In the biggest attempt yet to change the public perception of conditions such as depression and schizophrenia, three major charities are to run a TV campaign showing that many conditions thought of as incurable are treatable.
The amount of money involved in this campaign is about 16 million pounds, according to the Guardian.
Showing posts with label depression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label depression. Show all posts
Sunday, July 15, 2007
United kingdom corrects myths on mental illness
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Food and Depression, how healthy eating can help
Healthy eating and depression. A publication from the Mental Health Foundation, a UK charity for everyone's mental health. You can also read it online. Research in this area is still underway so it is not possible to draw any firm conclusions but the evidence does suggest that it is worth trying to follow a healthy diet in order to protect our mental health.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Beyond Blue
This is a non commercial website with practical information about depression
Beyondblue is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation working to address issues associated with depression, anxiety and related substance misuse disorders in Australia. Beyondblue is a bipartisan initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments with a key goal of raising community awareness about depression and reducing stigma associated with the illness.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Yoga may help treat depression
According to this study and article Yoga may help treat depression and anxiety. Even some data on brain scans and evidence for changes in neurotransmittors after Yoga
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Is it a chronic depression or personality disorder
This is one of the hardest questions to answer especially if your working on a inpatient unit with depressed patients. They are mostly severely ill for a long time and demoralised when they get admitted. To get a clear picture of what is wrong we usually get rid of all psychopharmacological drugs for diagnostic purposes. That's why i find this article of major importance, clearly written by experienced clinicians. The table offers clinical features that may help differentiate chronic depression from personality disorder.
Guidelines:
1. avoid unsupported conclusions based on nonresponse
2. bear in mind that depression is likely to make personality traits look more like full-fledged PDs by exaggerating a range of personality traits such as avoidance, dependence, and interpersonal sensitivity. Always consider what evidence exists that these were more than traits at any point when a patient was less markedly depressed
3. use multiple informants (family members, close friends, primary care doctors, psychotherapists) as well as other collateral information (eg, performance evaluations from work) to gauge the highest and usual levels of occupational and psychosocial functioning when less depressed. For example, even if the patient is in the middle of multiple struggles with his treatment team, a history from family and coworkers of the patient's typically satisfying stable work and personal relationships before a first episode of MDD in his mid-20s should lead a diagnostician to question the hypothesis of borderline PD.
4. systematically assess personality pathology with specific questions about onset, quality of relationships, mood fluctuations, and patterns of coping. In this respect, clinician-rated, semistructured interviews that inquire about specific symptoms and behaviors and associated impairment may be helpful as a supplement to global clinical impressions. This may be even more reliable than patient-rated questionnaires, which may be more sensitive but less specific.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Give Your Mind A Workout, online cognitive therapy
Give Your Mind A Workout on Finding Optimism
This is an article on one of my favorite blogs. It is a review of a website. This site offers selfhelp with depression based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This review descibes how this website works as well as the pros and cons.
Article in British Medical Journal about psychotherapy on the internet.
The reviewed website: http://www.moodgym.anu.edu.au/
Saturday, May 26, 2007
VNS for Depression “New”? No, But Don’t Tell Wired - World of Psychology
VNS for Depression “New”? No, But Don’t Tell Wired - World of Psychology
Nuanced comment in this blog about Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). As it states the FDA has approved this treatment 2 years ago. It is mostly used with pharamcotherapy- and ECT resistant depressed patients.
Since recently the treatment is not covered as a treatment for Medicare recipients since may this year. The effectiveness of this treatment is not clear, we need some good research but the trouble is how can you design a trial with a control or even a placebo condition?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Magnetic brain stimulator touted as treatment for depression - Engadget
Magnetic brain stimulator touted as treatment for depression - Engadget
As it said in the article this device is introduced during the American Psychiatric Association meeting in San Diego this year. It employs transcranial magnetic stimulation.The mistake in this article is the notion that previously you had to have anesthesia for it, they probably mean with ECT. There is no hard evidence that transcranial magnetic stimulation is actually working as a treatment for depression.
See also:about depression.com
Thursday, May 17, 2007
ECT online, an english website about electroshock
ECT online, a very nice website. It's author has the view that ECT does have a place in modern medicine. Critical standpoints are also mentioned.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Electroconvulsive therapy
This is a video on which a patients tells about her complaints during her depressive episode. It also shows some details on an ECT session.
One of the psyciatrists on this video is Prf. Dr. Max Fink, an authority on ECT.
He wrote many books. He visits european countries to help them establish good ECT services.
Monday, May 7, 2007
ECT and beta blockers
In this recently published review we summarized the results of the placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials with beta-blocking adrenergic agents during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and review the effect on seizure duration and cardiovascular variables.
Esmolol can have a significant effect on seizure duration during ECT, it shortens seizure duration, and this effect is probably dose dependent.
Since the relation between seizure duration and efficacy of ECT is dependent on electrode placement it seems advisable to use bilateral electrode placement with patients with cardiovascular risk factors and use of esmolol during every session before seizure induction. One should take into account the possible negative effect of esmolol on seizure duration in these cases and adhere to the guidelines for ECT that advise at least 10 treatment sessions with bilateral ECT before one can conclude that ECT is not efficacious.
In the absence of cardiovascular risk factors but with prolonging hypertension or tachycardia during ECT sessions, esmolol also is again preferred. Labetalol is an alternative although, especially in high dose, the longer half-life can be considered as a disadvantage. Experiences with landiolol are limited but the short half-life, greater degree of cardioselectivity and more potency makes it a promising alternative.
Please read the article here: articles on ectweb wiki
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Antidepressants stimulate new nerve cells in adult monkeys, may have implications for humans
In rodents ECT stimulates nerve growth. The suggestion is that this growth of new nerve cells is necessary for recovery from depression. These brain changes were not a response to tissue damage due to the electroconvulsive therapy.
Antidepressants stimulate new nerve cells in adult monkeys, may have implications for humans
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Technology Review: Brain Electrodes Help Treat Depression
Technology Review: Brain Electrodes Help Treat Depression
Electrically stimulating specific parts of the brain using an implanted electrode can help severely depressed patients, according to two studies published this month. The findings are the latest evidence suggesting that "deep brain stimulation," a surgical therapy already widely used to treat Parkinson's disease, could be an alternative treatment for people with severe depression.
Still, experts urge caution in interpreting the results. For one thing, says Karl Deisseroth, a psychiatrist at Stanford who studies experimental treatments for depression, "no placebo-controlled trials have been done" to confirm how well the therapy works on a larger population.Doctors involved in the studies caution that larger clinical trials are needed to determine how effective and long-lasting the therapy is.
Monday, April 16, 2007
ECT online, an English website about electroshock or ECT
This website aims to represent the science, the sociology and the emotion of electroconvulsive therapy fairly and in a way that can be easily understood
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