Pharmacological - Psychosocial - Neurostimulation - Exercise
Housed within the Department of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center, the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care has one of the strongest programs in the nation for mood disorders research and treatment.
Our primary areas of interest are:
- Neurobiology and psychopharmacology of depression and bipolar disorders
- Evidence-based psychopharmacology and treatment algorithms in mood disorders
- Functional brain imaging in major depressive and obsessive-compulsive disorders
Pioneering Research in Mood Disorders
A depressive disorder is a whole-body illness that involves the way we think, feel, and behave, and can even affect our physical health. While occasionally experiencing a “blue” mood or feelings of unhappiness is not an indication of a depressive disorder, it is important to understand that people who do meet the criteria for a depressive illness most often cannot get better on their own.
Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or even years. During one year, nearly 19 million American adults suffer from a depressive illness. Appropriate treatment, however, can help people who suffer from depression achieve partial or total remission in nearly 80% of cases.
- Causes of depression remain unknown.
- There are no reliable laboratory tests for diagnosis.
- Individuals who suffer from depression are often placed in a single, broad category.
- Choosing effective treatments is historically imprecise and largely based on a trial-and-error approach, cycling patients through multiple therapeutics or interventions before finding an effective treatment.
- STAR*D: The first study examining the effectiveness of treatments for treatment-resistant depression
- CO-MED: The first study examining the combination of medication and monotherapy
- TrEAD, DOSE, STRIDE: Major exercise studies in the treatment of mood disorders
- TORDIA and TADS: Pivotal studies in adolescent depression
- EMBARC: First large-scale biomarker evaluation study
Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response for Clinical Care for Depression (EMBARC) is the largest study to date to examine a full spectrum of clinical and biological markers for depression treatment response. N=309 with MDD and 40 healthy controls
For more than two decades, Dr. Madhukar Trivedi and his colleagues at UT Southwestern have conducted cutting-edge research to improve the treatment of depression. Through scientific research and rigorous peer review, we have expanded our understanding of depression. Key findings are improving the way physicians diagnose and treat this disease.
The Texas-Resilience Against Depression (T-RAD) program collects genetic, clinical, demographic, behavioral, and biological information from individuals at risk and those who have been diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder. Through this 10-year program of 5,000 people, we hope to determine how best to treat and reduce the risk of mood disorders.
Built on a quarter-century of research in mood disorders, the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care (CDRC) was established in 2015 to realize a future free from the burden of depression. In the last seven years, our Center has demonstrated its impact in lives changed. We have led research into new treatments, including brain and blood tests, for depression and suicide. We have established evidence-based programs that transform our ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat depression. Critically, we have built networks and established research-driven programs that extend our reach to adolescents; addressing youth depression and suicide with mental health promotion and resilience training that encourages a conversation long overdue. We have witnessed the difference our efforts make for people with mental disorders and their families. Such results speak to the value of the work to which we have dedicated ourselves.
Developing a Biosignature for Depression
The Texas-Resilience Against Depression (T-RAD) program collects genetic, clinical, demographic, behavioral, and biological information from individuals at risk and those who have been diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder. Through this 10-year program of 5,000 people, we hope to determine how best to treat and reduce the risk of mood disorders.
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Furthering Research into Suicide Prevention
Our priorities at the CDRC include studying biomarkers related to youth suicide risk and more effective ways to treat suicidal ideation and behavior. To further this goal of reducing adolescent suicidality, our team has received two grants from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
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Improving Depression Screening for Better Care
The Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network is a research initiative of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC), which was created by the 86th Texas Legislature. The purpose of this research network is to improve the evaluation of and response to the increasing problem of youth depression and suicide in Texas.
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Demystifying Depression Through Discovery
The Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care has one vision: a future free from the burden of depression. More than a center, we are a community of committed faculty and staff, collaborators, clinicians, research participants, and community partners, as well as, the donors and advocates who are critical to our mission.