Scientists Reverse Depression-Like Behaviors In Mice Without Raising Serotonin Levels

New research adds to evidence of potentially better molecular targets in the brain to treat depression and other mental disorders, according to NIMH-funded scientists. The researchers suggest that imbalances in the activity of an enzyme called GSK3ß may be closer to the root cause of mental illnesses than are low serotonin levels. Serotonin, a brain chemical, is the ultimate target of several current medications that work by indirectly increasing it to relieve symptoms. In preliminary findings, the scientists suggest that GSK3ß might be… Read More

by Kevin Caruso A study in Denmark yielded insight into patients who were at the greatest risk for dying by suicide. The study indicated that the risk of suicide:

 
• was slightly higher for people who lived in urban areas.   
• slightly increased with unemployment and low income.   
• significantly increased for those who were admitted to a psychiatric hospital. 

Almost 50% of the people who died by suicide had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital at least once. And patients were at the greatest risk for suicide shortly after their admission and the first week after their discharge. Thus special care needs… Read More

Depression and Vitamins

by Kevin Caruso Along with exercising and eating a sensible diet, taking vitamins is important when you are suffering from depression. A deficiency in vitamins and minerals may be part of the cause of your depression. Thus, it is imperative that you take vitamins every day. So which vitamins should you take? There has been much debate about which vitamins you should take for depression, and in what amounts. You could do an extensive study and still be bemused about what you should do. So, the best thing to do is to buy the best multivitamin that you can, and make sure that it is high in the B-complex vitamins… Read More

by Kevin Caruso September 14, 2004 Top Food and Drug Administration officials acknowledged for the first time that antidepressants appear to raise the risk of suicide in some children and teenagers. Testifying before two FDA advisory committees, the officials indicated that a recent Columbia University study that was contracted by the FDA showed that the drugs significantly increased the incidence of suicidal behavior in children and teenagers. "I think that we now all believe that there is an increase in suicidal thinking and action [among children and teenagers] that is consistent across all the drugs, said Dr. Robert Temple, director of the… Read More

by Kevin Caruso September 6, 2007 The U.S. suicide rate for 10- to 14-year-old girls rose 76 percent from 2003 to 2004, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, the CDC reported a 32.3 percent increase among 15- to 19-year-old girls, and a 9 percent increase among 15- to 19-year-old boys. And the overall youth suicide rate rose 8 percent. The dramatic increase sharply contrasts with the 28.5 percent decrease in youth suicide rates since 1990, thus causing alarm in the suicide prevention community. “Our news today is sobering. This is a dramatic and huge increase and it raises great concern… Read More