Depression stalls new neuron growth, brain study finds
A Columbia team mapped nearly half a million cells from donated human hippocampus tissue and found that in major depressive disorder, new neurons start forming but fail to mature.

Dr. Ravi Kumar is a board-certified neurosurgeon who left the operating room to explore the questions that matter most about your health.
Listen to the PodcastEvery week, I cut through the noise of health headlines and marketing claims to bring you what the research actually says. No dogma, no agenda, just an honest look at the science that shapes how you live, heal, and thrive.
Put 100 people with no symptoms into a modern cardiac CT with AI plaque analysis and only about 1% come out completely clean. Dr. Ravi Kumar sits down with preventative cardiologist Dr. John Osborne to explain why a calcium score only sees the extinct volcano and misses the lava, why 10 to 50% of people with a zero score still carry significant soft plaque, how plaque volume is staged in cubic millimeters, why plaque burden shows no correlation with LDL, ApoB, or Lp(a), and what an evidence based plan to actually reverse plaque looks like.
View full episode →
Dr. Ravi Kumar is a board-certified neurosurgeon and assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of North Carolina. After years in the operating room, a transformative sabbatical in India changed how he saw medicine forever.
Now, through The Dr. Kumar Discovery, he explores the intersection of modern science, traditional wisdom, and the questions most doctors never think to ask.
Read the full storyA Columbia team mapped nearly half a million cells from donated human hippocampus tissue and found that in major depressive disorder, new neurons start forming but fail to mature.
A 376,511-person Swedish cohort found that people who returned their mailed stool kit had 43% lower colorectal cancer mortality, while everyone who was merely invited had 26% lower mortality, and the difference between those two numbers is behavior, not biology.
Federal officials traced an unusual two-pathogen outbreak to Calco and Everything Sprouts brand alfalfa sprouts, which the grower is now recalling.
★★★★★"So glad I found this podcast. Dr. Kumar doesn't want you to just mask symptoms, he wants you to understand root causes and help you truly heal. He is the best of both worlds - he shares a wealth of modern medical knowledge, but also empowers the listeners to take personal responsibility for their health."
cngggggggggg
★★★★★"I love this podcast! It's smart and covers the science in very accessible ways. After each episode I feel empowered to make some changes in my life. Thanks, Dr. Kumar!"
Dr Kumar Review
★★★★★"Dr Kumar's podcasts have been such a great find! As an OR nurse I have worked with neurosurgeons for years. I found the podcasts to be informative, easy to follow and just the right length."
NRRN66
Reviews from Apple Podcasts