Mental health and tuberculosis (TB)

Share me on…Mental health and tuberculosis (TB) A recent study set out to Mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia are associated with an increased risk of tuberculosis (TB), new research has shown. A recent study set out to understand whether there is a link between mental health and the risk of developing TB. The …
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Depression in Europe reaches 6.4%

Share me on…Depression in Europe reaches 6.4% Depression affects over 6% of the European population and prevalence is higher in women than men, new research has discovered. A study of 27 European countries has evaluated the prevalence of depression to be at 6.4% of the European population, which is higher than the 4.2% previously estimated …
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Relationship problems and mental health

Share me on…Relationship problems and mental health In the May 2021 issue of Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, lead author Dr. Mark Whisman and colleagues explore evidence for a causal link between romantic relationship distress and depression. The authors contend that “the existing body of research evidence supports the claim that relationship distress is a …
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Nitrous oxide as a treatment for depression

Share me on…Nitrous oxide as a treatment for depression Laughter might Nitrous oxide as a treatment for depression really be the best medicine — well, kind of. A new study published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine shows that nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas) can help reduce symptoms of depression in individuals who might …
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Late nights and the risk of depression

Share me on…Late nights and the risk of depression If Benjamin Franklin were alive today and read the latest science-based sleep news, he might be inclined to update his “early to bed and early to rise” prescriptive advice from Poor Richard’s Almanac to include “less likely to become clinically depressed.” A new genetic study (Daghlas …
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Genetic risk factors and depression

Share me on…Genetic risk factors and depression Several new gene variants have been identified as increasing the risk factor for depression, in the largest genetic analysis of the condition to date. The study, carried out by Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers, provides a better understanding of the biological basis of depression, which could lead to better …
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Inflammatory food is a diet for depression

Share me on…Inflammatory food is a diet for depression Feeling gloomy? Look to your diet. When you eat, you feed yourself—but you also feed your gut microbes. There are trillions of them in your gut and they make up a thriving community called the microbiota. Like you, they have their own favorite foods. Amazingly, they …
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Men will do anything to avoid therapy

Share me on…Men will do anything to avoid therapy The pandemic has driven many people into — or back into — therapy. We’ve probably all noticed this — if not because of the experiences of people we know, then from the sheer volume of people tweeting about being in therapy. On our feeds, we’ve seen …
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Shaping the future of epilepsy research

Share me on…Shaping the future of epilepsy research There are 21 epilepsy-related deaths every week in the UK – here, Maxine Smeaton, Chief Executive of Epilepsy Research UK discusses what the future holds for essential epilepsy treatment research Epilepsy is a neurological condition characterised by seizures which are caused by excessive electrical activity within networks …
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Lithium concentration connected to depression

Share me on…Lithium concentration connected to depression Researchers believe that they have a breakthrough – finding that lithium concentrations in the brain are connected to depression Lithium is an antique way that mental disturbances would be treated. For decades, depression resulted in doctors assigning high concentrations of lithium salts as a ‘cure’. However, even now, …
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Lockdown improved mental health

Share me on…Lockdown improved mental health LOCKDOWN has had a catastrophic impact on so many aspects of our lives, not least in terms of mental health. For some, depression has been triggered or exacerbated by worries – a study this year by Exeter University and King’s College London found loneliness emerging as a key factor …
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The Future of Psychiatric Treatment

Share me on…The Future of Psychiatric Treatment Antidepressants, in addition to treating symptoms of depression, are also effective anti-anxiety agents. Drugs to treat schizophrenia are also helpful in treating individuals with bipolar disorder. Why might this be so? First, some background: The current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) provides …
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Does Depression Change Your Vision?

Share me on…Does Depression Change Your Vision? Depressed people view the world differently—literally. Specifically, some research has found visual processing in depressed individuals to be abnormal. It is not clear if these visual abnormalities are related to retinal processing (i.e. how the eyes take in visual information) or cortical processing (i.e. how the brain interprets …
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