Funding for depression research

NIMH estimates that it will spend $334 million in depression research in 2008. That sounds impressive until you compare it with cancer research, which will receive $5.5 billion in funding. This despite the fact that, according to the World Health Organization, the burden of disease for depression is greater than the burden of disease for all cancers combined.

Look at it another way. More than 20 million people live with depression. In 2005, about 1 million people lived with HIV/AIDS, and the HIV/AIDS research budget that year was $2.9 billion. In stark contrast, the depression research budget was only $329 million.

This year, like every year, twice as many people will die by suicide than homicide, and yet our research dollars do not reflect this public health crisis.

It's beyond frustrating.

What are your thoughts on publishing the results of "failed" research? What do you think is needed to move psychiatric research (and its funding) forward?