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- Maintenance Treatment Prevents Recurrence in Older Adults with Single-Episode Depression
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March 16, 2006
Press Release
People age 70 and older who continued taking the antidepressant that helped them to initially recover from their first episode of depression were 60 percent less likely to experience a new episode of depression over a two-year study period than those who stopped taking the medication, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health. - Gene Influences Antidepressant Response
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March 15, 2006
Press Release
Whether depressed patients will respond to an antidepressant depends, in part, on which version of a gene they inherit, a study led by scientists at NIH has discovered. Having two copies of one version of a gene that codes for a component of the brain’s mood―regulating system increased the odds of a favorable response to an antidepressant by up to 18 percent, compared to having two copies of the other, more common version. - Depression Model Leaves Mice with Molecular Scar
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February 27, 2006
Press Release
In addition to triggering a depression-like social withdrawal syndrome, repeated defeat by dominant animals leaves a mouse with an enduring “molecular scar” in its brain that could help to explain why depression is so difficult to cure, suggest researchers funded by NIMH. - Lithium Blocks Enzyme To Help Cells’ Clocks Keep On Tickin’
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February 17, 2006
Science Update
NIMH-funded researchers have discovered how lithium likely fixes body clocks gone awry, stabilizing sleep-wake cycles and other daily rhythms disturbed along with mood in bipolar disorder. - Mice Lacking Social Memory Molecule Take Bullying in Stride
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February 9, 2006
Press Release
The social avoidance that normally develops when a mouse repeatedly experiences defeat by a dominant animal disappears when it lacks a gene for a memory molecule in a brain circuit for social learning, scientists funded by NIMH have discovered. - Largest Study to Date on Pediatric Bipolar Disorder Describes Disease Characteristics And Short-Term Outcomes
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February 8, 2006
Science Update
Recent findings from the multi-site, NIMH-funded Course and Outcome of Bipolar Illness in Youth (COBY) study are helping to shape the understanding of three major subtypes of bipolar disorder that affect children and adolescents and how this diagnosis may affect them as adults. - Stopping Antidepressant Use While Pregnant May Pose Risks
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February 1, 2006
Science Update
Pregnant women who discontinue antidepressant medications may significantly increase their risk of relapse during pregnancy, a new NIMH-funded study has found. - Early Findings from Largest NIMH-Funded Research Program on Bipolar Disorder Begin to Build Evidence-Base on Best Treatment Options
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February 1, 2006
Science Update
Findings from an NIMH research program on bipolar disorder provide much needed long-term data on the chronic, recurrent course of the disorder, and begin the work of building an evidence-base on the best treatments for those with the disorder. - Nobelist Discovers Antidepressant Protein in Mouse Brain
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January 6, 2006
Press Release
A protein that seems to be pivotal in lifting depression has been discovered by a Nobel Laureate researcher funded by NIMH. - Initial Results Help Clinicians Identify Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression
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January 1, 2006
Press Release
Initial results of the nation’s largest clinical trial for depression have helped clinicians to track “real world” patients who became symptom-free and to identify those who were resistant to the initial treatment.