Good News Notes: “Worldwide, 1 in 4 people will suffer from a depressive episode in their lifetime. While current diagnosis and treatment approaches are largely trial and error, a breakthrough study by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers sheds new light on the biological basis of mood disorders, and offers a promising blood test aimed…
Tag: bipolar disorder
A blood test could diagnose depression and bipolar disorder
Good News Notes: “In adults, a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promotes the growth and survival of nerve cells and is known to play a vital role in learning, memory, and maintaining brain flexibility, or ‘plasticity.’ Psychological stress reduces blood levels of one form of the protein, called mature BDNF (mBDNF), and low levels are…
Intervention reduces cardiovascular disease risk in people with serious mental illness
Good News Notes: “According to a new study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers, an intervention program for people with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression can reduce the 10-year risk of having a heart attack or stroke by an average of nearly 13%. People in this group have twice the rate…
Ketamine now offered to patients with treatment-resistant depression
Good News Notes: “There are new options for people suffering from treatment-resistant depression. More clinics are offering ketamine, an anesthetic, that has also been abused in the party scene. Julie Hersh is a patient at Actify, a Denver clinic offering IV infusions of ketamine. The 56-year-old has battled depression and bipolar disorder for decades, and…