Mental Health News
Neuroplasticity reduced in brains of people with depression
by Anna Salleh
The brains of people with depression show a reduced ability to adapt to their environment, a unique study shows. The research on 'neuroplasticity' and depression, is a collaboration between the Black Dog Institute and Neuroscience Research Australia and is reported online in a recent issue of Neuropsychopharmacology.
"We have demonstrated plasticity is reduced when you're depressed," says one of the lead researchers, Professor Colleen Loo, from the School of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales, and colleagues.
This "neuroplasticity" involves the growth of new neurones and the branching out of existing ones to make new connections. This is a key component of learning and memory.
Post-partum Media Myths
by Katherine Stone
It's time for everyone to get the facts about post-partum depression, says Katherine Stone, a writer who has experienced post-partum OCD. In this article, she points to misrepresentations in the media that can keep women from getting the help they need.
Read more - Huffington Post
Depression in Kids - its toll and treatment
A new study links childhood depression to later health risk. What families should watch out for, and what can be done.
by Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Depression is typically diagnosed in adults, but children also struggle with the condition. New research now indicates those depressed children are more likely to be obese, smoke and not engage in physical activity — all risk factors for heart problems — when they become adolescents.
Read more - EverydayHealth.com
Canada launches workplace standards for mental health and safety
The Mental Health Commission of Canada released a standardized tool to help Canadian companies promote mental health, reduce stigma and support employees dealing with mental illness.
Called Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, the voluntary standard provides a systematic approach to develop and sustain a psychologically healthy and safe workplace. Mental illness is also the fastest-growing reason for short- and long-term disability claims, accounting for about 30 per cent in Canada and costing business $6 billion in lost productivity and absenteeism in 2011, according to the mental health commission. In its national strategy last May, the commission listed new health and safety standards among its key recommendations.
“It’s time to start thinking about mental well-being in the same way we consider physical well-being,” said Louise Bradley, DEO and President of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. “The Standard offers the framework needed to help make this happen in the workplace.”
Download the free standard
January, 2013 - FDA approves magnetic helmet that "rewires" the brain
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a helmet using magnets to treat depression in patients who have failed to respond to antidepressant medications.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive technique that applies brief magnetic pulses to the brain, enabling direct non-invasive activation of deep brain structures, essentially “re-wiring” specific neural pathways. TMS works by energizing nerve tracks in the brain by making them fire more frequently. The initial course of treatment consists of five sessions a week over four to six weeks. Patients remain awake during the treatment.
The treatment has no significant side effects, no systemic effect (in contrast to drugs), and no need of hospitalization or anesthesia. The device has been used in Europe for years for treating clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and PTSD.
For more information, visit Brainsway.com
November, 2012 - Toronto's CAMH launches Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention
A $7.2 million donation from the Temerty Family Foundation will fund research into promising new brain stimulation reatments for persistent and severe mental illness, including Canada's first clinic using Magnetic Seizure Therapy (MST).
MST uses magnetic pulses (vs. electricity) to externally stimulate specific regions of the brain. "While ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) has been refined and remains very effective for people with severe, drug-resistant mental illness, it can also have significant side effects, including memory loss. As a result, only one per cent of people who could benefit from ECT try it and 70 per cent only take one treatment," explained Dr. Jeff Daskalakis, Director of the Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention."
MST is among several non-invasive treatments being studied at the Centre, which houses other brain stimulation treatment and research programs, including Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive treatment that is effective in 30 to 50 per cent of patients.
For more information, visit CAMH
September, 2012 - Calgary research could help depression sufferers get well sooner
A new pilot project at Foothills Medical Centre and the University of Calgary could one day help people with major depression get well sooner.
Although doctors have more than a dozen anti-depressants they can prescribe, it’s difficult to predict which will be the most effective for any given individual. Finding the optimal medication can sometimes mean months of trial and error with little relief for the affected person.
“Researchers are asking the question: is there a biological marker, or something that we might find in a blood test or a brain scan, that can help us select the best treatment options?” says
Dr. Glenda MacQueen, principal investigator for the Calgary site of a national study, and a member of the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute.
“The medications we have today are often very effective but it isn’t well understood yet why there is so much variation in how people respond to them.”
In the study, patients with major depression will receive a Health Canada-approved anti-depressant for an eight-week period. Researchers will then analyze blood and urine samples to identify potential biomarkers. A biomarker is a biological feature, such as a gene or a protein, that can be measured to determine the state of a disease or treatment response in a person.
Patients will also undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan so researchers can learn more about how brain structure and function may be affected by depression and subsequently by medication. Researchers will also interview patients regularly to determine the effectiveness of the medication.
If, at the end of the eight-week treatment period, patients report no improvement, they’ll be prescribed an additional medication for a further eight weeks. A healthy control group, which will not receive treatment of any kind, will undergo the same assessments.
At the conclusion of the study, researchers will analyze the data to see if they can identify any features that best predict treatment outcomes. To take part in the CAN-BIND research study in Calgary, contact Dr. Stefanie Hassel at 403-210-6353.