Health Buzz: Depression Gene Debunked and Other Health News

Depression Gene Gets Debunked

Researchers announced yesterday they could find no link between a particular gene and depression, contrary to an earlier, much-celebrated scientific finding, the New York Times reports. A 2003 study followed nearly 850 people from birth to age 26 and showed that those with a gene variant involved in the regulation of serotonin, a hormone in the brain that can affect mood, were more likely to get depressed if they were stressed. That finding got scientists, doctors, and patients excited to think researchers had found depression's cause and started them thinking about genetic tests for susceptibility to the disorder, according to the New York Times.

The new study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzed 14 studies that had tried to replicate the original results. Researchers found no evidence of an association between variants of the serotonin gene and patients' risk of depression. But a major stressful life event, like divorce or job loss, raised the risk of depression by 40 percent, the paper reported.

Check out these 4 health problems that depression can cause. And learn how to treat depression when medication doesn't work.

Throw Out Your Zicam and Rethink Other Alternative Cold Remedies

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that people should stop using popular over-the-counter cold remedies—Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel and Nasal Swabs—because those products could cause a long-lasting or permanent loss in sense of smell, a condition called anosmia. The FDA says it has received more than 130 reports from Zicam users who said their ability to smell became impaired—in some cases, after using the product only once. Zicam nasal swabs are a homeopathic product. The agency told its manufacturer, Matrixx Initiatives, to stop marketing Zicam unless it applies for a formal drug approval.

The warning about Zicam isn't the only bad news to hit nonprescription cold remedies lately. Earlier this month, researchers reported that older people taking common over-the-counter cold medicines like Benadryl and Tylenol PM may increase their risk for cognitive impairment. And echinacea, an herbal cold remedy, won't keep you from catching one, a study found. Consider these 7 tips on fighting off a cold.

ADHD Medication and Sudden Death: How to Avoid the Risk

Are the stimulant medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) safe enough for kids? To help answer that controversial question, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center examined the medical records of 1,128 children who died suddenly between 1985 and 1996. They found that children taking stimulants like Ritalin were seven times more likely to die than children who were not taking the drugs.

Very few children participating in the study were on stimulant drugs, making it likely that the results could be a misleading statistical fluke, U.S. News's Nancy Shute reported earlier this week. Yesterday Shute asked the study's author, Madelyn Gould, how parents should act if their children are taking stimulants for ADHD. Gould said parents should make sure their children's doctor is taking all the recommended steps to screen for the heart problems that have been linked in some cases to stimulant use. "Parents should take comfort in good clinical practice and not be reluctant to put their kids on medication," Gould said.

In March, Shute reported that ADHD drugs like Ritalin don't improve children's symptoms long term, a finding that emerged from the largest study to compare the benefits of medication with behavioral interventions. Learn these alternatives to medication for helping kids with ADHD.

—Megan Johnson

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