If your partner has depression, anxiety you could ‘catch’ it by kissing them, says new study | Health

Did you know that you could get depression and anxiety from your partner through mouth bacteria? Did we stump you? Well, a new study found that depression and anxiety can spread between partners if they kiss – a healthy spouse could show mental health symptoms after just six months of marriage to a depressed partner.  … Read more

Tufts researchers develop dental floss sensor for real time stress monitoring

Chronic stress can lead to increased blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, decreased immune function, depression, and anxiety. Unfortunately, the tools we use to monitor stress are often imprecise or expensive, relying on self-reporting questionnaires and psychiatric evaluations.  Now a Tufts interdisciplinary engineer and his team have devised a simple device using specially designed floss that … Read more

Oral microbiota transmission linked to shared depression and anxiety in couples

Background and objectives Oral microbiota dysbiosis and altered salivary cortisol levels have been linked to depression and anxiety. Given that bacterial transmission can occur between spouses, this study aimed to investigate whether the transmission of oral microbiota between newlywed couples mediates symptoms of depression and anxiety. Methods Validated Persian versions of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality … Read more

Saffron May Help SSRI-Related Sexual Dysfunction

LOS ANGELES — Saffron may help treat sexual dysfunction related to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), new research suggests. Results of a preliminary new review found saffron, a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the “saffron crocus,” reduced erectile dysfunction in men and boosted arousal in women. Jeremy Wolfe, MD … Read more

Chronic Stress Quietly Speeds Up Immune Aging and Depression

Karin de Punder, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, has conducted research on how chronic stress accelerates the aging of the immune system and its connection to depression. Traditionally, depression has been diagnosed on the basis of self-reported symptoms; however, reliable clinical biomarkers are lacking. de Punder and colleagues have … Read more

Chronic Stress Quietly Speeds Up Immune Aging and Depression

Karin de Punder, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, has conducted research on how chronic stress accelerates the aging of the immune system and its connection to depression. Traditionally, depression has been diagnosed on the basis of self-reported symptoms; however, reliable clinical biomarkers are lacking. de Punder and colleagues have … Read more

Blood markers offer hope for early detection of teen depression

Using a novel lab method they developed, McGill University researchers have identified nine molecules in the blood that were elevated in teens diagnosed with depression. These molecules also predicted how symptoms might progress over time. The findings of the clinical study could pave the way for earlier detection, before symptoms worsen and become hard to treat. … Read more

Postpartum Psychosis Risk Linked to Sister’s Medical History

LOS ANGELES — Risk for postpartum psychosis is significantly higher in women who have a sister who has experienced the condition and/or has bipolar disorder (BD), a new study showed. In a population-based cohort study of nearly 1.7 million women, those with a full sister who had had the disorder were 10 times more likely … Read more

Long-term antidepressant use linked to higher risk of withdrawal symptoms

People who have been taking antidepressants for more than two years are substantially more likely to experience withdrawal symptoms compared to short-term users when they come off the medication, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. Long-term users also tend to experience worse withdrawal symptoms, and for a longer period of time, than short-term … Read more

Mount Sinai researchers explore new depression treatment targeting brain’s potassium channels

A mechanism involving potassium channels in the brain that control brain cell activity could provide a new and fundamentally different way of treating depression symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder, according to two complementary papers published recently by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In two new research articles, published … Read more