Depression-less Life

ProfNet Wire: Health & Living: 'Nancy Drew'

2008-08-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

**1. HEALTH: YOGA FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION TREATMENT. BO FORBES, Psy.D.,RYT, is a Boston-based clinical psychologist and founder of the CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE YOGA THERAPEUTICS: "Recent studies have shown that yoga can, in some cases, be more effective than prescription medicines in treating anxiety, insomnia and depression, without the potentially dangerous side effects. Integrative yoga therapeutics brings yoga to the forefront of mind- body medicine. Its ability to fine-tune the nervous system makes it particularly effective in treating depression and other disorders." Forbes can explain and demonstrate how yoga helps to treat these illnesses. News Contact: Richard Berman, RBerman226@aol.com Phone: +1-914-572-2707 (6/15/07)
**2. HEALTH: HORMONES' AFFECT ON IMMUNE SYSTEM. DAVID AND STEPHANIE TIPPIE, directors of the ANTI-AGING CLINIC ASSOCIATION, INC., in Florida: "There is growing evidence suggesting that hormones, including sex hormones, can affect and be affected by the immune system.

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Anxiety affects obesity surgery success

2008-07-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

Extremely obese people suffering from depression or anxiety tend to lose less weight after obesity surgery than mentally healthy people, researchers reported in a study that suggests such patients could benefit from treatment beforehand.

People diagnosed with mood or anxiety disorders on average lost 81 pounds six months after gastric bypass surgery compared to their counterparts who shed 86 pounds. Although both groups lost significant weight after surgery, people without mental health problems did slightly better. Researchers plan to follow patients for up to two years to determine if theres a weight difference over time.

Many hospitals and insurers require surgery candidates to go through a psychological evaluation before obesity surgery to make sure they are mentally fit for the operation and the lifestyle change afterward

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Magnetic Brain Stimulator promises non-invasive depression treatment

2008-07-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

Time to get serious for a moment. As anyone not living in a box is aware, depression and other brain-chemistry illnesses are a growing problem around the world, and all the standard treatments get mixed results. Now the FDA is reviewing the latest weapon against depression, a device called the Magnetic Brain Stimulator that's raising hopes of finding an effective, non-invasive treatment.
The brain stimulator, which the medical community hopes will be commercially available sometime next year, bears a resemblance to a blow-dryer, and it works by delivering an electromagnetic pulse directly to the parts of the brain that control mood. Think of it as an alternative to the controversial electro-convulsive therapy. It's delivered in a doctor's office but requires no anesthetic, and the patient can return home or to work immediately after a treatment

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NeuroStar(R) TMS Therapy Improved Quality Of Life In Patients With ...

2008-06-11T06:54:00.001-07:00

New research on patients with moderate-to-severe depression, who had not received adequate benefit from previous antidepressant therapy, demonstrated that NeuroStar TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) Therapy significantly improved quality of life and functioning when compared to patients receiving sham (placebo) treatment. The new data were presented today at the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) annual meeting.

"Symptom control is only meaningful in so far as it improves patients' ability to function and enjoy life, which is an essential part of the recovery process," said H. Brent Solvason, MD, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University. Dr. Solvason was a primary investigator in the NeuroStar TMS Therapy(TM) studies and is the lead author of this data report.

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Highlights of this issue

2008-05-04T23:52:00.000-07:00

Two papers in the Journal this month report on results from the Christchurch Psychotherapy of Depression Study, a randomised controlled trial of interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) involving an out-patient sample. Luty et al (pp. 496–502) found no significant difference in efficacy between the two treatment groups, with overall improvements in depressive symptomatology being approximately 55% for both. However, those patients with severe depression had better outcomes if allocated to the CBT group. The presence of personality disorder did not have an impact on treatment outcome for those in the CBT group but did adversely affect response to interpersonal psychotherapy (Joyce et al, pp. 503–508). Regarding the latter finding, severity of personality disorder and the presence of particular personality features, such as avoidant and schizoid symptoms, appeared to explain much of impact on outcome.

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Coping with postpartum depression

2008-04-24T05:48:00.000-07:00

That's how Sarah Puckett said she felt during the first of two bouts with postpartum depression. Her first experience followed the birth of her second child in 1990, and the second in 1999 after her third child was born.

The first time, the symptoms began a month after her child was born and lasted for several months, said Puckett, 44, a mother from Urbandale. No one, including the counselor she was seeing at the time, questioned the changes in her behavior or diagnosed her with the condition.

"I just felt depressed and in this dark hole all the time, and guilty because I had these beautiful children, and what was wrong with me?" said Puckett, who several months later began taking antidepressants. "I cried all the time, and I couldn't cope with anything."

So Puckett, a registered nurse working in Iowa Methodist's maternity ward, is especially excited about the new pamphlet about postpartum depression being distributed to mothers in Des Moines.

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Lupus Can Present Many Emotional Challenges

2008-04-06T06:13:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON, May 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A diagnosis of lupus is almost certain to cause emotional turmoil and distress for persons suffering with the chronic disease and their family members. The physical strains of treatment and lifestyle adjustments required by the debilitating autoimmune disease can seem overwhelming to the young women who account for eighty percent of new cases. Lupus is a chronic life-threatening disease which causes the immune system to attack the body's own tissue and organs.
Each person's emotional response to lupus is different. It is estimated that half of the 1.5 million Americans with lupus experience some type of emotional problem because of their illness. Feelings of confidence can quickly be shattered. Loss of self-esteem can be a serious problem leading to mood swings and depression

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ProfNet Wire: Health & Living: 'Nancy Drew'

2008-03-30T04:32:00.000-07:00

Anxiety affects obesity surgery success

2008-03-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Magnetic Brain Stimulator promises non-invasive depression treatment

2008-03-02T05:00:00.001-08:00

NeuroStar(R) TMS Therapy Improved Quality Of Life In Patients With ...

2008-02-24T04:59:00.001-08:00

Highlights of this issue

2008-02-09T07:07:00.000-08:00

Coping with postpartum depression

2008-01-30T17:03:00.000-08:00

Lupus Can Present Many Emotional Challenges

2008-01-19T05:17:00.000-08:00

ProfNet Wire: Health & Living: 'Nancy Drew'

2008-01-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

Anxiety affects obesity surgery success

2007-12-25T05:45:00.000-08:00

Magnetic Brain Stimulator promises non-invasive depression treatment

2007-12-05T03:05:00.000-08:00

The brain stimulator, which the medical community hopes will be commercially available sometime next year, bears a resemblance to a blow-dryer, and it works by delivering an electromagnetic pulse directly to the parts of the brain that control mood. Think of it as an alternative to the controversial electro-convulsive therapy. It's delivered in a doctor's office but requires no anesthetic, and the patient can return home or to work immediately after a treatment.

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NeuroStar(R) TMS Therapy Improved Quality Of Life In Patients With ...

2007-11-27T04:11:00.000-08:00

Highlights of this issue

2007-11-17T05:18:00.000-08:00

Two papers in the Journal this month report on results from the Christchurch Psychotherapy of Depression Study, a randomised controlled trial of interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitivebehavioural therapy (CBT) involving an out-patient sample. Luty et al (pp. 496502) found no significant difference in efficacy between the two treatment groups, with overall improvements in depressive symptomatology being approximately 55% for both. However, those patients with severe depression had better outcomes if allocated to the CBT group. The presence of personality disorder did not have an impact on treatment outcome for those in the CBT group but did adversely affect response to interpersonal psychotherapy (Joyce et al, pp. 503508). Regarding the latter finding, severity of personality disorder and the presence of particular personality features, such as avoidant and schizoid symptoms, appeared to explain much of impact on outcome.

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Coping with postpartum depression

2007-11-08T05:33:00.000-08:00

Lupus Can Present Many Emotional Challenges

2007-10-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Each person's emotional response to lupus is different. It is estimated that half of the 1.5 million Americans with lupus experience some type of emotional problem because of their illness. Feelings of confidence can quickly be shattered. Loss of self-esteem can be a serious problem leading to mood swings and depression.

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ProfNet Wire: Health & Living: 'Nancy Drew'

2007-10-22T03:23:00.000-07:00

**2. HEALTH: HORMONES' AFFECT ON IMMUNE SYSTEM. DAVID AND STEPHANIE TIPPIE, directors of the ANTI-AGING CLINIC ASSOCIATION, INC., in Florida: "There is growing evidence suggesting that hormones, including sex hormones, can affect and be affected by the immune system.

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Anxiety affects obesity surgery success

2007-10-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Extensive study links concussions to depression

2007-10-07T05:39:00.000-07:00

NEW ORLEANS (May 31, 2007) -- A study of more than 2,500 retired NFL players found that those who had at least three concussions during their careers had triple the risk of clinical depression as those who had no concussions.

Those who recalled one or two concussions were 1½ times more likely to be diagnosed with depression, said Kevin Guskiewicz, research director of the University of North Carolina's Center for the Study of Retired Athletes.

"The findings of this study are not simply relevant to 50-, 55-year-old, 60-year-old retired athletes," but to those currently playing, said Guskiewicz, lead author of the study published in "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise," the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Repeated concussions might be even more dangerous for children, said Dr.

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Diagnosis, Treatment of Youth for Depression Fell After FDA Alert

2007-08-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

Researchers are troubled by data indicating that large numbers of young people with depression are being left untreated after the FDA issued its first advisory about the antidepressants in 2003.

Rates of the diagnosis and pharmacological treatment of depression among children and adolescents dropped sharply after October 2003, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its first public health advisory informing health care professionals of an increased risk of suicidality among youngsters taking antidepressants.

These findings, which appeared in the June American Journal of Psychiatry, have heightened the concerns of researchers and clinicians alike that suicide rates among untreated children and adolescents will rise unchecked. In fact, a study published in the February Pediatrics revealed an 18.2 percent increase in suicide from 2003 to 2004 among youngsters under the age of 20 (Psychiatric News, March 2).

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Low Libido In Menopause Linked To Trouble Sleeping

2007-08-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

Women whose sexual desire diminishes during menopause are more likely to report disturbed sleep, depression symptoms, and night sweats, according to Group Health research in the June American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

To the best of the research team's knowledge, this marks the first time that sleep disturbance has been independently associated with diminished sexual desire during or after menopause.

The paper is based on data from Group Health's Herbal Alternatives for Treatment of Menopause Symptoms (HALT) study. Other results from this study, showing that the herbal supplement black cohosh did not relieve menopausal hot flashes or night sweats (hot flashes during sleep), were reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2006.

All 341 of the women were chosen to be in the study because they were age 45 to 55 and had hot flashes, night sweats, or both.

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Sexual Desire During Menopause

2007-07-31T07:18:00.000-07:00

New research suggests a link between diminished sexual desire, sleep disturbances, depression symptoms and night sweats for women experiencing menopause.

The findings, by the Group Health Center for Health Studies marks the first time that sleep disturbance has been independently associated with diminished sexual desire during or after menopause.

The research is reported in the June American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The paper is based on data from Group Health's Herbal Alternatives for Treatment of Menopause Symptoms (HALT) study.

Other results from this study, showing that the herbal supplement black cohosh did not relieve menopausal hot flashes or night sweats (hot flashes during sleep), were reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2006.

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Mental test for new mums

2007-07-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

EXPERTS are calling for mental health checks to be made mandatory for all new mothers following a string of incidents involving newborns.

In Sydney this week a baby was abandoned with her umbilical cord still attached, the body of another newborn was found in a bin in Western Australia and last month baby Catherine was dumped on the doorstep of a Victorian hospital.

The arrival of a new baby in the family usually is a time of joy. But about one in 10 pregnant women will experience symptoms of depression during pregnancy - and leading experts believe mental health checks should be routine for all expectant mothers.

The call for a psycho-social test to become as customary as blood tests in ante-natal check-ups across the country comes after a baby was found on the doorstep of a Sydney church on Sunday morning.

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More Than Moody

2007-07-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

Dr. Harold Koplewicz, founder and director of the New York University Child Study Center and author of More Than Moody: Recognizing and Treating Adolescent Depression, states that two-thirds of young people with major depressive disorder have coexisting mental disorders, anxiety being one of the most common. Others include post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse. Because the symptoms of depression in teens sometimes differ from those experienced by depressed adults, it's essential parents be aware of the warning signs (see sidebar) and look past stereotypes.

For example, previously an excellent student and "model" child, Emma's behavior began to change at age 15. Though dismayed, her parents didn't initially suspect their daughter was depressed. "I assumed she was behaving like a typical teenager, rebelling against the restrictions of childhood," says her mother, Gayle.

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Test helps target best medications for depression

2007-07-10T23:45:00.000-07:00

Often, though, it's difficult for psychiatrists to know which drug to prescribe. Now, San Antonio doctors are conducting a unique study to find a better way to choose medications through a painless test called an electroencephalogram, or EEG.

For the EEG test, a technologist hooks more than 20 electrodes up to the patient's head. Over the next 30 minutes, the wires will transmit signals from sensors that record brain waves. The waves may be altered by bouts of major depression.

"It's very unique and novel," said Dr. Pedro Delgado, a psychiatrist at the University of Texas Health Science Center. "We know that in people with depression, during the state of being depressed, their brain waves change."

However, what doctors don't know is which of the more than 30 medications for depression work best for different brain wave changes.

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Antidepressant Use May Boost Fracture Risk, From Harvard Women's ...

2007-07-08T02:54:00.000-07:00

BOSTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Evidence is accumulating that depression is a risk factor for osteoporosis, reports the June 2007 issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch. A recent study found that people ages 50 and over who regularly took antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) had double the rate of fractures as people not using such medications. Other research points to depression itself as a source of endocrine changes that can damage bone.

Whether the danger comes from depression, the drugs used to treat it, or something else, doctors are paying more attention to this association. During the 1990s, depression began to emerge as a possible cause of bone loss, rather than a result. Scientists studied women who didn't have osteoporosis symptoms or even know they had the condition.

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Brainwaves Could Help Fight Depression

2007-07-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

(CBS) MIAMI Finding the right anti-depressant can be a long and frustrating process for both doctor and patient. Plus it can typically take weeks for the medication to start working. But as CBS's Dr. Sean Kenniff found out, new technology may offer a solution for people like June Govinden, who like millions of others, suffers from depression."I couldn't stop crying," said June Govinden, "so that was the last for me, that was the final thing that I've got to try something."Anti-depressants can help, but finding the right one is a process of trial and error. UCLA's Dr. Andrew Leuchter adds that a drug that works for one patient may not work for another."It can be very discouraging for a patient," said Leuchter, "to get the message that 'we're not really sure if you're going to get well on this medication."Kenniff says it can sometimes take six weeks before the doctors know if a drug is working, or if they need to try another.

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Man Who Lost Wife Warns Others About Postpartum Depression

2007-07-02T00:34:00.000-07:00

Postpartum depression is sometimes called baby blues. About 20 percent of all mothers get it within months of giving birth. But it's far from normal, and it can turn deadly if left untreated.

Typical postpartum depression symptoms include uncontrollable crying, feeling helpless about the future, not being able to enjoy your baby, feeling horrible about yourself.

Michael Spangler lost his wife to suicide brought on by postpartum depression three years ago.

He's turned his sorrow into support, telling others about the dangers of postpartum depression.

"No matter how strong how wonderful a woman she is this is the most challenging thing any woman does in her life. I don't want anybody else to lose their dreams," said Spangler.

3 million in Japan have mental illness

2007-06-30T04:57:00.000-07:00

TOKYO - The number of Japanese suffering from mental illnesses topped 3 million for the first time in 2005, the government said Friday, amid efforts to improve mental health services in Japan.

2005 was the first year the number exceeded 3 million, Cabinet Office official Toshiaki Nagato said. Japans population in 2005 was 127 million.

But he said it likely reflected an increase in the number of mental health care facilities and other treatment options that allow more sufferers to come forward and be counted.

The government has earmarked substantial funds for programs to help those with depression and other mental illnesses and is more actively involved in trying to get those affected to seek help through awareness programs.

Conditions regarded as mental illnesses in the report included addictions, Alzheimers disease Alzheimers disease, depression, epilepsy and stress-related disabilities.

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Depression Raises Risk of Diabetes

2007-06-28T02:05:00.000-07:00

Researchers reporting in the Archives of Internal Medicine have found that depression is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in people over 65 years of age.

Data was gathered on almost 4,700 people who were not diabetic at the outset of the study in 1989. Over ten years, during which 234 of them developed diabetes, they were evaluated for symptoms of depression. After correcting for other factors, diabetes was about 60 percent more likely among those who had higher levels of depressive symptoms.

The cause of the association was not clarified, but lead researcher Mercedes Carnethon of Northwestern University hypothesized that depressed people are less likely to care for their health in general.

Biological factors such a high level of the stress hormone cortisol could contribute as well, because high cortisol levels may cut insulin sensitivity and cause increased fat deposits around the waist.

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