Depression Information

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.


MORE RESOURCES:

The Age

Newsreader hid her depression at work
Sydney Morning Herald
... an ocean cliff that friends in the media, even those close to her, discovered she was suffering from depression and had been on medication for 10 years. ...
Newsreader 'wanted to be perfect'ABC Local
Channel 10 newsreader Charmaine Dragun changed depression medication before ...Herald Sun
Charmaine Dragun took risky mix of antidepressants before killing herselfNEWS.com.au
TopNews United States -TopNews New Zealand -The West Australian (blog)
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Mirror.co.uk

Callard reveals depression struggle
The Press Association
Beverley Callard has revealed she has been receiving treatment for a nervous breakdown and depression. The Coronation Street actress, who plays Rovers ...
Corrie's Liz reveals nervous breakdown and depression battlesstv.tv
Soap's Bev tells of breakdownThe Sun

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Evotec Gets FDA Nod To Initiate Mid-Stage Study Of Depression Drug - Update
RTT News
The company noted that these "positive aspects" would strengthen its integrated product development in treatment-resistant depression in its strategic ...
Evotec Reports Good Progress in Product Development in Treatment-Resistant ...Trading Markets (press release)
STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Evotec seen up; new medicine makes progressReuters UK

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New York Daily News

New York's $9.2bn budget deficit could cause depression, says governor
New Statesman
New York state governor David Paterson has said the state is on the verge of a depression. The state is currently considering a raft of drastic measures to ...
Gov: Budget failure could cause NY depressionCrain's New York Business
Paterson: Budget Failure Could Mean Depression In New YorkHuffington Post (blog)
Paterson, at Borough Hall, Takes Break From ScandalBrooklyn Daily Eagle

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Wall Street posts best gains since Depression
Sydney Morning Herald
Wall Street has marked its best 12-month rise since the rebound from the Great Depression in the 1930s. Growing investor confidence in the wake of the ...
Wall Street rises on anniversary of bear market lowABC Online

all 1,646 news articles »


ELDER INDEPENDENCE: Where Policy and Practice Meet to Define a New Standard of ...
Huffington Post (blog)
In this debut post, we'll be looking at the very real problem of depression in the elderly. My hope is that you'll be inspired to share your own stories and ...

and more »


Missing man was experiencing depression says family
KLTV
According to family reports, "Mr. Orms is experiencing extreme depression for series of chronic health illnesses," Captain Mike Claxton said today. ...

and more »


Campus View: Teens deal with depression and stress
my.hsj.org
Studies suggest that the inability to manage stress can lead to the onset of depression or anxiety disorders. “School stresses me out,” Courtney Thompson, ...

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ABC News

Corey Haim and 10 Other Troubled 1980s Child Stars
ABC News
Walter Koenig, also an actor who played Chekov on "Star Trek," later wrote on his Web site that his son "passed away after a long battle with depression. ...

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Collateral Damage in the War on Depression
Gold Seek
"While we were hit with a great recession, we now know that the world has indeed avoided a great depression," said UK prime minister Gordon Brown at a ...

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