Depression

In the most comprehensive investigation of the ketogenic diet’s mental health effects yet, researchers pooled 50 studies spanning six decades to see what we actually know about its influence on mood. The results are a mix of promising and uncertain.

Survivors of childhood trauma experience high risk for depression. If they have high levels of SGK1 in their brain tissue, they’re at greater risk. Combined with genetic screening for the protein, SGK1 inhibitors could be a life-saving intervention.

One of the brain’s biggest benefits from exercise – the birth of new neurons – may not even require any movement. Instead, the beneficial “packages” circulating in the blood after working out can be successfully transferred to others.

A new review reveals finasteride users face higher risks of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Concerns about the drug's underreported mental health side effects prompt calls for stricter regulation.

Chronic stress can rewire the brain, leading to a host of mental health issues. Now, scientists believe that one small sugar-adding process may act as a switch for depression, providing new insights into mood disorders – and a new target to treat them.

A new study shows that a personalized, precise form of brain stimulation, HD-tDCS, can rapidly ease depression symptoms – and even reduce anxiety – offering a promising drug-free alternative with only mild side effects.

This year a clinical trial will test a drug combination designed to bring lasting relief for people with panic disorder – a condition that can upend daily life and be notoriously difficult to treat. No new medications have been approved since 2003.

If you feel your morning coffee puts a spring in your step, science has your back. In the first large-scale real-world study of its kind, researchers found that caffeine can significantly improve mood under certain conditions – especially in the morning.

Inflammation may predict how well people with diabetes respond to depression treatment, and the effects differ dramatically between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, according to a new study that offers a path towards personalized mental health care.

The fitness community regularly touts the health benefits of getting in 10,000 steps per day. But a new study says that a good deal fewer steps can still deliver significant benefits, including a 47% reduction in dying prematurely.

From St John’s wort to vitamin D, the range of over-the-counter supplements for mental health wellbeing continues to grow. Now, scientists have looked at 64 products reviewed in hundreds of studies to shed light on how useful they are for depression.

For the first time, a new study demonstrates that insomnia severity directly impacts ADHD traits and quality of life in adults. It calls for more attention to be paid to how treating sleep disorders can greatly improve wellbeing for people with ADHD.