depression Archives - Gateway Psychiatric

Science of Depression

admin — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:14:48 +0000

Get your brain unstuck There have been many important developments in the science of depression in the past few years, but understanding of these has not become widespread in the general public, or even among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The “serotonin deficit” or “chemical imbalance” theories of the cause of depression remain more widely understood and commonly used ...

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Simple Blood Test May Help Diagnose Bipolar Disorder

admin — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 17:59:07 +0000

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings, from manic highs to depressive lows. It can be a difficult condition to diagnose, as the symptoms can overlap with other conditions, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, etcetera. A new study from the University of Cambridge suggests that some day a blood test could help to diagnose bipolar ...

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Do Antidepressants Improve Quality of Life for People with Depression?

admin — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 06:38:59 +0000

Depression is a common mental illness that affects millions of people worldwide. It can cause a wide range of symptoms, including sadness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and changes in appetite. Depression can also have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life. One way to treat depression is with medication. Antidepressants are a type of medication that can help to ...

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Inflammation and Depression – Specific Symptom Cluster

admin — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 22:42:36 +0000

A study of 15 population-based cohorts, totalling 56,351 individuals, suggests that there is a correlation between inflammation as measured by elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and a specific sub-group of symptoms of depression. The inflammation cluster consisted of four physical symptoms: changes in appetite, felt everything was an effort, loss of energy, sleep problems; and one cognitive symptom: little ...

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Insulin Resistance, Pre-Diabetes, Central Obesity, Elevated Triglycerides and Depression

admin — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 15:38:53 +0000

Three different findings associated with insulin resistance and pre-diabetes are predictive of developing depression according to a study published online from the American Journal of Psychiatry. Study Summary MedPage Today (9/23/2021) writes that, “Three surrogate measures for insulin resistance all showed a significant link with developing a major depressive disorder [MDD] over a nine-year follow-up period,” researchers concluded. The 601-participant study ...

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Psychotherapy is Important for Depression Prevention

Peter Forster — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 23:34:45 +0000

Psychotherapies — particularly cognitive-behavioral approaches used as adjunctive treatments — can play a critical role in helping people with a history of depression avoid relapse. For many people, major depression is a chronic illness. Even when they are no longer depressed, people who have had several episodes of depression have to be concerned about a significant risk of a recurrence ...

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Impaired Decision Making in Depression – Treatment Implications

Peter Forster — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 01:22:50 +0000

Why do depressed people make choices that are unlikely to be rewarded. And why aren’t they willing to make choices that are likely to be rewarded. In fact, why are depressed people less likely than people who are not depressed to choose to take an antidepressant, or begin psychotherapy, or follow the advice of a therapist? A meta-analysis of many ...

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Ketamine Short Term Treatment Strategies

Peter Forster — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 16:38:18 +0000

What are the best strategies for using ketamine to treat major depression in the short term? Although we know that ketamine (and, now, esketamine) can be helpful we really don’t know that much about what strategy works best. The most commonly used ketamine infusion protocol is adapted from studies using ketamine to treat chronic pain. An article in the March ...

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Depression Resilience and Neural Connectivity

Peter Forster — Sun, 25 Mar 2018 18:00:53 +0000

Much has been written about risk factors for depression but we know less about depression resilience factors. Why do some people at high risk develop depression, while others do not. A study conducted at Stanford by Adina S. Fischer, MD PhD, and colleagues, suggests that increased regulation of limbic areas (the parts of the brain that are most directly involved in ...

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State and Trait Brain Function in Depression

Peter Forster — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 20:15:44 +0000

Understanding the neurobiology of depression involves more than just knowing about serotonin, we need to know how state and trait brain function in depression is different from brain functioning in those who have never had a major depression. State and trait are key concepts in understanding psychiatric conditions: state refers to those alterations in functioning that occur when someone is ...

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