The aging of the US population and the high prevalence of depression among the elderly attest to its public health significance. The prevalence of depression is 8% to 16% in community-dwelling older persons, and the prevalence of mixed anxiety-depression is 1.8%. Depression complicates medical illnesses and their management, and it increases health care use, disability, and mortality. This article focuses on the recent research data on diagnosis, etiopathogenesis, treatment, and prevention in... More>>

For many years, research on mood disorders has focused on neurotransmitters, particularly on the monoamines (serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine) and their action at the neuronal junction, or synapse. Although the monoamine theory helps explain the action of tricyclics, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and SSRIs, it fails to account for many other things. More>>

abstract: Sleep complaints are common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Many patients complain of morning tiredness, early awakenings, difficulty in falling asleep, restlessness, and daytime sleepiness. Impaired sleep may play a significant role in the development of a chronic fatigue state that in conjunction with dyspnea leads to impairment in functional status. Important factors contributing to impaired sleep include nocturnal hypoxemia, airflow obstruction,... More>>

abstract: Depression and anxiety are common comorbidities in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and like COPD, they are often underrecognized. Both of these comorbidities can adversely affect the course of COPD. Anxiety, for example, is associated with more severe dyspnea, greater disability, and impaired functional status; it also is a significant predictor of hospitalizations for acute exacerbations of COPD. When evaluating depressive symptoms, it is important to rule... More>>

BETHESDA, Md. -- In children with bipolar disorder or severe mood dysregulation, extreme irritability sparked by frustration triggers distinctly different brain activity patterns, suggesting different psychophysiological mechanisms. More>>

Recent evidence suggests that reorganization of neuronal connectivity might play an important role in the pathophysiology of mood disorders and in both pharmacological and psychological treatments of depression. This evidence suggests a new framework for the etiology of mood disorders that focuses more on the problems in neuronal connectivity, plasticity and information processing in the brain than on abnormalities in chemical neurotransmission. Although this framework is still controversial and... More>>

The Emerging Role of GABAergic Mechanisms in Mood Disorders by Po W. Wang, M.D., and Terence A. Ketter, M.D. Gamma-aminobutyric acid is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter widely distributed in the mammalian central nervous system. Animal models of depression have pointed toward the importance of the GABA system in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. Thus, elucidating the GABAergic effects of benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and new anticonvulsants and antipsychotics may... More>>

Treatment successes can be hampered by treatment-refractory mood disorders. Nine key concepts are outlined to help guide the treatment of these patients. More>>

Mood disorders and their impact on women and their families was the topic of a half-day conference held at New York City's Algonquin Hotel;, former haunt of the famous-and depressed- writer Dorothy Parker, who made at least one suicide attempt there in the early 1900s. More>>