Hope For Those With Treatment Resistant Depression

 (Oct. 14, 2009) — A new neurosurgical procedure may prove helpful for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Bilateral epidural prefrontal cortical stimulation (EpCS) was found generally safe and provided significant improvement of depressive symptoms in a small group of patients, according to lead researcher Ziad Nahas, M.D. at the Medical University of South Carolina.

The data are reported in the on-line issue of Biological Psychiatry.

Treatment-resistant depression is a recurrent psychiatric illness and a leading cause of premature morality due to suicide and associated medical conditions. In the U.S., more than 3.2 million patients are diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression. Typically, patients have tried several medications and treatments without success or improvement.

EpCS targets electrical stimulation to the anterior frontal poles and the lateral prefrontal cortex. “We focused on these two regions because they are part of a larger brain networks critical in regulating mood. Both play complementary roles integrating emotional and cognitive experiences and offer a distinct opportunity for targeted antidepressant treatments” said Dr Nahas, an associate professor of Psychiatry, Physiology and Neuroscience and Director of the Mood Disorders Program at MUSC. “Cortical stimulation has several advantages provided that it shows efficacy in treating depression. It is reversible, non-destructive and potentially safer than other forms of invasive brain stimulation since the stimulating paddles don’t come in direct contact with the brain.” His team included MUSC neurosurgeon Istvan Takacs, MD and MUSC anesthesiologist Scott Reeves, MD.

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NAMI StigmaBuster Alert
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Extremely Foolish?

New Monic Books is an educational publishing company. Its paperback Vocabulary
Cartoons II (2007 edition) is helpful for SAT preparation, as well as people with
learning disabilities. However, one StigmaBuster reports that on page 41, the sample
sentence provided for the word "asinine" is "My sister gave up working in a mental
hospital because she could no longer deal with ASININE behavior."

Asinine means "extremely foolish." It's not an appropriate word to apply to people
who are ill. We don't believe the company intended to offend, but please politely
let them know the impact the sample sentence may have in shaping attitudes of
students and reinforcing stigma.

Please remove the sample sentence in the bookYou probably didn't mean to offend, but
please don't trivialize any medical illness.Please don't stereotype. Don't mock the
behavior of people who are sick through no fault of their own. Contact:

info@vocabularycartoons.com

New Monic Books
P.O. Box 511314
Punta Gorda, FL 33951
1-800-741-1295

Source: www.nami.org/stigma

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NAMI StigmaBuster Alert
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Online: www.nami.org/stigma

PSYCHO DONUTS: TASTELESS

Join the national on-line food fight.

Help turn lemon donuts into lemonade.

Since early spring, NAMI Santa Clara County and other mental health groups have been
fighting an impressive, valiant battle against stigmatizing elements of a "Psycho
Donuts" store that opened outside San Francisco.

The store's worst features include a straitjacket, padded cell decorations and
tasteless donut names-such as "Massive Head Trauma," which has especially enraged
war veterans.

Concern has existed that the company's business plan may envision franchise
expansion to other states or communities-but victory may be near. The store owner
has promised an "evolution" and some changes are starting to be made. Nonetheless,
the story "went national" this week.

Bill Broadly Outlaws Health Insurance Discrimination;
Recognizes Importance of Mental Health to Overall Health

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (October 3, 2008) — Mental Health America today hailed as “a great civil rights victory” the approval of mental health parity legislation that will broadly outlaw health insurance discrimination against Americans with mental health and substance-use conditions in employer-sponsored health plans.

The legislation, which recognizes the importance of mental health to overall health, bans employers and insurers from imposing stricter limits on coverage for mental health and substance-use conditions than those set for other health problems.  It will provide parity for 82 million Americans covered by self-insured plans and another 31 million in plans that are subject to state regulation. 

It is estimated that roughly 67 percent of adults and 80 percent of children requiring mental health services do not receive help, in large part because of discriminatory insurance practices

Mental Health America, which has worked for years to pass mental health parity, applauded Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.), as well as Senate and House leadership key committee chairmen for championing the legislation and their long-standing commitment to ending this civil rights inequity.  This victory also owes much to tireless champions such as Rosalyn Carter, David Wellstone and tens of thousands of Americans who have pressed for this historic reform.

“This is a historic day and a great civil rights victory for millions of Americans who have been unable to access mental health treatment,” said David Shern, Ph.D., president and CEO of Mental Health America. “With approval of this bill, we will tear down the walls of stigma and discrimination and the open the doors to the power and promise of treatment and recovery.  It recognizes that mental health disorders are every bit as debilitating, and just as treatable, as cancer and diabetes. 

“With economic problems making it even harder for Americans to afford treatment and driving up rates of depression and family difficulties, passage of this law is even more important.”