Options include psychotherapy, drugs, and dietary supplements.

Only one-third of adult patients newly diagnosed with major depression achieve complete relief of symptoms after taking one antidepressant. These remission rates apply even when patients take "newer" antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

When a first drug fails, three next-step options exist: switching to a new medication, augmenting the first drug with one that acts in a different way, or augmenting drug treatment with psychotherapy.

Augmentation is generally considered the best option when a first drug provides partial relief but does not completely alleviate symptoms. ...

Acupuncture studies provide new insights into how treatment context affects outcomes.

In scientific studies, the term placebo usually refers to an inert pill or procedure that serves as a comparison to an active intervention (typically a drug or psychotherapy). Now a handful of acupuncture studies not only provides additional evidence that a placebo itself can have dramatic impact on illness, but also suggest that the context in which an intervention takes place can bolster the placebo response.

The nature of the placebo response — and whether it even exists — has been the subject of scientific discussion for decades. In ...

 

Insomnia and other sleep problems may worsen symptoms of ADHD; treatment options exist.

Parents and clinicians report that sleep problems affect 25% to 50% of children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The most typical problems include bedtime resistance and difficulty falling asleep.

Studies using objective measures of sleep quality have produced inconsistent results, however. For example, studies using an actigraph, a lightweight monitor that people can use at home, have found that sleep in youths with ADHD is similar to that of other youths when it comes to parameters such as sleep onset, duration, and quality. ...

Researchers studying the effects of chemotherapy on thinking and cognitive ability believe there are several possible sources for the impairment.

Q. Recently I've been staying up until 3 or 4 in the morning to work on my oil paintings. I know I should feel tired, but I don't. One of my friends said that I might be hypomanic. What is that?

A. Hypomania is usually described as a mood state or energy level that is elevated above normal, but not so extreme as to cause impairment — the most important characteristic distinguishing it from mania. In fact, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for hypomania and mania are almost identical.

The word hypomanic tends ...