Depression Information

Adult Men and Women Who Suffer From Chronic Depression


Market surveys on women, men and depression suggest an estimated 4.4 million Americans are believed to suffer from chronic treatment-resistant depression. Depression is a chronic, disabling disorder and a major worldwide public health problem. Depressive episodes usually recur over time, with risk for further episodes proportional to the number of prior episodes. After three major depressive episodes, the probability of recurrence is 90%. In the U.S. alone, approximately 18 million people suffer from depression over six million of which are receiving some form of medical treatment.

Market studies on women, men and depression also estimate that over 100,000 Americans each year are treated with electro convulsive therapy (ECT) for their depression. Roughly 15% of all people with severe depression that require hospitalization commit suicide. Disorders related to men and depression are also very expensive. Depression is ranked as the second leading cause of disability worldwide in 1990. Depression costs in the U.S. alone are estimated to exceed $50 billion annually, including over $12 billion in direct treatment costs. The total market in the U.S. for anti-depressants is estimated to exceed $6 billion.

Several general factors may be linked to women, men and depression but the exact causes of depressive disorders are unknown, although both biological abnormalities and psychological factors are thought to precipitate this disease. Diminished synaptic concentrations of neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and norepinephrine, are implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. Most current standard therapies regarding men and depression are thought to affect either one or both of these neurotransmitter systems (1) SSRI drugs (serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors) or (2) MAOI drugs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) that decrease the breakdown of norepinephrine and serotonin. It is of interest to note that several antiepileptic compounds, such as carbamazepine, valproate and lamotrigine, are used as mood stabilizers and that lamotrigine and gabapentin are also used as antidepressants.

There is a new alternative treatment for this debilitating disease. On June 15th, 2004 an FDA Medical Device Advisory Panel recommended approval of the vagus nerve stimulator as a treatment for chronic or treatment-resistant depression. Learn more about this remarkable device at www.VagusNerveStimulator.com.

Charles E. Donovan, III
Author
Out of the Black Hole: The Patient's Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression. Published November 1, 2004 by Wellness Publishers,L.L.C.

  


MORE RESOURCES:

Lifescript Launches New Online Depression Center
MarketWatch (press release)
Lifescript.com, a women's health and wellness website headquartered in Mission Viejo, Calif., has launched a new online Depression Health Center to help women recognize and overcome symptoms of depression. MISSION VIEJO, Calif., May 24, ...

and more »


R&D Trends: Depression - Clinical attrition driven by mature market conditions
MarketWatch (press release)
Several drugs have progressed through the pipeline for depression in recent years, including Pristiq (desvenlafaxine; Pfizer), Oleptro (trazodone extended release; Labopharm), and Viibryd (Forest) in the US, and Valdoxan (agomelatine; Servier/Novartis) ...

and more »


Depression Recovery Groups Launches Online Peer-to-Peer Support Groups and ...
PR Web (press release)
Depression and other mental health issues are involved in 90% of these avoidable deaths. Today Depression Recovery Groups announced the launch of a new service expressly for young people; these teenage web conference depression support groups will ...

and more »


The Atlantic Wire

High-Fat Diets Have Pro-Depressive Effects
Food Product Design
"In addition to causing obesity, rich foods can actually cause chemical reactions in the brain in a similar way to illicit drugs, ultimately leading to depression as the 'come-downs' take their toll," says lead researcher, Dr. Stephanie Fulton.
Cheeseburger blues: High-fat foods may be making us depressedVancouver Sun
Cheeseburger blues: could high-fat foods be making us depressed?Ottawa Citizen
A Heart Made of Face Parts; The Eating Depression Cycle ExplainedThe Atlantic Wire
Irish Health
all 53 news articles »


Predicting Postpartum Depression
Wellington Daily News
By Angela Taylor Many studies have been completed to see if there is a way to predict postpartum depression. These studies have determined that iron deficiency and postpartum fatigue are linked to postpartum depression.

and more »


The Economist

Depression through the ages
The Economist
From Melancholia to Prozac: A History of Depression. By Clark Lawlor. Oxford University Press; 265 pages; $24.99 and £14.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk WHAT is depression? The ancient Greeks believed it resulted from an imbalance in the body's ...



IMF Chief: World Facing Possibly Worst Economic Insecurity Since Great Depression
Wall Street Journal
"Your generation is facing probably the worst economic insecurity in decades, possibly ever since the Great Depression," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in her commencement speech to the John F. Kennedy School of Government graduates.

and more »


BigPond News

'Cheerful' Corby out of depression as clemency lifts spirits
The Canberra Times
Schapelle Corby is believed to be recovering from depression and bouts of psychosis that have affected her in jail. Kerobokan jail's doctor Agung Hartawan said yesterday that Corby was in good spirits following the news of her clemency.
Corby stages dramatic recoveryBigPond News
man whose love keeps Schapelle Corby saneNEWS.com.au

all 954 news articles »


One-Third of Arthritis Patients Also Experience Anxiety, Depression
PR Web (press release)
Impairments like arthritis can be complicated by other conditions, such as depression, so it's important that patients fully explain all symptoms to their physicians. A new national study finds that one-third of people with arthritis also experience ...

and more »


The many faces of depression
Chicago Tribune
Sadness touches all of our lives at different times, but depression can have enormous depth and staying power. It's more than a passing bout of sadness or dejection, or feeling down in the dumps. It can leave you feeling continuously burdened and can ...
Has depression become a cliché?InjuryBoard.com

all 2 news articles »

Google News

Article List | Index | Site Map
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.