Peri-menopausal and postmenopausal women who took the antidepressant medication escitalopram – brand name Lexapro® – experienced a reduction in the frequency and severity of hot flashes as compared to women who received placebo according to a new study led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The study was published in the January 19th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Our findings suggest that among healthy women who were not depressed or anxious, a 10 to 20 milligram dose of escitalopram – which is well below the dosage level for psychiatric use – provides a nonhormonal, off-label option that is effective and well-tolerated in the management of menopausal hot flashes,” said Ellen W. Freeman, PhD, Penn research professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and principal investigator of the national, multi-site study. [continue reading…]
In a study published in the last 2010 issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, a group of researchers of the University of Amsterdam presents new findings on the relationship between weight and recurrent depression. [continue reading…]
While antidepressant medications have proven to be beneficial in helping people overcome major depression, it has long been known that a small subset of individuals taking these drugs can actually experience a worsening of mood, and even thoughts of suicide. No clinical test currently exists to make this determination, and only time — usually weeks — can tell before a psychiatrist knows whether a patient is getting better or worse.
Now, UCLA researchers have developed a non-invasive biomarker, or indicator, that may serve as a type of early warning system. [continue reading…]
Antidepressants are effective against depression in patients suffering from physical illnesses, according to a new systematic review by Cochrane researchers at King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre in the UK. The researchers found the drugs were more effective than placebos at treating depression in these patients. [continue reading…]
