Articles Tagged ‘antidepressant’

Psychiatry & Psychology | By December 05, 2008 | By Mike Reeves-McMillan | 1 Comment

Conditioned Response – An Alternative to Antidepressant Drugs?

Psychiatry and Psychology Category Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Eric R. Kandel and colleagues published an article in Neuron titled An Animal Model of a Behavioral Intervention for Depression. Using mice, they investigated the mechanisms of “learned safety” and its antidepressant effect.

“Learned safety” is created in mice using classical conditioning. By playing a tone only when the mice were safe from an electric shock, the team taught them to associate the tone with safety. They were then able to achieve an effect comparable to giving the mice antidepressant drugs by playing the tone while the mice were undergoing stress. Read more →

Antipsychotics May Decrease the Risk of Suicide | September 11, 2008 | 1 Comment

Suicide is an all-too familiar consequence of depression. Up to 15% of patients with untreated or undertreated depression commit suicide. The goal of treatment for depressive disorders is to alleviate the symptoms of depression, which may include an inability to experience pleasure, a pessimistic attitude, and generalized anxiety. Patients with psychotic symptoms of depression — up to 10% of depressed patients — may also experience delusions, hallucinations, and a desire to harm themselves or others. Standard treatment approaches to depression include a balance of drug therapies, counseling, and behavior modification. Read more →

Which Came First – Depression or Diabetes? | July 23, 2008 | 5 Comments

A recent study in JAMA reported that patients treated for type 2 diabetes are at risk for developing depression. The study also reported that patients with depression are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

The study confirmed what other studies have reported, and clinicians have seen in practice, that symptoms of depression place patients at an increased risk for developing diabetes. Depressive symptoms including being overweight, poor eating habits, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle are all known risk factors for developing impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes. However, lifestyle factors only partly explain the association between depression and diabetes. Read more →

Tailored Antidepressants | December 31, 2007 | 1 Comment

As the field of genetics advances it is likely that treatment with antidepressants will be tailored to your personal genes. A study published by the National Institute of Mental Health in the American Journal of Psychiatry states that certain genetic markers directly corresponded to an increased risk of suicide in adults suffering from depression who were treated with citalopram, an antidepressant drug. This is only one of many of discoveries to come that will aid in the treatment of depression. Read more →

Living with a Brain Disorder: Sophie, 11-15, Generalized Anxiety Disorder & Depression | June 05, 2006 | 2 Comments

Interviewee: Sophie, age 11-15, from illinois was diagnosed with “Last year in April, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and clinical depression at the North Shore Wellness Center”.

Before I was depressed/had anxiety, I was living a full, happy life. I had lots of friends, took dance classes and studied the piano, and was generally a very normal, very happy person.

… Read more →