Drug treatments for depression can take many weeks for the beneficial effects to emerge. The excruciating and disabling nature of depression highlights the urgency of developing treatments that act more rapidly.

People taking medication for depression typically see a lot of improvements in their symptoms during the first few months, but lagging behind other areas is a sense of hopefulness, according to new research from the University of Michigan Health System.

A new thesis from he Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows that the brain’s serotonin system differs between men and women. The scientists who conducted the study think that they have found one of the reasons why depression and chronic anxiety are more common in women than in men.

In the PhD defended by the pharmacologist and biochemist Jorge Emilio Ortega Calvo at the University of the Basque Country, a new anti-depressant treatment strategy is proposed that is capable of improving on the current one with its drawbacks.

Researchers have identified subtle genetic variations that predict the efficacy of two widely used antidepressant drugs. They found that certain variants in the gene for a protective transporter protein that pumps drugs and other substances out of the brain compromise the effectiveness of the antidepressants citalopram (trade name Celexa) and venlafaxine (Effexor).

Matters of the mind can affect matters of the heart. A new study by McGill University and Université de Montréal researchers has found that major anxiety and/or depression, can double a coronary artery disease patient’s chances of repeated heart ailments.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration warnings regarding the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and adolescents taking antidepressants appear to have had modest and targeted effects on the intended populations, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Researchers may be able to develop an antidepressant which takes effect almost immediately by directly targeting novel molecules in the brain instead of taking a less direct route, which can lead to longer times for medication to take effect, according to a new study presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annual meeting.

Drawing from data in the nation's largest real-world study of treatment-resistant depression, a team led by researchers at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) reported in November’s Medical Care journal that African-Americans and Latinos didn’t respond as well as whites to medication for their depression.

Study on anandamide shows how endocannabinoid system can be targeted for new pharmaceuticals to treat depression

A new neurobiological study has found that a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, is an effective anti-depressant at low doses. However, at higher doses, the effect reverses itself and can actually worsen depression and other psychiatric conditions like psychosis.

Taking antidepressants together with painkillers can substantially increase the risk of bleeding from the stomach, according to new research by the University of East Anglia.