Physical and mental health are inextricably intertwined — senior-focused primary care can help bridge the treatment gap

The post Mental Health and Aging: The Role of Primary Care in Overcoming Barriers to Treatment appeared first on MedCity News.

Intra-Cellular Therapies reported its drug Caplyta met the main and secondary goals in the first of three pivotal studies in major depressive disorder. Success in two of them could support expanding the label of the drug, which is currently approved in schizophrenia and bipolar depression.

The post Depression Trial Win Moves Intra-Cellular Drug Closer to Label Expansion & Blockbuster Status appeared first on MedCity News.

Seaport Therapeutics’ drug candidates are delivered through the lymphatic system, an approach that could overcome some limitations of neuropsychiatric medicines, including products from Sage Therapeutics. The startup stems from the research of PureTech Health.

The post PureTech Startup Gets $100M to Try For Success Where Sage & Others Fall Short in Depression appeared first on MedCity News.

Alto Neuroscience will apply the IPO proceeds toward clinical tests of its psychiatric drugs in patients who exhibit certain biomarkers. The company’s two most advanced programs are depression drugs in mid-stage development.

The post Neuro Biotech Alto Adds $128M in IPO Cash for Biomarker-Based Psych Drugs appeared first on MedCity News.

An AI-driven app called juli improved symptoms of asthma and depression, two randomized controlled trials found. The app takes in data from electronic medical records, smartphones, wearable devices, the environment and patient questionnaires to provide personalized health recommendations.

The post Digital Health App Helps Asthma and Depression, 2 Trials Find appeared first on MedCity News.

Just 10% of women who had post-miscarriage depression during the pandemic received the “full spectrum of treatment” through therapy and antidepressants, according to a new report by Evernorth Research Institute.

The post Evernorth: More Women Experienced Post-Miscarriage Depression During Pandemic appeared first on MedCity News.

Less than 20% of behavioral healthcare providers collect data on how patients are progressing with their treatment. To buck this trend, Two Chairs is rolling out “mental health snapshots,” which are consistent summaries of patients’ well-being designed to offer real-time insight to both clinicians and clients.

The post Inside One Startup’s Effort to Make Mental Healthcare Progress Seem Less Subjective appeared first on MedCity News.

Lusaris Therapeutics launched with $60 million for clinical development of a psychedelic depression drug it claims will be easier to dose and fast-acting. The company was formed and incubated by RA Capital Management, which led the startup’s Series A round of financing.

The post For Neuro Biotech Lusaris, Depression Therapy Starts by Lifting the Tongue appeared first on MedCity News.

A Relmada Therapeutics drug candidate for major depressive disorder failed a Phase 3 clinical trial, but the biotech isn’t giving up on its pill yet. It’s pinning its hopes on additional studies testing the therapy as an additional treatment alongside other depression drugs.

The post ‘Paradoxical’ placebo response spells Phase 3 failure for Relmada depression drug appeared first on MedCity News.

In order to make an impact and improve physical and mental health, we need to recognize the need to approach loneliness as a condition. Building connections through social intervention is the most direct way to affect change.

The post Chronic loneliness is killing people: The solution is personal appeared first on MedCity News.

The FDA has approved Axsome Therapeutics drug Auvelity as a treatment for major depressive disorder in adults. The regulatory decision makes the twice-daily pill the first new oral drug approved to address a novel depression target in more than 60 years.

The post Better late than never? Axsome depression drug is approved a year after FDA delay appeared first on MedCity News.

Clinicians used to wonder if there was a role for mindfulness meditation in healthcare. But after the Covid-19 pandemic laid bare the overwhelming need for practical solutions in behavioral health, the question has shifted to what role it can play.

The post The role of mindfulness in healthcare from behavioral health to physical therapy appeared first on MedCity News.

Eleusis is developing a formulation of the psychedelic compound psilocybin that overcomes limitations of pill versions of the drug. Depression is Eleusis’s lead disease target but the biotech notes that its research has shown the potential to bring psychedelic drugs beyond psychiatry.

The post Psychedelic biotech Eleusis enters SPAC deal to take depression drug to the clinic appeared first on MedCity News.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services only recently gave the green light for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to provide a wider range of benefits that address social determinants of health. With that new charge, it’s time for health care payers to join the fight against loneliness.

The post Health plans can help combat the epidemic of loneliness for older Americans appeared first on MedCity News.

A study published by Verily researchers showed that some smartphone metrics, such as sentiment in weekly voice diaries, matched up with the severity of users’ depression as determined by PHQ-9 scores. Even if these technologies could be used to track mental health, it’s not clear how they will fit into physician workflows or how comfortable people will be using their smartphones in this way. 

The post Smartphones could be used to detect depression, Verily finds appeared first on MedCity News.

The company recently finished a study showing patients in the U.K. who used both Sleepio’s app and therapy saw improvements in anxiety and depression compared to people who used therapy alone. But the study also had several limitations. 

The post Big Health tests if insomnia app can help with anxiety, depression appeared first on MedCity News.

Happify is making its app-based treatment available to patients thanks to a loosened FDA guidance last year that lets digital health companies targeting some behavioral health conditions release their product without clearance. The company is launching an investigational study to get data for a future FDA submission.

The post Happify rolls out digital therapeutic for anxiety, depression under temporary FDA guidance appeared first on MedCity News.

A Sage Therapeutics depression drug that failed a pivotal study in 2019 has positive preliminary results from a new Phase 3 clinical trial, but the data also showed the therapy’s effects waned over time. Questions about zuranolone’s durability are relevant to Biogen, which committed $1.5 billion to Sage in large part due to the drug’s potential in multiple psychiatric indications.

The post While Sage Therapeutics sees a window for depression drug, market is skeptical appeared first on MedCity News.

Healthcare staff are working through immense loss, grief and uncertainty to provide care during the Covid-19 pandemic. As organizations think about how to support their staff, speakers at a MedCity INVEST panel said they must first talk about it openly and provide a safe space for workers to discuss their feelings.

The post To help tackle healthcare worker burnout, start talking about it appeared first on MedCity News.

It may seem intuitive to avoid telehealth or remote care to avoid increased liability and malpractice exposure. But remote behavioral health assessment tools, real-time data-driven insights, and adaptive treatment plans are actually the things that protect clinicians from civil liability in instances of patient suicide.

The post Suicide and the malpractice myth appeared first on MedCity News.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical is partnering with Click Therapeutics to launch a remote clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of digital therapeutics in reducing depressive symptoms.

The post Otsuka launches pivotal trial of digital therapeutics for depression appeared first on MedCity News.

The Pennsylvania-based insurer is offering members using its small group products access to the NeuroFlow app, which provides self-guided activities to combat mental health issues.

The post Capital BlueCross provides members access to mental health app appeared first on MedCity News.

The Covid mental health crisis curve stands to cataclysmically increase the number of deaths associated with the pandemic.

The post Covid’s mental health crisis curve appeared first on MedCity News.

Alphabet’s “moonshot” subsidiary X shared that it failed to find a single biomarker for depression and anxiety. But the company still plans to make its research, which included developing portable EEGs, available to the public.

The post Google’s sister company didn’t succeed in search for depression biomarker appeared first on MedCity News.

The Administration for Community Living, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is taking steps to establish a National Volunteer Care Corps.

The post Drumbeat builds for a Peace Corps of caregivers appeared first on MedCity News.

Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics’ GeneSight screening analyzes specific genes as a way to predict the effectiveness of 56 common medications for depression.

The post UnitedHealthcare starts coverage of Myriad Genetics’ genomic depression test appeared first on MedCity News.

The company’s cell phone-sized device delivers low-level electric stimulation to the trigeminal nerve through a patch placed on a patient’s forehead. 

The post NeuroSigma wins FDA nod for first non-drug ADHD treatment appeared first on MedCity News.

Based on the literature review conducted by the researchers, only 14 percent of top ranked behavioral health apps described design or development that was based on real-world evidence.

The post Research shows most consumer behavioral health apps have no scientific backing appeared first on MedCity News.

An analyst said the news could negatively affect shares of a successor to the company that developed rapastinel – which Allergan bought in 2015 – given that its drugs belong to the same class.

The post Clinical trials of Allergan’s antidepressant rapastinel fail appeared first on MedCity News.

The drug, a reformulation of ketamine, was approved for patients who have failed on other antidepressants. The original form of ketamine, approved as an anesthetic, has long been explored as a treatment for depression.

The post FDA approves J&J’s Spravato as first novel antidepressant in decades appeared first on MedCity News.