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Mental Health News for
November
2008
Depression News, Polls and Quotes
As part of the
main
Information Centre,
this section of the website is intended to provide month-by-month news
about depression, anxiety and other related health concerns.
Archives from
previous months are available, and all polls from previous months remain
active if you should wish to vote.
If you would
like to help us to produce
next month's news, polls and quotes, please click on the links by each
applicable section and fill out the accompanying form.
Quotes and Philosophical Thoughts for November 2008:
>
"When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard," I am always tempted to
ask, "Compared to what?" - Sydney J. Harris
>
"Remember sadness is always temporary. This, too, shall pass." - Chuck T.
Falcon
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"Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too,
can be given to one only by other human beings." - Elie Weisel
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“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." - Oscar Wilde
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“Do you know what a pessimist is? A person who thinks everybody is as
nasty as himself, and hates them for it." - George Bernard Shaw
>
“Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss
>
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising everytime we
fall." - Confucius
Suggest A Quote
Clinicians and researchers from around the world attended this week's
8th International Forum on Mood and Anxiety disorders in Vienna, Austria
to discuss the latest advances in the treatment of mood disorders. A
wide range of topics were included in this year's programme,
highlighting the position of IFMAD in the congress calendar as a forum
for breaking news, original thinking and debate.
African-American patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and
previously treated depression that persists at their MI hospitalization
have an increased risk of post-MI death, according to Emory researcher
Susmita Parashar, MD, MPH. Parashar, a member of the cardiology
division, Emory University School of Medicine, presented findings Nov.
12 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions conference in
New Orleans.
Short term counselling followed by a modest cut in work hours may
help reduce emotional exhaustion (burnout) and sick leave in doctors,
according to a study published on bmj.com today. It is well known that
doctors have higher rates of depression and suicide than the general
population and are less likely to seek help.
Brain cells can adopt a new chemical code in response to cues from
the outside world, scientists working with tadpoles at the University of
California, San Diego report in the journal Nature this week. The
discovery opens the possibility that brain chemistry could be
selectively altered by stimulating specific circuits to remedy low
levels of neural chemicals that underlie some human ailments. Dark
tadpoles don pale camouflage when exposed to bright light.
Two studies presented today at the 8th International Forum on Mood
and Anxiety Disorders (IFMAD) in Vienna demonstrated that once-daily
SEROQUEL XRTM (quetiapine fumarate extended release tablets) provided
significant symptom relief for elderly patients (>65 years of age) with
major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).
A Johns Hopkins cardiologist well known for his studies on the links
between depression and heart attack says there is not nearly enough
evidence yet to support a recent call by the American Heart Association
(AHA) to begin routine screening of millions of Americans for
depression. Roy Ziegelstein, M.D.
New research suggests that patients with chronic pain are more prone
than others are to consider suicide. The increased risk remained even
when study authors took the possible influence of mental illness into
account. "This is further evidence that we need to be aware of the
heightened risk for suicide in those with chronic pain," said Mark Ilgen,
lead study author.
Depression can cause diabetes patients to suffer from higher glucose
levels over time compared to those who are not depressed, finds a study
of older veterans with the disease. "Our study shows that depression is
a major and important comorbidity in people with type 2 diabetes," said
study co-author Leonard Egede, M.D., from the Center for Health
Disparities Research at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Babies who receive incubator care after birth are two to three times
less likely to suffer depression as adults according to a new study
published in the journal Pyschiatry Research. The surprising discovery
was made by scientists from the Université de Montréal and Sainte
Justine Hospital Research Center in collaboration with researchers from
McGill University, the Douglas Hospital Research Centre and the
Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in the U.K.
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have developed a therapy
programme to treat depression in women in developing countries. Although
depression is a major health problem world-wide, experts say its impact
is greatest in developing countries where 80% of the population live.
Often there are no resources available to treat sufferers.
Depression is common among individuals on dialysis for kidney
disease, but behavioral therapy can significantly improve their quality
of life, according to a paper presented at the American Society of
Nephrology's 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many patients with kidney disease must sit
through hemodialysis - the process of removing blood, purifying it, and
returning it to the body - for several hours, multiple times per week.
Bright white light therapy has been used to treat seasonal affective
disorder (SAD) for more than 20 years. Although it remains a mainstay of
treatment, in the past few years researchers have investigated ways to
improve and refine light therapy, reports the November 2008 issue of the
Neuronetics, Inc. announced that a new health economic study
evaluating the cost effectiveness of its NeuroStar TMS Therapy system in
the treatment of depression was presented at the U.S. Psychiatric and
Mental Health Congress in San Diego last week.
When anticipating pain, the brains of subjects with major depressive
disorder appear to react more strongly, and appear to display altered
functioning of the neural network that moderates pain sensitivity,
according to an article released on November 3, 2008 in Archives of
General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Chronic pain and
depression are common and often overlapping syndromes," write the
authors.
A new action plan to reduce suicide and self-harm in Wales was
published today by the Welsh Assembly Government. The plan establishes a
number of new initiatives and pulls together existing programmes to
provide a strategic approach to suicide prevention in Wales. Statistics
show that almost three-quarters of people in Wales who complete suicide
are unknown to mental health services in the year prior to their death.
In the first-ever study of its kind, a team led by researchers at Los
Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA
BioMed) report in November's Psychiatric Services journal that
Spanish-speaking Hispanics took longer to respond to medication for
depression and were less likely to go into remission than
English-speaking Hispanics.
There are few studies comparing the efficacy of short-term
psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) and pharmacotherapy in major
depressive disorder. A group of finnish investigators conducted a
comparative study on the efficacy of STPP versus fluoxetine treatment in
patients with major depressive disorder in a primary care setting.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) today announced
results of a study in which Azilect® (rasagiline tablets) demonstrated
selective MAO - B inhibition at the approved dose of 1mg. Non selective
MAO inhibitors may have some contra indications with certain foods and
drugs. These limitations are not associated with selective MAO
inhibitors and therefore they can be broadly prescribed. Based on these
positive results, Teva will work with the U.S.
The brains of individuals with major depressive disorder appear to
react more strongly when anticipating pain and also display altered
functioning of the neural network that modifies pain sensitivity,
according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General
Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Chronic pain and
depression are common and often overlapping syndromes," the authors
write as background information in the article.
Substance abuse disorders (SUDs) and other psychiatric disorders are
common among prison populations. A dual diagnosis (DD) refers to a
co-existing SUD and any Axis I disorder, such as depression,
schizophrenia, or social phobia. A new study has not only confirmed DD
among prisoners in France, but has also found that it is a major risk
factor for suicide.
With the days shortening toward winter, many people will begin to
experience the winter blahs. For some, the effect can be devastating.
About 6 percent of the U.S. population suffers from seasonal affective
disorder, or SAD, a sometimes-debilitating depression that begins in the
fall and continues through winter. Sufferers may even find it difficult
to get out of bed in the morning.
Although complete nonresponse in depression treatment is considered
to be a major problem in clinical practice, research in this area is
very limited. The objective of this preliminary study was to determine
the frequency and predictors of complete nonresponse in different
treatments for depression. Post-hoc analysis of the pooled data of 3
consecutive randomized controlled trials of outpatient depression
treatment was conducted.
Disability and a recent diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are
associated with a greater risk for depression according to research
funded by the Arthritis Foundation and presented this week at the
American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in San
Francisco. Studies show that people with RA who are depressed have worse
outcomes - including death - as compared to people with RA who are not
depressed.
CNS Response, Inc. (OTCBB: CNSO) reported the results of a study by
the Center for Health Economics, Epidemiology, and Science Policy at
United BioSource Corporation, a global pharmacoeconomic research firm
and one of the most experienced firms providing evidence-based review of
innovative healthcare technologies.
The suicide rate in older women of South Asian origin is increasing,
according to new research published in the November issue of the British
Journal of Psychiatry. Suicide rates among those over the age of 65 are
now double that of other women living in England and Wales. The
psychiatrists who carried out the study describe the finding as "a
matter of concern" and call for further research into the reasons
underlying the trend.
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