Treatment
Computer System Could Help with Understanding, Treatment of Depression
Researchers in Australia are examining whether information technology can be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression. Maja Hadzic, Fedja Hadzic, and Tharam Dillon of the Digital Ecosystems and Business Intelligence Institute, at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia, write that the World Health Organization predicts that depression will be the world’s leading cause of disability by 2020. They noted that there is a world-wide spread of depression, but that unlike other epidemics such as H1N1, there is no pathogen associated with depression.
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Females at Higher Risk of Relapsing After Major Depressive Episode, Study Finds
A new study of adolescents with major depressive disorder found that almost all the participants recovered from their depressive episode after treatment, but nearly half of them relapsed within five years. Females were at a much higher risk of having another major depressive episode, according to the study by researchers at Duke University Medical Center.
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Gene Could Be Underlying Cause of Depression, Study Finds
A gene called MKP-1 appears to play an important role in the development of depression, and could be a target for a new class of anti-depressants, according to researchers from Yale University. Ronald S. Duman, senior author of the study and professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Yale, said that the gene could be a primary cause or contributing factor to abnormalities that lead to depression.
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Scientists Theorize that Chronic Depression Is Linked to Brain Inflammation
A new study from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggests that chronic depression is an error in a neurobiological process that can be adapted and repaired. The researchers theorize that chronic depression comes from deep-rooted mechanisms the body uses to deal with physical injury.
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National Depression Screening Day
In honor of Mental Illness Awareness Week, the nonprofit organization Screening for Mental Health, Inc. will be sponsoring the annual National Depression Screening Day on October 7, 2010. Since 1991, Screening for Mental Health has been hosting the awareness event that is intended to reach a large-scale proportion of the public by offering free, anonymous mental health care screening, education, and treatment resources both online and at available visitor locations.
HHS Awards Millions to Behavioral Health Care Facilities
On Friday, September 24, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $26.2 million in grants to 43 different community behavioral health agencies across the country in an effort to expand and improve the availability of the public’s substance abuse treatment and mental health services.
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Safer Form of Ketamine Could Be Developed to Quickly Treat Severe Depression
Most anti-depressants take weeks or sometimes months to take effect, which can be difficult for those suffering from severe depression or anxiety. Researchers from Yale University have now found that the drug ketamine can take effect within hours. The drug has already been very effective in treating severely depressed patients, and researchers hope this finding will lead to the development of a safer, easier-to-use form of the drug.
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More Americans Are Being Treated for Mental Disorders with Medication, not Therapy
A new study has found that the same number of Americans are seeking outpatient treatment for their mental health conditions as the previous decade, yet less are receiving psychotherapeutic treatment.
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State Department Employees Discouraged from Seeking Mental Health Treatment Due to Stigmatization
A new internal report for the State Department suggests that more needs to be done to desensitize the stigma surrounding mental health treatment for State employees.
Federal Mental Health Parity Law Taking Effect
After gaining interim final rule on July 14, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) has officially been enforced by the federal government, making health insurance coverage for mental health and addiction disorders parallel to coverage for other medical benefits. With the support of Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D) and former Congressman Jim Ramstad (R), the federal mental health parity law gained passage in the House. MHPAEA requires insurance companies that provide mental health benefits to make these benefits no different from the coverage for other medical benefits–including similar co-pays, deductibles, lifetime/annual limits, treatment limits, and out-of-network benefits–as of July 1, 2010.
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