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Depression & Mental Health FAQs
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated 40 million Americans living today will suffer from major depressive illness during their lives. Seasonal affective disorder is major depression that appears in the fall or winter and goes away in spring, thought to be caused by lack of sunlight.
Postpartum depression occurs within four weeks of a women giving childbirth. Most new mothers suffer from some form of the �baby blues.� Postpartum depression, by contrast, is major depression, thought to be triggered by changes in hormonal flows associated with childbirth. Catatonic depression is a rare form of major depression characterized by (at least two): Stupor, excessive motor activity, extreme negativism, peculiarities in voluntary movement, and repetition of other people's words or actions. - mcmanweb.com
Psychotic depression is a rare form of depression characterized by delusions or hallucinations, such as believing you are someone you are not and hearing voices.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the US population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder. Depression is a chronic illness that exacts a significant toll on
America's health and productivity. It affects more than 21 million
American children and adults annually and is the leading cause of
disability in the United States for individuals ages 15 to 44.
Lost productive time among U.S. workers due to depression is estimated
to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently
co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease,
cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status
and prognosis. It is also the principal cause of the 30,000 suicides
in the U.S. each year. In 2004, suicide was the 11 th leading cause of death in the United States, third among individuals 15-24.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is presently on track to becoming the world's second-most disabling disease (after heart disease) by the year 2020. Depression is responsible for some $87 billion a year in lost productivity in the US (a conservative estimate), and according to Bank One, is responsible for most lost work days in its employees after pregnancy and childbirth. Additionally, one million people worldwide die by their own hand, most as a result of a mood disorder. Finally, the linkage between depression and a host of physical illnesses makes it arguably the world's greatest killer.
Research presented at the 56th Annual Conference of the Canadian
Psychiatric Association shows a marked link between bipolar disorder
and migraines. The odds of migraine in persons with bipolar disorder were 40% higher than the general population. Data
obtained from 36,984 people aged 15 and over, who screened positive for
manic or depressive episodes with migraine, were compared against those
who screened positive for mania but who didn�t suffer from migraines. Amongst
males, 14.9% of those with manic episodes were also diagnosed with
migraines compared with 5.8% of the general population. Amongst
females, 34.7% had both migraines and bipolar disorder compared with
14.7% who only had migraines.unquote.gif While the research was
skewed towards persons who were already diagnosed with bipolar
disorders, what does it mean for people who suffer from migraines but
who may have an undiagnosed bipolar disorder?
Migraines and headaches aren�t fully understood but the manifestations are very real and debilitating for their sufferers: Throbbing pain Nausea Heightened sensitivity to light or sound Seeing dots, wavy lines, flashing lights, or blind spots Difficulty with speech, sensation, or movement
An estimated 2.1 million
American adolescents have experienced major depression within the last
year, according to a new comprehensive government study. Researchers
surveyed more than 67,000 young people ages 12 to 17 and found that one
in 12 had suffered from serious depression in the previous year.Nearly
13 percent of girls had struggled with depression, compared to less
than 5 percent of boys. Odds of depression increased with age -- just 4
percent of 12-year-olds experienced depression but that climbed to 11
percent for older teens.
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The Future of Depression Treatments
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Better Diagnostic Tools
Currently mood disorders are diagnosed based upon a patient's symptoms and history, but what if we could perform a lab test that would detect depression? This very thing may be available in the future.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other imaging tools have produced several provocative findings. Views of the subcortical white matter in bipolar patients, especially elderly ones, reveal an unexpectedly high number of bright spots in certain brain regions known to be involved in mood. Also, the volume of various brain structures is reduced in long-term sufferers of depression. Among these is the hippocampus, a part of the limbic system (involved in emotion and memory). This finding is consistent with animal data suggesting that chronic oversecretion of cortisol, as occurs in many depressed individuals, can destroy hippocampal cells.1
Positron emission tomography (PET) has shown that patients with major depression compared with normal persons show different patterns of activity in several limbic and cortical brain areas. In addition, one PET analysis revealed that increased activity in a region of the limbic system--the amygdala of the left hemisphere--might be an indicator of heightened vulnerability to future depression.2
Functional imaging technology can also be used to examine the concentrations of neurotransmitters, so that densities of those molecules can be compared. Traceable substances that bind to the serotonin reuptake transporter and to one type of serotonin receptor have been developed and should provide information about which brain areas show depleted serotonin activity in depressed patients.3
Although scientists do not fully understand the implications of these findings and how they might be used to develop a definitive test for mood disorders, it may be only a matter of time before diagnosis goes high tech.
A Pacemaker for the Brain
Research is increasingly showing a compelling link between depression and epilepsy. A recent study found that older adults who are clinically depressed are six times as likely to have a seizure as their peers, suggesting that a common factor may be the cause of both depression and seizures.4
Not surprisingly, some individuals who have not responded to antidepressants do respond to anticonvulsants such as Lamotrigine (Lamictal)5, Gabapentin (Neurontin)6, and Topiramate (Topamax)7. These medications are currently only approved for people who have seizures, but there are many case reports supporting their use for treatment resistant mood disorders.
Following this link to it's logical next step, researchers have begun to investigate the use of an epilepsy treatment called Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) as a treatment for depression. Results of the VNS pilot study showed that 40% of the treated patients displayed at least a 50 percent or greater improvement in their condition, according to the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Half the patients also had at least a 50% improvement on the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale. The condition of several patients improved so substantially that they were able to return to work or other normal activities.8
The device used for this therapy (currently only approved for epilepsy treatment), the NeuroCybernetic Prosthesis System (NCP), is often referred to as a "pacemaker for the brain". The system consists of a pulse generator and a nerve stimulator electrode that is usually programmed to send 30-second electrical impulses every 5 minutes to the left vagus nerve, via connecting leads. The generator is surgically placed in a pocket formed under the skin, below the left collarbone. It's disc shaped and about the size of an baby's palm. It is similar in appearance and size to a cardiac pacemaker. The surgery takes about forty-five minutes, and is considered a safe procedure with very little risk. The generator's "dosage of stimulation" is adjusted non-invasively through the skin using a computerized programmer.9
Magnet Therapy
A new therapy showing great promise for replacing Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. (TMS). It appears to affect the brain in a similar way to ECT, but without the need for anesthesia or side-effects such as memory loss and any risks associated with seizure and general anesthesia.. In the pilot rTMS (repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) study, the only reported side effects were that two patients developed mild headaches, treatable with aspirin.10
TMS involves passing current through an electromagnetic coil to generate a magnetic field. The magnetic field acts as the medium between electricity in the coil and induced electrical currents in the brain. The current depolarizes neurons in the brain up to a depth of about two centimeters below the brain's surface. It does not requires any sort of anesthesia or analgesics.11 This treatment is under investigation in several locations all over the world.12
Source: About.com
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Depression & Mental Health FAQs 2
What is Clinical Depression? Clinical
depression can affect your body, mood, thoughts, and behavior. It can
change your eating habits, how you feel and think about things, your
ability to work and study, and how you interact with people. Clinical
depression is not a passing mood, a sign of personal weakness or a
condition that can be willed away. Clinically depressed people cannot
"pull themselves together" and get better. Depression can be
successfully treated by a mental health professional or certain health
care providers. With the right treatment, 80 percent of those who seek
help get better. And many people begin to feel better in just a few
weeks.
Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health World Health Organization Finds Depression Often Goes Untreated By Salynn Boyles WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Sept.
6, 2007 -- Depression has a greater impact on overall health than
arthritis, diabetes, angina, and asthma, but it all too often goes
unrecognized and untreated, a report from the World Health Organization
(WHO) suggests. more... Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health
For Additional Information About Depression Write To: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8184, MSC 9663 Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
For free brochures on depression and its treatment call: 1-800-421-4211. or visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
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