Category: Depression

Brain scans reveal how men and women react differently to depression.

Woman are much more susceptible to depression than men.

At age 15, girls are twice as likely as boys to be experiencing depression.

This could be down to hormonal fluctuations, body image issues, genetic factors or other causes.

Men, though, are more likely to suffer persistent depression.

And for women, depression tends to go in cycles.

Brain scans of adolescents in a new study have found different responses at this young age.

For the research, 106 adolescents with depression had their brains scanned while they looked at happy, sad or neutral words.

The results showed the brains of boys and girls responded in different ways, particularly in the supramarginal gyrus and posterior cingulate.

Both areas have previously been linked to depression.

Dr Jie-Yu Chuang, the study’s first author, said:

 “Our finding suggests that early in adolescence, depression might affect the brain differently between boys and girls.

Sex-specific treatment and prevention strategies for depression should be considered early in adolescence.

Hopefully, these early interventions could alter the disease trajectory before things get worse.”

These early signs in adolescence could be the first indications of the different ways the sexes experience depression.

Dr Chuang said:

“Men are more liable to suffer from persistent depression, whereas in women depression tends to be more episodic.

Compared with women, depressed men are also more likely to suffer serious consequences from their depression, such as substance abuse and suicide.”

Dr Chuang hopes to conduct a larger study in the future:

“I think it would be great to conduct a large longitudinal study addressing sex differences in depression from adolescence to adulthood.”

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry (Chuang et al., 2017).

The supplement starts to take effect after only two weeks, the researchers found.

Over-the-counter magnesium is a safe and effective way to treat mild to moderate depression, a new study suggests.

The mineral magnesium has already been linked to lower inflammation and improvements in depression.

Now a new randomised controlled trial has tested the effects of magnesium chloride supplements compared with no treatment.

→ Try Dr Jeremy Dean’s ebook “Activate: How To Find Joy Again By Changing What You Do“

For the research, half of 126 people with mild to moderate depression were given 248mg of magnesium chloride per day for six weeks.

After just two weeks, some positive effects of the supplement could be seen.

Those taking magnesium had clinically significant improvements over the six weeks.

People did not have any problems taking magnesium and there were no differences based on sex, age, whether people were also taking antidepressants, or other factors.

More than half of the people in the study said they would continue to take magnesium to help them with their depression.

Ms Emily Tarleton, the study’s first author, said:

“This is the first randomized clinical trial looking at the effect of magnesium supplementation on symptoms of depression in U.S. adults.

The results are very encouraging, given the great need for additional treatment options for depression, and our finding that magnesium supplementation provides a safe, fast and inexpensive approach to controlling depressive symptoms.”

Ms Tarleton says that the next stage is to move on to larger populations to see if the results can be replicated.

While many more studies have investigated antidepressant medications, there is also much evidence of their side-effects.

A survey of people taking antidepressants has found higher than expected levels of emotional numbness, sexual problems and even suicidal thoughts associated with the medication.

Of the 20 adverse effects to antidepressants that people were questioned about:

• 62% said they had ‘sexual difficulties’,
• 52% said they ‘didn’t feel like themselves’,
• 42% noticed a ‘reduction in positive feelings’,
• 39% found themselves ‘caring less about others’,
• and 55% reported ‘withdrawal effects’.

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE (Tarleton et al., 2017).

The procedure doesn’t require anaesthesia or sedation, taking around 40 minutes per session.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an effective long-term treatment for depression, research finds.

TMS involves stimulating the brain using magnetic fields.

Magnetic pulses are directed towards the left prefrontal cortex, to stimulate areas of the brain linked to depression.

The pulses help to excite neurons at the site of stimulation and in other connected areas of the brain.

The magnetic pulses are similar to those used for MRI brain scans.

TMS has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration since 2008.

However, this is one of the first studies to look at its long-term effect.

Professor Philip G. Janicak, who led the study, said:

“This is the only prospective, maintenance, follow-up study which assesses the durability of acute TMS benefit in patients with major depression.”

Magnetic brain stimulation is a lot less scary than it sounds.

It doesn’t require anaesthesia or sedation, taking around 40 minutes per session.

People typically have it daily over 4 to 6 weeks.

Professor Janicak, who led the study, said:

“The results of the follow-up study further support TMS as a viable treatment option for patients with major depression who have not responded to conventional antidepressant medications.

After acute response to TMS, a standardized regimen of antidepressant medication maintained the acute benefit in the majority of patients over a six-month period.”

The study was published in the journal Brain Stimulation (Janicak et al., 2010).

Network brain image from Shutterstock

A walk around the park will work, but this could be more fun!

A form of rock climbing called ‘bouldering’ is an effective treatment for depression symptoms, new research finds.

Bouldering involves climbing walls or rocks to a moderate height with no ropes or harnesses.

The study was inspired by German hospitals, some of which have started using climbing as a treatment for depression.

People in the study — most of whom were new to rock climbing — were split into two groups.

Those in the rock climbing group did three hours of bouldering each week for eight weeks.

Ms Eva-Maria Stelzer, one of the study’s authors, explained:

“Bouldering, in many ways, is a positive physical activity.

There are different routes for your physical activity level, and there’s a social aspect along with the feeling of an immediate accomplishment when bouldering.”

The study’s results showed that bouldering reduced the severity of depression by one grade.

For example, if people started the study with ‘moderate’ depression, after eight weeks their depression had reduced to ‘mild’, on average.

Those in the control group felt little change in their depression levels.

Dr Katharina Luttenberger, study co-author, said:

“Patients enjoyed the bouldering sessions and told us that they benefited greatly.

Since rumination is one of the biggest problems for depressed individuals, we had the idea that bouldering could be a good intervention for that.

[For bouldering ] You have to be mindful and focused on the moment.

It does not leave much room to let your mind wonder on things that may be going on in your life — you have to focus on not falling.

Bouldering not only has strong mental components, but it is accessible at different levels so that people of all levels of physical health are able to participate,

Clearly rock climbing is not for everyone, said Dr Luttenberger:

“I’d always encourage patients to do the sport they like — may it be climbing or something else — as sport is a wonderful possibility to prevent all possible sorts of illnesses, mental and physical.”

The study was presented at the 29th annual Association for Psychological Science Convention, in Boston.

Depression symptoms were reduced in almost half the people given the injection.

A single botox injection has been found to substantially improve depressive symptoms, research finds.

Botox is typically used to decrease the appearance of wrinkles in the face.

But, researchers have found that it can also help to treat the symptoms of depression.

Professor Norman E. Rosenthal, who led the study, said:

“This research is groundbreaking because it offers those who suffer from depression and their doctors an entirely new approach to treating the condition — one that doesn’t conflict with any other treatments.”

For the study, 74 depressed people were given an injection to the facial muscles between the eyebrows — those related to frowning.

Half were injected with botox, the other half with a placebo.

The results showed that depression symptoms reduced by 47% in the group given the botox injection.

The reduction was just 21% in the placebo group.

Dr. Eric Finzi, the study’s first author, said:

“This new research supports earlier facial feedback theory of Charles Darwin and William James which suggests that facial expressions influence mood.”

The facial feedback theory suggests that facial expression feedback into our moods.

In other words: our facial expressions are not just the result of our moods, but they can also influence them.

Embodied cognition

The botox injection makes it more difficult for people to frown.

So, with less frowning, people feel less depressed — or so the theory goes.

This is linked to a relatively new area of psychology called embodied cognition.

Embodied cognition is the idea that we think with our bodies.

For example, if you walk in a more bouncy, upbeat way, you also begin to feel in a more bouncy upbeat mood.

In fact, this very study has been done.

The study was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research (Finzi et al., 2014).

64% of depression and anxiety patients saw reductions in their symptoms.

Probiotics relieve the symptoms of depression, as well as helping with digestion problems, a new study finds.

The research was carried out on people with irritable bowel syndrome who were also depressed.

Twice as many reported improvements in depression symptoms if they took a specific probiotic.

Dr Premysl Bercik, senior study author, said:

“This study shows that consumption of a specific probiotic can improve both gut symptoms and psychological issues in IBS.

This opens new avenues not only for the treatment of patients with functional bowel disorders but also for patients with primary psychiatric diseases.”

The probiotic is called Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001.

Half of the 44 adults with IBS and mild to moderate anxiety or depression took a daily dose.

Over 10 weeks those taking the probiotic showed improvements in their IBS and depression and anxiety.

64% of those taking the probiotics showed psychological improvements compared with just 32% in the placebo group.

Brain scans revealed changes in multiple brain areas related to mood control.

Dr Bercik said:

“This is the result of a decade long journey — from identifying the probiotic, testing it in preclinical models and investigating the pathways through which the signals from the gut reach the brain.”

The study’s first author, Dr. Maria Pinto Sanchez, added:

“The results of this pilot study are very promising but they have to be confirmed in a future, larger scale trial.”

Other studies have also shown that probiotics have promise in treating depression.

One mouse study in which they were fed Lactobacillus, found that the probiotic reversed  their depression.

Another study found that a multispecies probiotic helped stop sadness from turning into depression.

Recent studies have repeatedly underlined the importance of diet for how we feel.

The new study was published in the journal Gastroenterology (Pinto-Sanchez et al., 2017).

Image credit: Elaine Hsiao

There are over 300 million living with depression around the world.

Depression is the leading cause of disability and ill health worldwide.

There are over 300 million living with depression around the world.

This represents an increase of 18% between 2005 and 2015, according to figures put out by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Almost 50% of people who are depressed do not get any treatment, even in high-income countries.

Two important reasons are:

• Lack of support for people with mental health problems,
• and stigma.

The WHO is currently running a year-long campaign called “Depression: let’s talk”.

Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO, said:

“The continuing stigma associated with mental illness was the reason why we decided to name our campaign ‘Depression: let’s talk’.

For someone living with depression, talking to a person they trust is often the first step towards treatment and recovery.”

Depression usually includes the following, lasting for two weeks or more:

• loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyed,
• persistent sadness,
• and problems with everyday activities.

Dr Saxena said:

“A better understanding of depression and how it can be treated, while essential, is just the beginning.

What needs to follow is sustained scale-up of mental health services accessible to everyone, even the most remote populations in the world.”

People in the study were suffering from a major depressive disorder.

Yoga and deep breathing classes twice a week are effective treatments for depression, new research finds.

They could be used as alternatives to drugs or in addition to them, the researchers suggest.

The type of yoga used in the study is named after B. K. S. Iyengar.

It is a form of Hatha yoga and focuses on being precise in the postures and the control of the breathing.

For the study, 30 people were given yoga classes and told to practice at home as well.

Dr Chris Streeter, the study’s first author, said:

“This study supports the use of a yoga and coherent breathing intervention in major depressive disorder in people who are not on antidepressants and in those who have been on a stable dose of antidepressants and have not achieved a resolution of their symptoms.”

All the individuals in the study were suffering from a major depressive disorder.

Dr Streeter continued:

“While most pharmacologic treatment for depression target monoamine systems, such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, this intervention targets the parasympathetic and gamma aminobutyric acid system and provides a new avenue for treatment.”

Unfortunately, the study did not use a control group, so this weakens its conclusions.

However, a recent study I reported on PsyBlog did compare yogic breathing with a control group.

Here are the study’s conclusions:

“Controlled yogic breathing helps alleviate severe depression, new research finds.

People in the study had depression that had not responded to antidepressant medication.

The [breathing] technique involves a series of rhythmic breathing exercises designed to put people in a calm and meditative state.

Slow and calm breaths are alternated with fast and stimulating breaths.

The new study was published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (Streeter et al., 2017).

These natural components linked to lower levels of depression, stress and anxiety.

People who live in neighbourhoods with more birds, trees and shrubs have lower levels of depression, new research finds.

Whether people live in urban or rural areas; trees, birds and shrubs are linked to better mental health, including lower anxiety, stress and depression.

The conclusions come from a study in which 270 people were surveyed.

They came from a variety of places in the UK, backgrounds and ethnicities.

The results also showed that the more time people spent inside in the previous week, the worse they felt.

When outside, the more birds they could see in the afternoon, the less depressed they were.

It didn’t matter if the birds were robins, blackbirds, blue tits or crows.

Dr Daniel Cox, who led the study, said:

“This study starts to unpick the role that some key components of nature play for our mental well-being.

Birds around the home, and nature in general, show great promise in preventative health care, making cities healthier, happier places to live.”

The researchers took into account people’s personal circumstances, including the fact that some people live in poorer areas.

The results follow on from a previous study by Dr Cox showing that bird watching makes people feel more relaxed and connected to nature.

Nature heals

This study is the latest in an ever-expanding literature on the tremendous benefits to mental health of being out in nature.

Studies have found that being in nature relaxes the mind and boosts the immune system.

Woodlands help to regulate emotional balance and bring ecstasy, joy and calm.

Even looking at green spaces out of the window has been shown to boost mental health.

→ Continue reading: 10 Remarkable Ways Nature Can Heal Your Mind

The study was published in the journal BioScience (Cox et al., 2017).