NIMH: Success or Failure of Antidepressant Citalopram Predicted by Gene Variation

A variation in a gene called GRIK4 appears to make people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram (Celexa) than are people without the variation, a study by the NIMH has found. The increased likelihood was small, but when people had both this variation and one in a different gene shown to have a similarly small effect in an earlier study, they were 23 percent more likely to respond to citalopram than were people with neither variation. Results of the study are in the August issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Press release: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/press/grik4_gene_stard.cfm

NIMH: Faster-Acting Antidepressants Closer to Becoming a Reality—Experimental Medication Ketamine Relieves Depression in Just Hours—Points to Targets for New Medications

A new NIMH-funded study has revealed more about how the medication ketamine, when used experimentally for depression, relieves symptoms of the disorder in hours instead of the weeks or months it takes for current antidepressants to work. While ketamine itself probably won’t come into use as an antidepressant because of its side effects, the new finding moves scientists considerably closer to understanding how to develop faster-acting antidepressant medications. The study was reported online in Biological Psychiatry on July 23, 2007.

Press release: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/press/ketamine_2.cfm

NIMH: Improvement Following ADHD Treatment Sustained in Most Children— But Linked Problems Persist Into Adolescence—Major Follow-up Study

Most children treated in a variety of ways for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed sustained improvement after three years in a major follow-up study funded by NIMH. Yet increased risk for behavioral problems, including delinquency and substance use, remained higher than normal. The study followed-up children who had participated in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA).This report is among four on the outcome of the MTA study published in the August 2007 issue of Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Press release: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/press/mtafollowup.cfm

NIAID: First Genome-Wide Study of Infectious Disease Opens New Avenues for HIV Treatment, Vaccines

The first genome-wide association study of an infectious disease, conducted by an international group of researchers through the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI), has yielded a new understanding of why some people can suppress virus levels following HIV infection. Investigators identified three gene variants, two of which are linked to an infected person’s ability to control HIV viral load and a third that is implicated in disease progression to AIDS. The research was published by Science on the Science Express Web site on July 19, 2007. CHAVI was established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Press release: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jul2007/niaid-19.htm

SAMHSA Awards $2.88 Million to Link2Health Solutions to Manage National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded $2.8 million to Link2Health Solutions (L2HS), a subsidiary of the Mental Health Association of New York City, for a cooperative agreement to operate the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. L2HS will continue to manage, enhance and strengthen the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a network of more than 120 crisis centers across the U.S. that respond to more than 36,000 calls every month. The Lifeline serves as a central switchboard to immediately connect callers to a local crisis center that is geographically closest to the caller. The Lifeline is one of SAMHSA’s infrastructure programs that provide a solid foundation for delivering and sustaining effective mental health services.

Press release: http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/070727l2hs0703.aspx

CDC: New Study Finds Most Sports- and Rec