotide polymorphisms involved in regulating the expression of genes associated with both CAD…

Ohio State University researchers have published a study that shows treating people with heart disease who have symptoms of depression and anxiety significantly decreased visits to the emergency room and rehospitalizations. The research, published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, noted that depression and anxiety are common…

A psychedelic drug with, as of yet, no FDA approved use may substantially help cancer patients with major depression, according to recent results from a Phase II clinical trial. Participants treated with psilocybin, also called “magic mushrooms,” not only experienced a lessening of depressive symptoms but also spoke highly of…

Alto Neuroscience reported positive Phase II results for its precision depression therapy, ALTO-300, designed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) as an add on treatment for people with depression who are not responsive to traditional antidepressants. The investigators have identified an electroencephalogram (EEG) signature that characterizes people who are…

Frailty and depression share substantial genetics, with one condition predisposing to the other and comorbidity supported by large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The bi-directional, causal association that was identified remained in place after accounting for age as well as physical activity, researchers from China report in the journal Science Advances.…

By analyzing the brain activity of patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Emory University School of Medicine have identified a unique brain activity pattern that could serve as a measurable indicator of treatment-resistant depression recovery.…

A research review published this month in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice shows that a growing body of evidence suggests that psilocybin could be an effective treatment for depression. “At a time of growing excitement regarding the potential use of psychedelic agents to improve outcomes of otherwise intractable disorders, psychiatrists…

It’s the first FDA-approved pill for postpartum depression (PPD), and thus a breakthrough treatment for the most common complication of childbirth. But the lack of an approval for major depressive disorder (MMD) put a big damper on Sage Therapeutics’ news about Zurzuva (zuranolone)’s pending launch. In February of this year,…

Links between genes in excitatory (EX) and inhibitory (IN) neurons and astrocytes were found through an international study of gene expression in post-traumatic stress and major depressive disorders (PTSDs and MDDs). The authors say it was the first study to analyze PTSD pathology at single-cell resolution and could lead to novel…

Circular Genomics, a developer of precision medicine diagnostics for a neurology and psychiatry announced Tuesday that the use of circular RNA (circRNA) biomarkers can predict patient response to the clinical depression drug Sertraline, one of the most common treatments for the mental health disorder. Data from the EMBARC (Establishing Moderators…

Depression that develops after traumatic brain injury may be clinically distinct from other depressive disorders, new research by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and collaborators suggests. Brain circuitry differed with this type of depression compared with others, leading researchers to suggest it should be treated as a distinct “TBI affective syndrome.”…

U.S. researchers have revealed a neurobiological marker to identify and treat major depressive disorder, after finding that the condition is associated with unusual brain activity. Altered signaling in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of the brain, which has previously been linked with the processing of emotions, correlated with major depressive…

A study led by Yale University School of Medicine shows a significant link between prenatal depression and subsequent cardiovascular disease. The study was reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association and showed women who were depressed during pregnancy had a 32–83% increased risk of developing some form of…