Depression Expert Jerry Kennard shares Depression management news and commentary at MyDepressionConnection.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182 http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182 http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/33802/abstinence-lead Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:18:23 -0400 Jerry Kennard   Those laboratory mice have been at it again. This time, we discover that when mice stop drinking moderate levels of alcohol they can become depressed around two weeks later. Mice are commonly used to model the effects of a number of conditions associated with human behavior. But how do we know when a mouse is depressed?   According to Clyde W.Hodge, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the UNC School of Medicine, the... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/33802/abstinence-lead http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/30795/treatment-guide Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:43:25 -0400 Jerry Kennard   After six years of work and a budget of $33 million, the Sequences Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) project, is set to move away from academic centers and into the busy real world environment of clinical practice.   During the research phase, more than 4,000 treatment-resistive patients with depression took part in trials that encompassed a variety of clinics across the country. STAR*D provided the basis for... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/30795/treatment-guide http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/29634/deep-stimulation Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:08:52 -0400 Jerry Kennard   Recently hailed by some sections of the media as the, ‘brain pacemaker for depression', deep brain stimulation continues to show promising results in people with depression who are otherwise treatment-resistive. Such patients will almost inevitably have tried a variety of medications, alone or in combination, and electroconvulsive therapy with little or no therapeutic effect. It is estimated that up to 20 percent of people with... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/29634/deep-stimulation http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/27084/eases-depression Tue, 06 May 2008 10:19:12 -0400 Jerry Kennard   The club drug known as ketamine has been shown to have a rapid positive effect on an area of the brain associated with depression. Scientists who made the discovery are hopeful that this could signal new treatments for depression.   Ketamine, sometimes referred to as "Special K" or "Vitamin K" gained popularity in the club scene during the 1980s when it was discovered that it produces a dream-like state and hallucinations if... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/27084/eases-depression http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/25688/sleep-depression Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:50:01 -0400 Jerry Kennard   The association between sleep disturbances and depression is quite well known but research is revealing a number of other implications. Insomnia used to be thought of as a symptom of depression but growing evidence suggests it may actually precede depression and increases our risk of other health problems including obesity, heart disease and diabetes.   Most sleep disturbances fall into one of three categories. Sleep continuity... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/25688/sleep-depression http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/24376/children Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:38:00 -0400 Jerry Kennard Identifying depression in children is not always easy. Children, especially younger children, may not yet have acquired the vocabulary, skills or even the comprehension to articulate their experiences. Some children withdraw and become sullen and others may become hyperactive or aggressive. Children therefore manifest depression in very different ways, but some of the commonest features do tend to reflect those of adults, especially after... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/24376/children http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/21439/heart-disease Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:55:00 -0400 Jerry Kennard Depression coupled with hostility form a destructive alliance in terms of elevating the risk of heart disease. Professor Jesse Stewart, assistant professor of psychology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, revealed a complex interaction of psychology and physiology in which inflammatory proteins are triggered to predict heart disease.  There is a long-standing interest in the relationship between psychological states and... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/21439/heart-disease http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/20976/dont-work Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:55:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard Apologies if the title startled you, but last week, some headlines that shared this or similar sentiments, were splashed over newspapers and the information super-highway. ‘No better than a sugarpill’, declared some. The one consistent feature of most reporting was that it was high in scare tactics and low in fact & detail.   So-called ‘selective reporting’ has long been associated with certain elements of... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/20976/dont-work http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/20680/subsides Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:54:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard Results from a large clinical trial of patients with unipolar depression show that improvements in mood do not necessarily coincide with a decrease in the sense of hopelessness. Professor James E. Aikens, from the Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan Health System, found that compared to improvements in mood, hopefulness can lag weeks, and sometimes months, behind relief from other depressive symptoms.   Assessments... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/20680/subsides http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/20333/guide-serotonin Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:18:00 -0500 Jerry Kennard A few years ago, if I mentioned serotonin to a class of 18 year olds, I would have been met by a wall of silence and maybe a question about how you spell that. Today things are different. Serotonin has found its way into the general vocabulary of many young people and we can only speculate why this might be so.   From the point of recognising the word serotonin I have found that knowledge of its role, and even what it is, varies... http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/4182/20333/guide-serotonin