Lecturing around the country has left us with the powerful impression that both primary care physicians and psychiatrists are hungry for new ways to think about and manage depression and the myriad symptoms and syndromes with which it is associated—including attention-deficit disorder, insomnia, chronic pain conditions, substance abuse, and various states of disabling anxiety. More »
Although depressive and anxiety disorders are classified as distinct groups of illnesses, studies document their frequent co-occurrence and provide evidence of a common biological substrate and a shared vulnerability. More »
Premenopausal women with major depressive disorder (MDD) have less bone mineral density (BMD) than those without MDD, according to findings of a study published in the November 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. More »
Patients who have had a myocardial infarction (MI) should
be screened and appropriately treated for depression, according to a guideline recently issued by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).1 The group recommends use of a standardized depression symptom checklist during hospitalization and “at regular intervals” thereafter. More »
Depression is an insidious, ugly beast, creeping into the mind over time until one is engulfed and powerless, feeling only a sense of futility and heaviness. In my case it came some months after I had had to retire from a fruitful and enjoyable academic neurodevelopmental pediatrics practice, because of onset of a degenerative neuromuscular disease. My depression was manifested mainly by weight loss, poor affect, anger and irritability, fitful sleep, and thoughts of suicide. Luckily, my primary... More »
Acupuncture is being integrated into Western medicine, particularly for treatment of pain, nausea, asthma, and neurological conditions.1 Although the exact mechanism of action for acupuncture is unknown, it is associated with an increase in the level of neurobiologically active substances, such as endorphins and enkephalins. There are also data indicating that acupuncture induces the release of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. More »
“An Epidemic of Depression” by Wakefield and Horwitz (Psychiatric Times, November 2008, page 44) raised the issue that DSM does not take into account the context in which symptoms arise for the diagnosis of MDD. The authors opine that the diagnosis should require that symptoms be “excessive” or “unreasonable” relative to the context in which they arise, and that “the efficacy of these medications for the treatment of normal sadness is often overstated.” More »
Why do Drs Pies, Wakefield, and Horwitz feel that “blue” feelings after a major loss (such as death of a spouse) or, for that matter, any loss have to be either “grief” or “major depression”? More »
Anew study shows that the rate of remission in adolescents treated for depression for 36 weeks was more than double that of adolescents treated for 12 weeks, whether treatment was with an antidepressant, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or a combination of both.1 More »
Lecturing around the country has left us with the powerful impression that both psychiatrists and primary care physicians are hungry for new ways to think about and treat depression and the myriad symptoms and syndromes with which it is associated—including attention deficit disorder, insomnia, chronic pain conditions, substance abuse, and various states of disabling anxiety. Primary care physicians also seem especially excited to learn that depression is not just a psychiatric illness but a... More »
