Depression (Clinical)

[Michaelangelica]

Thanks for your last post michael
Here is another intersting article on teen suicide:-

Suicide-Risk Tests for Teens Debated
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...061501984.html
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 16, 2006; Page A03

A growing number of U.S. schools are screening teenagers for suicidal tendencies or signs of mental illness, triggering a debate between those who seek to reduce the toll of youthful suicides and others who say the tests are unreliable and intrude on family privacy.

The trend is being aggressively promoted by those who say screening can reduce the tragedy of the more than 1,700 suicides committed by children and adolescents each year in the United States. Many of the most passionate supporters have lost children to suicide -- among them Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), whose son Garrett died in 2003.

One screening program, TeenScreen, developed by Columbia University, has been administered to more than 150,000 children in 42 states and the District. The state of New York plans to start screening 400,000 children a year, and the federal government is directing tens of millions of dollars to expand screening nationwide.

Use of the psychological evaluations is growing even though there is little hard evidence that they prevent suicides. A panel of government experts concluded two years ago that the evidence to justify suicide screening was weak and that such programs, although well intentioned, had potential adverse consequences.

[Michaelangelica]

OK
You can all go and get your own google alert after this
http://www.physorg.com/news69682774.html
Rabies virus shares this protection strategy with other viruses of its class; in Ebola, measles and Borna virus similar complexes of RNA and nucleoproteins have been found.

“This means that our results do not only have implications for the design of new drugs against rabies, but they suggest new therapeutic approaches in a variety of diseases, some of which are much more threatening than rabies. On a different note, the conservation of the nucleoprotein system also leaves room for evolutionary speculations about common ancestors and primordial infectious units of RNA viruses,” Weissenhorn concludes.

[celtfaery]

Chacmool,
I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I have been there, and it is both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is--you're really not crazy and your brain's chemicals need a little fine tuning . The bad news is, you have a mental illness. Not such a bad thing really. With proper treatment, you will begin to live and enjoy again. Another upside...there is an amazing correlation between affective disorders and genius and creativity. I suppose there is a real basis for the eccentric professor ! Seriously though, I have been living with this for years and if you want any info or just someone to commiserate with, I'd be happy to help. BTW, we're not mentally ill, we're mentally interesting !!!!
Shannon

[Michaelangelica]

Read this in conjuction with the "milk" thread

J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2005 May;40(5):561-5.

Malabsorption of carbohydrates and depression in children and adolescents.

Varea V, de Carpi JM, Puig C, Alda JA, Camacho E, Ormazabal A, Artuch R, Gomez L.

Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Barcelona, Spain. varea@hsjdbcn.org

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown an association between sugar malabsorption and depressive symptoms in adult women. Incompletely absorbed sugars may form nonabsorbable complexes with tryptophan, an amino acid precursor of serotonin, decreasing its availability. As serotonin is the most important neurotransmitter involved in depressive disorders, its depletion could lead to the onset of depression. METHODS: The authors' aim was to study the possible association between malabsorption of sugars (lactose and fructose) and depressive symptoms in adolescent patients of Spanish origin. The authors studied two groups of patients. Group G included 14 patients previously diagnosed with sugar intolerance. In these, the authors assessed depressive symptoms. Group P consisted of seven patients suffering from major depression. In these, the authors performed functional sugar absorption tests. The authors studied the metabolic pathway of tryptophan in both groups. RESULTS: In the group with sugar malabsorption, there was a 28.5% prevalence of depressive symptoms that was higher than expected in our population. In the group with depression, the authors found a higher than expected prevalence of sugar intolerance (71.42% versus 15% in controls).

CONCLUSIONS: The unexpected prevalences obtained for the groups studied suggest that there may be an association between sugar intolerance and depressive symptoms during adolescence.

PMID: 15861016 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=158610 16&dopt=Abstract

[CerebralEcstasy]

MA, I would like to thank you for posting some of these articles for us to read here.

My mother, although deceased now, used to suffer from clinical depression, which was later rediagnosed as bi-polar disorder.

In a lot of ways her life was totally taken over by these illnesses and she suffered without ever really achieving a non-depressed state.

Research such as this makes me happy *smiles* since I know that those in a similar situation have more hope than ever,for a future that doesn't include this debilitating illness.

For those of you who have said, mind over matter yadda yadda, I agree to a certain extent. However, there are those with chemical imbalances that just aren't affected by the regular means of improving depression - such as diet, exercise and positive thought.

If you haven't lived with this, or with someone who has suffered with this, you might not realize how very difficult it is to assign a method in which to treat these patients, as the treatment varies from person to person. Some respond better than others, while others spiral downward even further.

What we can do though, is be a positive force in these people's lives. Help them to feel that they are valuable to us, and that they really do have someone to turn to when they aren't capable of going on any longer.

I am still appalled at the stigma that is attached to mental illnesses of any sort. It happens every day. People with real physical illnesses are pushed aside by the medical community, on the basis that they have a mental illness.

Those of us within the medical profession need to be aware of these prejudices, and ensure that we aren't subscribing to them. Otherwise we may miss something that causes that patient their life.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by CerebralEcstasy

MA, I would like to thank you for posting some of these articles for us to read here.

My mother, although deceased now, used to suffer from clinical depression, which was later rediagnosed as bi-polar disorder.

In a lot of ways her life was totally taken over by these illnesses and she suffered without ever really achieving a non-depressed state.

What we can do though, is be a positive force in these people's lives. Help them to feel that they are valuable to us, and that they really do have someone to turn to when they aren't capable of going on any longer.

I am still appalled at the stigma that is attached to mental illnesses of any sort. It happens every day. People with real physical illnesses are pushed aside by the medical community, on the basis that they have a mental illness.

Those of us within the medical profession need to be aware of these prejudices, and ensure that we aren't subscribing to them.

Thank you, I agree.
You can see even here that clinically depressed people still get the "pull you self up by the bootlaces approach". Mental illness is so mis-understood. There is so much prejudice.
What I have tried to do in the articles I have posted is show that there can be many real causes for depression, genetic sugar (Lactose fructose) intolerance merely the latest of many. Many of these unusual causes are not checked out by the medicos and Prozac is immediately prescribed.

Thank you to all those who have shared their personal stories. It is hard to do this but very important for people to see that this is a very real and debilitating disease, not just for the patient, but for the family as well.

I believe much alcoholism can be laid at the door of depression.

I did come accross a good article on bi-polar -a slightly different manifestation of clinical depression - and I will try to find it and post it.

Thanks for the feedback
--
Michael

[Michaelangelica]

Sorry i can't find the excellent article I had on bi-polar
But this on the appaling state of mis- and under-diagnosis should shock everone.
Inappropriate treatment due to misdiagnosis can have a harmful effect on patients and potentially makes the illness harder to treat; antidepressants alone have been shown to induce mania or hypomania (a mild form of mania) in some patients with bipolar depression.

Furthermore, people with untreated bipolar disorder can experience a greater frequency of manic and depressive episodes, causing significant disruption in their personal and professional lives.

Many experts say people with bipolar disorder can face up to ten years of coping with symptoms before getting an accurate diagnosis but all agree that for people suffering from depression it is essential they talk to their doctors about other experiences and symptoms over their lifetime.

It seems it is only too common for many patients with bipolar disorder to receive an incorrect diagnosis, meaning years are lost to an illness that can be successfully managed when correctly diagnosed and treated.

The researchers believe the predictors identified in their study may help physicians and patients identify depression associated with bipolar disorder rather than unipolar mood disorder.

People with bipolar disorder have extreme shifts in thoughts, energy, mood, and behavior.

Inappropriate treatment due to misdiagnosis could have a harmful effect on patients potentially making the illness harder to treat.

When left untreated, bipolar disorder can worsen and patients can experience a greater frequency of "highs" and "lows."

The research was presented this week at an annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Toronto, Canada.

For more information on bipolar disorder and to download the assessment tool derived from the study, go to http://www.sayhowyoufeel.com/ , a web site sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline.

[Michaelangelica]

Another cause of Depression is Sleep Disorders
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twinci...s/14850332.htm

Daytime exhaustion is a classic symptom of sleep apnea, and obesity is a common clue. Extra weight can cause apnea by applying excess pressure on the airway during sleep.

Some sleep-disorder patients are misdiagnosed with depression and given antidepressant drugs that actually worsen their condition.

[Chacmool]

Originally Posted by celtfaery

Chacmool,
I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I have been there, and it is both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is--you're really not crazy and your brain's chemicals need a little fine tuning . The bad news is, you have a mental illness. Not such a bad thing really. With proper treatment, you will begin to live and enjoy again. Another upside...there is an amazing correlation between affective disorders and genius and creativity. I suppose there is a real basis for the eccentric professor ! Seriously though, I have been living with this for years and if you want any info or just someone to commiserate with, I'd be happy to help. BTW, we're not mentally ill, we're mentally interesting !!!!
Shannon

Mentally interesting - I like that! Thanks celtfaery!

It's quite a challenge to balance the brain chemicals that cause bipolar disorder, but medication has most definitely made a positive difference for me. I've lived with depression for so long now that I'm actually more scared of the manic phases.

[celtfaery]

Chacmool,
I know. My doc put me on antidepressants (with long standing mood stabilizers), and wow! Did you know you can hear your eyelids blink? Seriously, recognizing early signs of mania is key to helping manage your illness. DH actually enjoys my manias, he doesn't see anything wrong with being up at 3 am and shampooing carpets. I wasn't diagnosed with BP until about 7 years ago. I had however, been treated for depression since I was about 8. The best advice I can give is to be totally honest with your doc about what works and what doesn't. I hope things are going well.
Shannon