Depression

In a new study published in Science, Lisa Monteggia’s and Ege Kavalali’s labs show that it is feasible to substantially extend the efficacy of a single dose of ketamine from its current duration of up to a week to a longer period of up to two months. Read More

Researchers across four health care systems, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, have found that increased depression polygenic scores are associated with increased white blood cell count, highlighting the importance of the immune system in the etiology of depression. Read More

Older depressed adults show accelerated brain aging, according to a new study from Vanderbilt researchers, who suggest that the effects of depression may speed the decline in cognitive functions in older individuals. Read More

Poorly functioning AMPARs have been linked to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders including seizures, Alzheimer’s disease, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Understanding how AMPARs are formed and operate is essential for the rational design of pharmacological compounds that, by tuning AMPAR activity up or down, could improve treatment of these conditions. Read More

A Vanderbilt University Medical Center pilot study of treating late-life depression in nonsmokers with transdermal nicotine (nicotine patch) has yielded some promising results, but the study’s author cautions that more study is needed. Read More

Symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, including psychosis, depression and manic behavior, have both shared and distinguishing genetic factors, an international consortium led by researchers from Vanderbilt University and Virginia Commonwealth University is reporting. Read More

Jonathan Becker, DO, the medical director overseeing Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital’s electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) program, spends a fair amount of time explaining to patients what electroconvulsive therapy is not. Read More

Clinicians should use a structured interview in people with Alzheimer’s disease to identify pain that might be otherwise overlooked. Read More

Women who have had repeated depressive episodes tend to pay more attention to negative emotional information, suggesting that they may benefit from cognitive therapy to build new, more positive pathways in their brains. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered how antidepressant medicines that block serotonin uptake can increase bleeding risk. Read More

Parenting behaviors may be an important target for improving outcomes in adolescents with diabetes. Read More

Psychiatrists usually treat marriage troubles by prescribing drugs meant for depression, a new study from Vanderbilt University shows. Read More

COX-2 inhibitors – used clinically to reduce inflammation and pain – may find new applications for treating PTSD and other stress-related psychiatric disorders like major depression. Read More

New analysis shows that the scientific literature paints an overly rosy picture of the efficacy of psychotherapy for depression comparable to the bias previously found in reports of treatments with antidepressant drugs. Read More

How depressed you are may have something to do with who you know—and where you come from. Read More

Treating depressed individuals and figuring out who will and won’t respond to antidepressants is mostly trial and error — much to the frustration of patients and the health care providers who treat them. Read More

Vanderbilt biologists have localized the seasonal light cycle effects that drive seasonal affective disorder to a small region of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have identified the role that a key protein associated with autism and the co-occurrence of alcohol dependency and depression plays in forming the spines that create new connections in the brain. Read More

Although heteromeric dopamine receptors composed of both D1 and D2 subunits have been proposed to play a role in depression and schizophrenia, recent studies suggest these heteromers do not exist. Read More

New insights to the workings of a protein that moves neurotransmitters across the nerve cell membrane could aid the design of more effective antidepressants. Read More