We all know that being ill is not a pleasant experience. Even short periods of illness can lower our mood, as the effects of pain and discomfort, or of confinement and a reduced capacity to do the things we enjoy, take their toll. In that sense, illness can lead to depression. These issues are explored in Depression in the medically ill.
Our knowledge of the human brain is still fairly limited, therefore we do not really know what actually happens in the brain to cause depression.
It’s likely that with most instances of clinical depression, neurotransmitter function is disrupted. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry signals from one part of the brain to the next. There are many neurotransmitters, serving different purposes, however three important ones that affect a person’s mood are serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine.
While researchers often talk about ‘finding the cause’ of some disease or disorder this often obscures the fact that only part of the story is known. Some causes are pretty straightforward. We know that a broken leg is usually the result of some kind of pressure or strain being applied. Moreover, if you have a broken leg you typically know when it happened (leg was fine yesterday, today it is broken) and how it happened (this morning you went skiing).
Over half of college students would try to ’sort out’ depression alone while over one-third would try to ignore the condition if affected, the results of a new survey have shown.
The results were released to coincide with the launch of the health education campaign, ‘Mind Yourselves’, which is aimed at the one in 13 students in Ireland believed to be affected by depression.
The campaign, which is in its second year, is run by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and the Samaritans, in conjunction with Lundbeck Ireland. According to the survey carried out for the campaign:
-Just 49% of 15-24 year olds believe it is important that depression is openly discussed.
-36% think that the condition is not well understood.
-55% would try to sort out depression alone
-35% would try to ignore the condition.
Antidepressants are far less effective than doctors and the public may have been led to believe, a new study has claimed.
Eighty – eight per cent of clinical trials that showed the drugs were less than effective either were not published in medical journals or were presented as positive findings, according to the study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers examined the studies that drug companies submitted to the Food and Drug Administration in the United States when they were seeking regulatory approval for 12 antidepressants.
As many as 400,000 people in Ireland have depression at any one time, support group, Aware, has said.
It has just launched its annual Depression Awareness Week Nationwide (DAWN). This is the biggest DAWN campaign ever held – it will include television, radio and outdoor advertising.
According to Aware, the estimated number of people affected by depression at any one time has been revised upwards – to 400,000 – to reflect the growth in population here. Statistically, it is accepted that one in 10 people are affected by the condition at any one time and preliminary results from the Census 2006 show a record growth in population, to 4.23 million.
Women are more likely to become depressed while they are pregnant, rather than after their babies are born, new research indicates.
Over 9,000 women were assessed at weeks 18 and 32 of their pregnancy and then again eight weeks and eight months after their children were born.
The results found that almost 12% of women had probable depression at week 18, rising to 13.5% at week 32.
However this figure dropped to 9% eight weeks after the birth. Eight months later, it was found to be just over 8%.
While postnatal depression has been a recognised problems for some years now, very little research into depression during pregnancy has been carried out.
The researchers are calling for more studies into the effects of such depression on both mother and baby.
The results of the study appear in the latest edition of the ‘British Medical Journal‘.
Almost two in three people would find it difficult to discuss depression with their doctor, while a similar number would be too embarrassed to discuss the condition with a friend, a new report has found.
According to the report, stigma is still a major problem when it comes to depression. In fact, 57% of people surveyed who had experienced it felt that there was ’some’ or ‘a lot’ of social stigma attached to the condition.
Children as young as eight may soon be able to use the antidepressant drug, Prozac, following a recommendation by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
Prozac (fluoxetine) is an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). SSRIs are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant.
The drug is authorised for the treatment of major depressive episodes, obsessive compulsive disorder and bulimia nervosa. Currently in Ireland, its use is not recommended in children and adolescents under the age of 18.
