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Germany International Students: 46% Depression, 47% Anxiety

MHD featured image for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and acculturative stress among international students.

A 2026 survey of 327 international students in Germany found high symptom burden: 46.5% screened positive for moderate-to-severe depression, 46.8% for moderate-to-severe anxiety, and 31.2% endorsed recent death or self-harm thoughts on PHQ-9 item 9. Only 10.9% of students with moderate-to-severe depression and/or anxiety reported professional help.1 Research Highlights 327 international students were surveyed: Karing …

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Chronic Stress Increased Mouse D1 and D2 Dopamine Receptors

Stylized striatal dopamine receptor map in a mouse stress model, highlighting widespread D1 receptor binding increases and selective D2 changes after chronic mild stress.

Chronic stress is a candidate mechanism for both depression and addiction risk. A 2026 mouse study found that 28 days of unpredictable chronic mild stress increased striatal dopamine D1 receptor binding by 22–48% across nearly every region examined, plus more selective D2 receptor increases — pointing to a stress-driven shift in reward signaling that may …

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Cholestatic Liver Injury Alters Thalamus Fatigue Genes

MHD featured image for cholestatic liver disease, thalamus changes, fatigue, and TNF signaling.

A 2026 mouse study linked cholestatic liver injury to smaller thalamic volume than control injury-free mice, broad thalamus gene-expression changes, and partial pathway rescue after systemic tumor necrosis factor neutralization. Research Highlights Thalamic volume decreased: bile duct ligation (BDL; a mouse model of obstructive cholestatic liver injury) reduced thalamic volume vs. sham surgery by magnetic …

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Complex PTSD Therapy Helped Affect Regulation Most

A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials found no broad superiority for phase-based complex PTSD care across most outcomes. Affect dysregulation was the clearest exception, improving more when treatment was phase-based, multi-phase, and exposure-containing. Research Highlights Most therapy formats helped: across waitlist and treatment-as-usual comparisons, psychological interventions reduced PTSD symptoms (k = 9; …

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Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Reduced Healthcare-Worker Anxiety in 68-Person Trial

MHD featured image for yoga, Bhagavad Gita teaching, and healthcare-worker anxiety.

A 68-person randomized trial in Indian healthcare workers found a narrow but useful pattern: combined yoga plus Bhagavad Gita teaching beat usual care immediately on GAD-7 anxiety scores (p = 0.009), while Gita teaching alone beat usual care at 45 days (p = 0.047).1 Yoga alone improved within its own arm, but it did not …

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