According to the World Health Organization, by 2020, depression will be second only to heart disease as a cause of disability and premature death in established market economies. 1 With unsatisfactory monoamine-based pharmacotherapy and the high comorbidity of medical illnesses in depression, the serotonin hypothesis seems to be insufficient in determining the cause of depression. 2 Recently, ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been gaining attention as a promising... More>>

Polypharmacy is used increasingly in the treatment of depression. 1 Although it can be beneficial—and at times may even be unavoidable—it can also be overused, resulting in drug-drug interactions, accumulation of adverse effects, reduced treatment adherence, and unnecessary increases in the cost of health care. 2 This article describes current trends in psychiatric polypharmacy in the treatment of depression along with ways to use polypharmacy to optimize... More>>

Depression is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and death in many ways, directly and indirectly. It is independently linked to smoking, diabetes, and obesity—all of which are risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). 1 Depressed patients are more likely to be noncompliant with treatment recommendations, including diet, medications, and keeping appointments, and are more likely to delay presentation for treatment with an acute coronary event. 2-4 More>>

The loss of a loved one is one of the most traumatic events in a person’s life. In spite of this, most people cope with the loss with minimal morbidity. Approximately 2.5 million people die in the United States every year, and each leaves behind about 5 bereaved people. More>>

Dr Edward S. Friedman mainly focused on the STAR*D trial as providing a guide to the role of cognitive therapy (CT) in the treatment of depression (he was the national CT director for STAR*D). While the article also briefly mentions some equivocal results for CT in depression treatment, I don't think any up-to-date article on the topic of the role of CT in depression treatment can be complete without mentioning another recent study by Parker and Fletcher. 1 Their study was a... More>>

In clinical medicine, the term recovery connotes the act of regaining or returning to a normal or usual state of health. However, there is lack of consensus about the use of this term (which may indicate both a process and a state), as well as of the related word remission, which indicates a temporary abatement of symptoms. Such ambiguities also affect the concepts of relapse (the return of a disease after its apparent cessation) and recurrence (the return of symptoms after a remission). More>>

Discovering the biological basis of major depressive disorder (MDD) could lead to improved medication and therapeutic treatment for patients with this condition. To date, the cause of MDD is not well understood, but researchers believe that elevated levels of the brain serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), may play a role. More>>

The cultural and demographic profile of the United States is undergoing a rapid transformation. In many areas of the country, there is no longer an ethnic majority but a multiplicity of racial and cultural groups. More>>

On October 20, 2007, leading researchers in the fields of mood disorders and meditation discussed the promise—and limitations—of meditation for the prevention and treatment of major depression. Participating in a day-long symposium titled "Mindfulness, Compassion, and the Treatment of Depression" was His Holiness the Dalai Lama. More>>

It is estimated that at least half of persons who begin antidepressant treatment will not respond to monotherapy. More>>