In spite of the range of medications now available, major depression remains a challenging disease to treat. Only about half of adult patients respond to the first antidepressant they try, with only one-third achieving remission, reports the August 2008 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter. Most adults will try two or more medications before finding one that alleviates their depression. [continue reading…]

In a first, scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center have described the specifics of how brain cells process antidepressant drugs, cocaine and amphetamines. These novel findings could prove useful in the development of more targeted medication therapies for a host of psychiatric diseases, most notably in the area of addiction. [continue reading…]