'Circadian depression': a body-clock subtype hiding in one in four severe cases

Some people's depression has been resisting the standard medicines for a reason nobody had named. Analysing clinical and genetic data from more than 10,000 Australians, researchers at the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre have identified a distinct subtype they call circadian depression — depression tangled up with the body's 24-hour clock. First author Dr Emiliana Tonini says it accounts for nearly a quarter of severe, recurrent or persistent depression in the study, responds poorly to serotonin antidepressants, and better to melatonin, light therapy and treatments that reset daily timing. Published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the finding gives thousands of people an explanation — and a more promising direction — after years of 'treatment-resistant' labels.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation