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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
The Relationship Between Body Mass Index And Depression In College Students, Bryn Kable
The Relationship Between Body Mass Index And Depression In College Students, Bryn Kable
CMC Senior Theses
College student mental health has seen a serious decline over the last decade (Esaki-Smith, 2022). One factor that has been linked to both physical and mental disorders is obesity. A common way to operationalize weight is through body mass index (BMI) (Ilman et al., 2015). There is evidence that BMI and depression are correlated linearly in that individuals with higher BMIs have higher levels of depression (Badillo et al., 2022; Simon et al., 2008). The exact mechanisms of this relationship are still generally unknown; thus, the goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between BMI and depression in …
Putative Mechanisms Underlying The Antidepressant Actions Of Ketamine: A Review And Study Proposal, Tristan Reece
Putative Mechanisms Underlying The Antidepressant Actions Of Ketamine: A Review And Study Proposal, Tristan Reece
CMC Senior Theses
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a highly debilitating and common psychiatric disorder that affects over 250 million people globally; it is among the most financially and emotionally burdensome illnesses in the world. Currently approved antidepressants are suboptimal in their efficacy and latency of therapeutic action. In contrast, single administrations of sub-anesthetic ketamine have been shown to rapidly alleviate depressive symptoms within hours, even in treatment-resistant patients. Ketamine is believed to exert these effects by increasing glutamatemediated neurotransmission and promoting rapid neurotrophic factor release, restoring the integrity of neural circuits that are compromised in depression. However, uncertainty surrounding its specific antidepressant …
A Link Between Gut Microbes & Depression: Microbial Activation Of The Human Kynurenine Pathway, Christina Cobb
A Link Between Gut Microbes & Depression: Microbial Activation Of The Human Kynurenine Pathway, Christina Cobb
CMC Senior Theses
Our gut microbiota is involved in human development, nutrition, and the pathogenesis of gut disorders, but has more recently been implicated as a possible mechanism in the pathophysiology of several brain disorders, including disorders of mood and affect, such as depression. Researchers have referred to this dynamic, bidirectional signaling pathway between the gut and the brain as the “gut-brain axis.” However, most research on this axis has been limited to rodent studies, and there has been little insight into the mechanism behind it. I propose that the kynurenine pathway, where tryptophan is converted to kynurenine, is a compelling mechanism mediating …