Major Depressive Disorder

A mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.

Possible causes include a combination of biological, psychological, and social sources of distress. Increasingly, research suggests these factors may cause changes in brain function, including altered activity of certain neural circuits in the brain.

The persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest that characterizes major depression can lead to a range of behavioral and physical symptoms. These may include changes in sleep, appetite, energy level, concentration, daily behavior, or self-esteem. Depression can also be associated with thoughts of suicide.

The mainstay of treatment is usually medication, talk therapy, or a combination of the two. Increasingly, research suggests these treatments may normalize brain changes associated with depression.

Cluster Number:
Wiki Number: PW115
Diagnosis: Major Depressive Disorder
US Patients:
World Patients: 163 Mil; 2% of world population
Sex Ratio: M;W2
Age Onset: 20s-30s; The average duration is 23 weeks, with three more during lifetime. ½ of patients will not have another episode.
Brain Area: 102 variations in the genome linked to depression; There is an extensive description of possible brain affects on depression.
Symptoms: Has at least two weeks of depressive mood; inability to enjoy pleasure; rumination; reduced sex drive, insomnia and hypersomnia
Progression: weight and appetite may be low; fatigue, social withdrawal, suicidal thoughts; delusions or sometimes hallucinations
Causes: 40%-hereditary; response to stressors, childhood abuse. The article claims general physicians miss 2/3 of depression diagnoses.
Medications: Antidepressants-for the deeply depressed; electroconvulsive therapy
Therapies: Counseling; transcranial magnetic stimulation, light therapy, exercise, light therapy,

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Section 12.04.

4 CURRENT ARTICLES
FROM PUBMED

The world-wide medical research
reports chosen for each diagnosis

Clicking each title opens the
PubMed article’s summary-abstract.

Sex differences in prevalence and clinical correlates of subclinical hypothyroidism in Chinese patients with first-episode untreated major depressive disorder
by Junqiang Cui on January 22, 2025
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal a higher prevalence rate of moderate-to-severe SCH in female untreated first-episode MDD patients compared with males. Moreover, there is a positive association between suicide attempts and moderate-to-severe SCH only in female MDD patients.
Combined T1-weighted MRI and diffusion MRI tractography of paraventricular, locus coeruleus, and dorsal vagal complex connectivity in brainstem-hypothalamic nuclei
by Nikos Makris on January 22, 2025
CONCLUSION: NE and E neurotransmitter systems engender substantial interest in both basic and clinical neuroscience due to their roles in the regulation of key autonomic functions, such as cardiovascular and respiratory control, stress responses, and cognitive and emotional behaviors. As demonstrated in this study, multimodal neuroimaging techniques provide a valuable approach for mapping small brainstem and hypothalamic structures and complex circuitries such as the DVC-LC-PVN circuitry.
Engineering EVs-Mediated mRNA Delivery Regulates Microglia Function and Alleviates Depressive-Like Behaviors
by Kezhen Ge on January 22, 2025
The development of new non-neurotransmitter drugs is an important supplement to the clinical treatment of major depressive disorder. The latest development of mRNA therapy provides the possibility for the treatment of some major diseases. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria constitute a highly interconnected set of fundamental organelles within cells. The interconnection between them forms specific microdomains that play pivotal roles in calcium signaling, mitochondrial dynamics,...
Poor self-reported sleep is associated with prolonged white matter T2 relaxation in psychotic disorders
by Umit Haluk Yesilkaya on January 22, 2025
CONCLUSION: Our results highlight the connection between poor sleep and WM abnormalities in psychotic disorders. Future research using objective sleep measures and neuroimaging techniques suitable to probe free water is needed to further our insight into this relationship.