Mental Disorders


Circadian Depression Subtype Linked to More Severe Symptoms and Poorer Antidepressant Response

A circadian subtype of depression is associated with earlier disease onset, more severe clinical features, poorer response to commonly prescribed antidepressants, and a distinct genetic risk profile. In a nationwide Australian Genetics of Depression Study, 2,604 participants (23%) met criteria for this subtype, defined by at least three circadian-associated features, […]


Early Brain Ageing Linked to the Gut–Brain Axis

Higher functional-connectivity-derived brain age deviation was consistently associated with poorer cognitive performance—particularly working memory and executive function—and greater depressive symptoms in young and mid-life adults, while also showing links to gut microbial and metabolic signatures. In a discovery cohort of 674 participants, with replication in a cohort of 444 and […]


Domain-Specific Physical Activity and Dementia Risk

Higher levels of physical activity were associated with lower risks of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia, but the associations differed substantially by physical activity domain. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, 74 cohort and case–control studies involving 4,227,297 participants were analyzed, with a median follow-up of 10.0 years. […]


WHO Dementia Prevention Guidelines Updated

To reduce the risk of cognitive decline and/or dementia specifically, the WHO just released updated guidance and dementia-specific recommendations: cognitive training may be offered to older adults with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment and engagement in cognitive stimulation may be encouraged. Engagement in social activity interventions may be recommended. […]


Salivary Cortisol Patterns May Indicate Cognitive Aging

Older adults with higher cumulative daily cortisol levels experienced faster cognitive decline, while healthier day-to-day cortisol variability was linked to slower decline, suggesting that salivary cortisol may serve as an early biomarker of cognitive aging, although it was not associated with short-term Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk. In this US prospective […]


Ketogenic Diet Beneficial in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

A randomized controlled trial found that a ketogenic diet significantly improved metabolic health, cognitive performance, and psychiatric symptoms in people with schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar I disorders, with improvements in depressive symptoms linked to ketosis rather than weight loss. In this study, 58 outpatients were randomized to either a ketogenic diet […]