Around the world increasing mental health inequalities between women and men following the COVID-19 pandemic represent a major public health concern. According to a new study, the lockdown measures due to the pandemic profoundly and unequally disrupted the work-family balance for many graduate students, exacerbating mental health problems.
A group of proteins called 4E-BPs, involved in memory formation, is the key to unlocking the antidepressant effect of ketamine in the brain, according to researchers from three Canadian universities. The discovery could lead to better and safer treatments for certain patients suffering from major depression.
Early adulthood, a transitional life stage marked by major changes in social roles and responsibilities, can bring with it an increase of mental health problems. A team of McGill University researchers has found that young adults who perceived higher levels of social support reported fewer mental health problems.
Depression is a common psychiatric disorder and one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Antidepressants are the first-line treatment for moderate to severe major depressive episodes. Despite their effectiveness, only 40% of patients respond to the first antidepressant they try. A recent paper in Nature Communication strongly suggests that a particular protein, GPR56, is involved in the biology of depression and the effect of antidepressants.
The discovery of a new mechanism involved in depression – and a way to target it with a drug as effective as classical antidepressants -- provides new understanding of this illness and could pave the way for treatments with fewer side effects.
An over-reliance on self-report screening questionnaires, wherein patients essentially define their own condition, in place of diagnostic interviews conducted by a health care professional, has resulted in over-estimation of the prevalence of people with depression in many research studies – often by a factor of two to three times. This is according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The study found that over 75% of recent research on depression prevalence has been based exclusively on patient completed questionnaires.
For people suffering from depression, a day without treatment can seem like a lifetime. A new study explains why the most commonly prescribed antidepressants can take as long as six weeks to have an effect. The findings could one day lead to more effective and faster acting drugs.
For people suffering from depression, a day without treatment can seem like a lifetime. A new study explains why the most commonly prescribed antidepressants can take as long as six weeks to have an effect. The findings could one day lead to more effective and faster acting drugs.
What causes depression? Of course, life circumstances such as traumatic events, severe stress or grief play a role, but heredity studies have shown that a genetic predisposition to depression is equally important as environmental triggers [1]. Until very recently, though, the genes that underpin such a predisposition have proven elusive.
Researchers find tools inaccurate and advise against routine screening in this age group
Antidepressant use in North America has increased over the last 2 decades. A suspected reason for this trend is that primary care physicians are increasingly prescribing antidepressants for nondepressive indications, including unapproved (off-label) indications that have not been evaluated by regulatory agencies.
By Fergus Grieve, McGill Newsroom
Depression, metabolic factors combine to boost risk of developing diabetes, study finds
Depression may compound the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in people with early warning signs of metabolic disease, according to researchers from McGill University, l'Université de Montréal, the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal and the University of Calgary.
By Bruno Geoffroy, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
First-ever connection between noradrenergic neurons and vulnerability to depression
Transition to parenthood can be a difficult life event. It can have an impact on both parents and on the long-term development of the child. While mother’s "baby blues" have been widely investigated, little research has been conducted on antenatal paternal depression.
Difficulty making good choices is one of the factors that make certain people vulnerable to suicide