Posts Tagged ‘depression’
The anti-inflammatory drugs to treat depression?
The death of nerve cells caused by stress was blocked by anti-inflammatory molecule in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This suggests that one way to treat certain symptoms of depression and stress could reduce the activity of the immune system that causes inflammation.
The idea that some cases of depression could be caused by an inflammatory response has gained prominence over the last decade, from a clinical trial of an anti-inflammatory drug for psoriasis had an antidepressant side effects unexpected.
Previous research has suggested that cytokines block the birth of new neurons (nerve cells) in the hippocampi of stressed and depressed, an effect that may underlie some symptoms of depression such as memory problems.
Ronald Duman and his colleagues at Yale University studied the cytokine NF-kB is known to control several immune responses, to see if its release could reduce neurogenesis (the creation of new neurons) and whether these effects could be prevented .
After stress, whether acute or chronic, there were fewer neurons created in the brain of rodents. When they received an inhibitor of NF-kB before the stress, the birth of new neurons continued at a normal rate.
Duman hopes that a cytokine inhibitor can be developed as a treatment option for people with depression who do not respond to conventional treatment with antidepressants. “Depression is not a single disease,” he said. “A sub-group of depressed people may have an inflammatory condition, while other sub-groups could be better treated with existing antidepressant medications.”
While other anti-inflammatory drugs are in clinical trials for the treatment of depression, Tad Pace of Emory University, who studies the immune system function in people with major depression, said that NF -kB might be a better target for a drug because it is the first of a signaling cascade involving several other citokines.
Joe Herbert of Cambridge University, who studies the factors that affect neurogenesis, warns of possible complications with this type of treatment. “Developing drugs that interfere with the cytokine NF-kB can be problematic given its widespread function in the organization and its involvement in the development of cancer.
Pace remains optimistic, hoping to see the anti-inflammatory drugs, such as an inhibitor of NF-kB, regularly prescribed for the treatment of depression in the next 10 years.
Posted in Mental Health | 
Tags: depression, Mental Health, stress, Symptoms of depression | 
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Depression : implications for psychotherapy
Depression should not be regarded as a disorder but as a process of adaptation, according to an analysis published in the journal Psychological Review. This perspective calls into question current approaches to treating depression in psychotherapy.
An argument for this view comes from research on the serotonin receptor 5HT1A, say the authors, Paul W. Andrews and J. Anderson Thomson Jr. of the University of Virginia. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter heavily involved in depression and is the target of most antidepressants.
The rodents that have a low level of 5HT1A fewer symptoms of depression in response to stress, suggesting that this receptor is involved in the development of depression. (Pharmaceutical companies are currently developing a next generation of antidepressants that target this receptor).
People with depression often think hard about their problems. These thoughts are called ruminations, are persistent and depressed people have trouble thinking of something else. Several studies have shown that this style of thinking is often very analytical, dividing a complex problem into smaller components which are considered one at a time.
The problem analysis, the authors argue, requires a lot of thought and continuous depression coordinates several changes in the body to help the person to analyze their problems without being distracted. Studies of depression in rodents show that the 5HT1A receptor provides nerve cells in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, the fuel required for their activation.
The meaning of several other symptoms of depression can be interpreted in light of the idea that the analysis of problems must be uninterrupted. The desire for social isolation, for example, helps one to avoid situations that require thinking about other things. Similarly, the inability to derive pleasure from sex or other activities prevented from engaging in activities that might distract from the problem. Although loss of appetite, often this can be seen as favoring the analysis because of mastication and food-related activities interfere with the brain’s ability to process information.
Tai-Chi to reduce diabetes
The Tai-Chi has been associated with the prevention of diabetes by more than one occasion, and we all know that physical activity related to meditation and emotional well-being are associated with this practice can have a positive effect on symptoms of the disease.
The data are accumulated, and this time the researcher Liu Xin, University of Queensland has worked with a group of people suffering from Tai-Chi to understand the effects of this practice on the disease, discovering that it may be useful to combat .
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