For individuals in the United States between the age of 15 and 44, major depression is the leading cause of disability. Major depression is often a heritable condition, caused by maladaptive genes getting transferred across generations. That said, not everyone diagnosed with major depressive disorder inherited the condition from ancestors or should be blaming their …
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is projected to become the number one global disease burden by 2030. Present-day statistics suggest that depression affects over 350 million people worldwide. Among those who are depressed, seeking professional psychiatric treatment is often helpful. An estimated 66% of all individuals who seek treatment are able to …
Most pharmacological-based treatments for depression aim to increase levels of various neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin (5-HT). It is thought that approximately 2 out of 3 individuals that seek treatment with standard antidepressants such as SSRIs and SNRIs are able to attain therapeutic relief. For a certain percentage of these individuals, the benefits of using pharmaceutical interventions …
Despite the fact that pharmaceutical companies continue to promote the concept of “chemical imbalances” as the root cause of depression, this is a vast oversimplification of an infinitely more complex condition. While a chemical imbalance may be one of the primary contributing factors to a person’s depression, what causes the chemicals (neurotransmitters) to become imbalanced …
It seems as though society is on the verge of ushering in a new generation of treatment modalities for depression and other psychiatric conditions. While most people turn to pharmaceutical drugs for major depressive disorder, approximately 1 out of 3 people fail to get sufficient symptomatic relief. To make matters worse, many end up trying …
It appears as though the pharmaceutical juggernaut Eli Lilly is facing major legal backlash for failure to disclose discontinuation effects associated with their medication Cymbalta (Duloxetine). Cymbalta is an SNRI antidepressant that was approved in August 2004 for the treatment of major depression. A woman named Claudia Herrera has been making news headlines because she …
Depression is a growing epidemic that affects the lives of nearly 15 million Americans. The number of individuals diagnosed with depression will continue to grow as a result of population growth, poor diet, environmental toxins, genetic polymorphisms, and other unique neurophysiological factors. As a result of depression, it is estimated that nearly 1 out of …