Major Depressive Disorder

This is not yet another philosophical discourse arguing against physician-assisted suicide. This piece is about life with dignity-even amidst its raw and ravaging agonies.

Besides being sad, patients who are depressed often feel disgruntled, resentful, or irritable. Such emotions can lead to violence in people who are predisposed to such behavior. Consider the questions in this quiz.

New studies in major depression find VNS improves the quality of life of patients with treatment-resistant depression and two other findings.

A recent study found mindfulness-based cognitive therapy plus treatment-as-usual helped patients who stuck with the program.

This article discusses the peculiarities of emergency psychiatric practice and reviews innovations in models of care delivery designed to overcome the challenges of this subspecialty.

The perils of job insecurity; depression and cardiac risks; the longest-running mental health study; smart drugs that aren’t so smart; heatstroke in psychiatric patients; an autism puzzler; and psychosis and eating disorders.

New research brings us closer to learning about the associations between psychological states, quality of life, and cardiovascular health.

Findings from a new study may have implications in relation to early childhood interventions and later targeted pharmacotherapies for MDD.

This special collection provides new insights on major aspects of depression: psychopharmacology, therapeutic interventions, major depressive episodes, biomarkers, and pseudobulbar affect.

Do personality disorders get a bad rap? Take the quiz and learn more.

The authors discuss two fundamental misconceptions: the myth of the patient’s autonomy, and the myth of the incurability of the patient’s illness.

In considering how best to disseminate the many psychotherapeutic techniques to practicing clinicians, the author reviews findings and changes to guidelines on depression treatments.

The use of biomarkers to assist with optimizing treatment decisions for depression has been receiving increasing attention. Here is an overview of the challenges and barriers that must be overcome before therapeutic markers can effectively be utilized in practice.

ECT is a highly effective treatment for depression, but a portion of patients fail to respond as hoped. Clinical variables have overall limited utility as a predictor of response. Is inflammation the key?

Highlights of 3 new studies investigate how to choose the best therapy for depression as well as the negative influences of polypharmacy and social media.

Researchers accumulated information on self-reported emotion regulation in patients with current and remitted MDD. Then, they crunched the data.

The immune-brain loop: a world where more and more clinicians boldly go-and thrive-among new discoveries.

More than any other medical specialty, we sometimes feel compelled, and empowered, to treat patients against their will. With this comes two great responsibilities.

The thorny issue of “end-of-life care” is likely to remain controversial in the US, with physicians themselves holding a wide variety of views.

This month's roundup features noteworthy stories from around the web: the humanitarian crisis at the border, new gaming disorder diagnosis, a medication investigation of over 26,000 adult patients, a boundary-busting neurologist, and physician and celebrity suicides.

For the first time, a study has shown comprehensive evidence for the effect of depression on decline in overall cognitive function. Plus, 2 more findings.

In the final part of our discussion with Janae Sharp, Janae further discusses the loss of her physician husband to suicide and how best to support others through grief.

Researchers may have cracked the code to the mystery of depression, inflammation, and C-reactive protein.

The first clinical trial of probiotics in bipolar disorder is out, and the results look promising.

Because immunologic processes connected to psychiatric disorders have received considerable attention, we invite you to test your knowledge on the pathophysiologic process of depression and inflammation.

How do brain changes, inflammation, and genetic risk factors modulate the development of PTSD or depression in patients with a history of trauma?

Immunologic processes may play a pivotal role in the development and maintenance of psychiatric disorders, opening an entire new avenue for novel strategies to prevent and treat psychiatric disease.

Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD argues for psychiatrists to consider obtaining inflammatory marker labs on every patient that they see.

In addition to psychosocial problems, there is a growing realization that PTSD may also lead to or exacerbate chronic medical health conditions.

This 2-part Special Report devotes itself to the new inflammatory world that clinicians and researchers find themselves in. Most of our prior and current preconceptions about the role of immunity and mental illness have been-and are-wrong.