Adult Men and Women Who Suffer From Chronic Depression

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Adult Men and Women Who Suffer From Chronic Depression

Adult Men and Women Who Suffer From Chronic Depression

Market surveys on women, men and depression suggest an estimated 4.4 million Americans are believed to suffer from chronic treatment-resistant depression. Depression is a chronic, disabling disorder and a major worldwide public health problem. Depressive episodes usually recur over time, with risk for further episodes proportional to the number of prior episodes. After three major depressive episodes, the probability of recurrence is 90%. In the U.S. alone, approximately 18 million people suffer from depression over six million of which are receiving some form of medical treatment.

Market studies on women, men and depression also estimate that over 100,000 Americans each year are treated with electro convulsive therapy (ECT) for their depression. Roughly 15% of all people with severe depression that require hospitalization commit suicide. Disorders related to men and depression are also very expensive. Depression is ranked as the second leading cause of disability worldwide in 1990. Depression costs in the U.S. alone are estimated to exceed $50 billion annually, including over $12 billion in direct treatment costs. The total market in the U.S. for anti-depressants is estimated to exceed $6 billion.

Several general factors may be linked to women, men and depression but the exact causes of depressive disorders are unknown, although both biological abnormalities and psychological factors are thought to precipitate this disease. Diminished synaptic concentrations of neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and norepinephrine, are implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. Most current standard therapies regarding men and depression are thought to affect either one or both of these neurotransmitter systems (1) SSRI drugs (serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors) or (2) MAOI drugs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) that decrease the breakdown of norepinephrine and serotonin. It is of interest to note that several antiepileptic compounds, such as carbamazepine, valproate and lamotrigine, are used as mood stabilizers and that lamotrigine and gabapentin are also used as antidepressants.

There is a new alternative treatment for this debilitating disease. On June 15th, 2004 an FDA Medical Device Advisory Panel recommended approval of the vagus nerve stimulator as a treatment for chronic or treatment-resistant depression. Learn more about this remarkable device at www.VagusNerveStimulator.com.

Charles E. Donovan, III
Author
Out of the Black Hole: The Patient's Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression. Published November 1, 2004 by Wellness Publishers,L.L.C.

In The News:

R&D Trends: Depression - Clinical attrition driven by mature market conditions
MarketWatch (press release)
Several drugs have progressed through the pipeline for depression in recent years, including Pristiq (desvenlafaxine; Pfizer), Oleptro (trazodone extended release; Labopharm), and Viibryd (Forest) in the US, and Valdoxan (agomelatine; Servier/Novartis) ...

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Globe and Mail
Cheeseburger blues: High-fat foods may be making us depressed
Vancouver Sun
Fatty "comfort" foods might actually make people depressed, new Canadian research suggests. Universite de Montreal researchers are reporting that high-fat diets increase anxiety and depressive-like behaviours in mice — a finding that a leading ...
Cheeseburger blues: could high-fat foods be making us depressed?Ottawa Citizen
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IMF Chief: World Facing Possibly Worst Economic Insecurity Since Great Depression
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"Your generation is facing probably the worst economic insecurity in decades, possibly ever since the Great Depression," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in her commencement speech to the John F. Kennedy School of Government graduates.

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BigPond News
'Cheerful' Corby out of depression as clemency lifts spirits
The Canberra Times
Schapelle Corby is believed to be recovering from depression and bouts of psychosis that have affected her in jail. Kerobokan jail's doctor Agung Hartawan said yesterday that Corby was in good spirits following the news of her clemency.
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man whose love keeps Schapelle Corby saneNEWS.com.au
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The many faces of depression
Chicago Tribune
Sadness touches all of our lives at different times, but depression can have enormous depth and staying power. It's more than a passing bout of sadness or dejection, or feeling down in the dumps. It can leave you feeling continuously burdened and can ...
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The Masculine Mystique and Male Depression: Embracing Your Vocation of Destiny
Huffington Post (blog)
That was the year my father became overwhelmed with depression and tried to take his own life. My father was a writer with dreams of success, which to him meant being able to make a living and support his family. I began to understand what drove him ...

PsychCentral.com
Erratic Web Use Associated With Depression
ITProPortal
A study on the behaviour of university students online and its correlation with depression has highlighted that those with the illness tend to use the internet more erratically, and in many different ways compared to their non-depressed classmates.
Depression Linked With More Internet UsePsychCentral.com
High internet use linked to depression - researchHerald Sun
Depressed people act differently onlineMSN NZ News
Business Review Australia -Tech2
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Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Depression is a genuine illness
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Depression is a common illness that affects one out of five people at one time or more during their lives. It's not the ordinary sadness that people feel when misfortune strikes. It's something that often strikes out of the blue and lasts for what ...

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Contactmusic.com
Jason Derulo says Jordin Sparks kept him from sinking into depression ...
Fox News
Jason Derulo says girlfriend Jordin Sparks kept him from sinking into depression following a serious spine injury. And after four and a half months of being in a neck brace, Derulo said performing his new single “Undefeated” during the "American Idol" ...
Jason Derulo: Jordin Sparks Saved Me From DepressionContactmusic.com
Jason Derulo says Jordin Sparks helped him through neck fracture ordealMyFox Phoenix
Jason Derulo: Jordin saved meBelfast Telegraph

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Stuff.co.nz
Stay-at-home mums more depressed
Stuff.co.nz
According to a US poll by Gallup released last week, mothers who don't work outside the home were far more likely to be depressed, with 28 per cent reporting depression, compared with 17 per cent of working mothers, and also 17 per cent of working ...
How mothers who stay at home are LESS happy than those who work - and more ...Daily Mail
Stay At Home Moms Are Less Happy Than Working Moms -- StudyHollywood Life
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