Comorbid depression and anxiety effects on pregnancy and neonatal outcome.

The effects of comorbid depression and anxiety were compared to the effects of depression alone and anxiety alone on pregnancy mood states and biochemistry and on neonatal outcomes in a large multi-ethnic sample. At the prenatal period the comorbid and depressed groups had higher scores than the other groups on the depression measure. But, the comorbid group had higher anxiety, anger and daily hassles scores than the other groups, and they had lower dopamine levels.

Depressed pregnant black women have a greater incidence of prematurity and low birthweight outcomes.

Pregnant black depressed women were compared to pregnant black non-depressed women on self-report stress measures and cortisol levels at mid and late pregnancy and on neonatal outcomes. The depressed women had higher anxiety, anger, daily hassles, sleep disturbance scores and cortisol levels at both prenatal visits. These higher stress levels may have contributed to the greater incidence of prematurity and low birthweight neonatal outcomes noted in the depressed group, and they may partially explain the higher rate of prematurity and low birthweight among black women.

Prenatal dopamine and neonatal behavior and biochemistry.

Depressed pregnant women (N=126) were divided into high and low prenatal maternal dopamine (HVA) groups based on a tertile split on their dopamine levels at 20 weeks gestation. The high versus the low dopamine group had lower Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) scores, higher norepinephrine levels at the 20-week gestational age visit and higher dopamine and serotonin levels at both the 20- and the 32-week gestational age visits. The neonates of the mothers with high versus low prenatal dopamine levels also had higher dopamine and serotonin levels as well as lower cortisol levels.

Prenatal depression restricts fetal growth.

Objective: To identify whether prenatal depression is a risk factor for fetal growth restriction.

Methods: Midgestation (18-20 weeks GA) estimated fetal weight and urine cortisol and birthweight and gestational age at birth data were collected on a sample of 40 depressed and 40 non-depressed women. Estimated fetal weight and birthweight data were then used to compute fetal growth rates.

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 increased in preterm neonates following massage therapy.

Objective: To determine if massage therapy increased serum insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in preterm neonates.

Study Design: Forty-two preterm neonates who averaged 34.6 weeks (M = 29.

Prenatal serotonin and neonatal outcome: brief report.

In a study on prenatal dopamine and its association with depression and other neurotransmitters, serotonin was a confounding variable (Field, Diego, Hernandez-Reif, Figueiredo, Deeds et al., 2007). Serotonin has long been associated with depression (Cubala & Landwski, 2006; Neumeister, 2003; Neumeister, Young, & Stastny, 2004).

Childhood socioeconomic status and serotonin transporter gene polymorphism enhance cardiovascular reactivity to mental stress.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that low socioeconomic status (SES) and the 5HTTLPR L allele are associated with increased cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress in a larger sample and that SES and 5HTTLPR genotypes interact to enhance CVR to stress. CVR to mental stress has been proposed as one mechanism linking stress to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. The more transcriptionally efficient long (L) allele of a polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene promoter (5HTTLPR) has been found associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction.

Lavender bath oil reduces stress and crying and enhances sleep in very young infants.

Very young infants were given a bath with or without lavender-scented bath oil. The mothers in the lavender bath oil group were more relaxed, smiled and touched their infants more during the bath. Their infants looked at them a greater percentage of the bath time and cried less and spent more time in deep sleep after bath.

Chronic prenatal depression and neonatal outcome.

Four hundred and thirty pregnant women were recruited at approximately 22 weeks gestation at prenatal clinics. Of these, 86 (20%) were diagnosed as depressed. The women were seen again at approximately 32 weeks gestation and after delivery.

Prenatal dysthymia versus major depression effects on maternal cortisol and fetal growth.

To determine differences between pregnant women diagnosed with Dysthymia versus Major Depression, depressed pregnant women (N=102) were divided by their diagnosis into Dysthymic (N=48) and Major Depression (N=54) groups and compared on self-report measures (depression, anxiety, anger, daily hassles and behavioral inhibition), on stress hormone levels (cortisol and norepinephrine), and on fetal measurements. The Major Depression group had more self-reported symptoms. However, the Dysthymic group had higher prenatal cortisol levels and lower fetal growth measurements (estimated weight, femur length, abdominal circumference) as measured at their first ultrasound (M=18 weeks gestation).

Sleep disturbances in depressed pregnant women and their newborns.

Pregnant women (N=253) were recruited during their second trimester of pregnancy (M=22.3 weeks gestation) and assigned to depressed (N=83) and non-depressed groups based on a SCID diagnosis of depression. They were then given self-report measures on sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety and anger, and their urine was assayed for norepinephrine and cortisol.

Prenatal cortisol, prematurity and low birthweight.

Three hundred depressed pregnant women were recruited at approximately 20 weeks gestation. They were then divided by a median split into high and low urinary cortisol level groups. The high cortisol group had higher CES-D depression scores and higher inhibition (BIS) scores prenatally.

Stability of mood states and biochemistry across pregnancy.

Four hundred and thirty pregnant women were recruited during their second trimester of pregnancy (M=20 weeks). They were designated depressed (N=172) or nondepressed (N=258) on the Structured Clinical Interview of Depression (SCID) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D). They were given a second assessment when they were approximately 32 weeks gestational age.

Maternal psychological distress, prenatal cortisol, and fetal weight.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the effects of maternal psychological distress on estimated fetal weight during midgestation and explore the maternal hypothalamic-pituitary axis and sympathoadrenal dysregulation as potential risk factors for these effects.

Methods: Fetal ultrasound biometry measurements and maternal sociodemographic characteristics, emotional distress symptoms, and first morning urine samples were collected during a clinical ultrasound examination for a cross-sectional sample of 98 women who were between 16 and 29 weeks pregnant. Fetal weight was estimated from ultrasound biometry measurements; maternal emotional distress was assessed using the daily hassles (stress), Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (depression), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (anxiety) scales; and urine samples were assayed for cortisol and norepinephrine levels.

Anorexia nervosa symptoms are reduced by massage therapy.

Nineteen women (M age = 26) diagnosed with anorexia nervosa were given standard treatment alone or standard treatment plus massage therapy twice per week for five weeks. The massage group reported lower stress and anxiety levels and had lower cortisol (stress) hormone levels following massage. Over the five-week treatment period, they also reported decreases in body dissatisfaction on the Eating Disorder Inventory and showed increased dopamine and norepinephrine levels.

Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy.

In this article the positive effects of massage therapy on biochemistry are reviewed including decreased levels of cortisol and increased levels of serotonin and dopamine. The research reviewed includes studies on depression (including sex abuse and eating disorder studies), pain syndrome studies, research on auto-immune conditions (including asthma and chronic fatigue), immune studies (including HIV and breast cancer), and studies on the reduction of stress on the job, the stress of aging, and pregnancy stress. In studies in which cortisol was assayed either in saliva or in urine, significant decreases were noted in cortisol levels (averaging decreases 31%).

Natural killer cells and lymphocytes increase in women with breast cancer following massage therapy.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer received massage therapy or practiced progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) for 30-min sessions 3 times a week for 5 weeks or received standard treatment. The massage therapy and relaxation groups reported less depressed mood, anxiety, and pain immediately after their first and last sessions. By the end of the study, however, only the massage therapy group reported being less depressed and less angry and having more vigor.

Massage therapy effects on depressed pregnant women.

Eighty-four depressed pregnant women were recruited during the second trimester of pregnancy and randomly assigned to a massage therapy group, a progressive muscle relaxation group or a control group that received standard prenatal care alone. These groups were compared to each other and to a non-depressed group at the end of pregnancy. The massage therapy group participants received two 20 min therapy sessions by their significant others each week for 16 weeks of pregnancy, starting during the second trimester.

Prenatal maternal biochemistry predicts neonatal biochemistry.

Depressed (n = 45) and nondepressed (n = 47) mothers were recruited prenatally at an ultrasound clinic. Their urine samples were assayed for cortisol, catecholamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine) and serotonin. Their urines were assayed again at the neonatal period, and their newborns' urines were also assayed at that time.

Breast cancer patients have improved immune and neuroendocrine functions following massage therapy.

Objectives: Women with breast cancer are at risk for elevated depression, anxiety, and decreased natural killer (NK) cell number. Stress has been linked to increased tumor development by decreasing NK cell activity. The objectives of this study included examining massage therapy for women with breast cancer for (1) improving mood and biological measures associated with mood enhancement (serotonin, dopamine), (2) reducing stress and stress hormone levels, and (3) boosting immune measures.

Prepartum, postpartum, and chronic depression effects on newborns.

In order to assess the effects of the onset and chronicity of maternal depression on neonatal physiology, eighty pregnant women were assessed for depression during mid-pregnancy (M gestational age = 25.9 weeks) and shortly after delivery. The women were classified as reporting depressive symptoms 1) only during the prepartum assessment; 2) only during the postpartum assessment; 3) during both the prepartum and postpartum assessments; or 4) reporting no depressive symptoms at either the prepartum or the postpartum assessment.

Massage therapy improves mood and behavior of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

In the present study, 30 students between the ages of 7 and 18 years (M = 13 years) diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were randomly assigned to a massage group or a wait-list control group. The massage group received massage therapy for 20 minutes twice per week over the course of one month. The results revealed that massage therapy benefited students with ADHD by improving short-term mood state and longer-term classroom behavior.

Pregnancy anxiety and comorbid depression and anger: effects on the fetus and neonate.

One hundred sixty-six women were classified as experiencing high or low anxiety during the second trimester of pregnancy. The high anxiety women also had high scores on depression and anger scales. In a follow-up across pregnancy, the fetuses of the high anxiety women were noted to be more active and to experience growth delays.

PKC alpha mediates maternal touch regulation of growth-related gene expression in infant rats.

During short-term periods of separation of rat pups from their mothers, the loss of certain sensory signals suppresses the increase in ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) gene expression induced by the growth-promoting hormones prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH). Here, we identify a molecular mechanism through which maternal separation (MS) curtails ODC expression. Our results demonstrate that the absence of specific tactile stimuli provided by the mother limits PRL-evoked stimulation of ODC biosynthesis by interfering with sn-1,2-diacylglycerol's (DAG) ability to activate protein kinase Calpha (PKCalpha) and consequently c-myc mRNA and max mRNA expression.

Serotonin-related gene polymorphisms and central nervous system serotonin function.

Central nervous system (CNS) serotonergic function affects a wide range of biological and behavioral functions affecting health and disease. Our objective in this study was to determine whether functional polymorphisms of the genes that encode for the serotonin transporter promoter (5HTTLPR) and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA-uVNTR) are associated with CNS serotonin turnover-indexed by cerebrospinal fluid levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA)-in a community sample of healthy adults. Subjects were 165 community volunteers without current medical or psychiatric illness, stratified with respect to ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status who underwent inpatient evaluation in the General Clinical Research Center of a university medical center.