depression

According to numerous studies, American Indian youth experience disproportionate rates of mental health and behavioral problems, including substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicidal thoughts. To address this critical problem, an adolescent mental health expert at Washington University in St. Louis says that traditional healers in American Indian communities may be a valuable but under-recognized resource offering alternative and culturally relevant services that complement conventional medical treatment. More…

College students should become familiar with the physical and mental health services offered on their campuses.The millions of college freshmen starting school this fall have a lot on their minds — making the grade, meeting new friends and being on their own. Another new challenge they’ll face is staying healthy. While students face a variety of health issues — including infections, stress and sexually transmitted infections — the key to wellness is knowing the resources available on their campuses, says a college health expert at Washington University in St. Louis. More…

Mania can be confused with ADHD.Child psychiatry researchers at the School of Medicine have identified a small group of preschoolers who appear to suffer from bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness. The researchers reported they had identified key symptoms that distinguish bipolar disorder from other problems in very young children. Diagnosing bipolar disorder in childhood can be difficult because the manic phase of the illness can be confused with the more common attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Mania can be confused with ADHD.Child psychiatry researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a small group of preschoolers who appear to suffer from bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness. In findings presented this fall to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the researchers reported they had identified key symptoms that distinguish bipolar disorder from other problems in very young children. Diagnosing bipolar disorder in childhood can be difficult because the manic phase of the illness can be confused with the more common attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The confusion arises because mania and ADHD both involve hyperactivity, irritability and distractibility.

Abnormal heart rate variability increases the risk of death for depressed heart patients.Scientists have known for years that depression increases the risk of dying in the months after a heart attack, but they haven’t understood how depression raises that risk. Now, behavioral medicine specialists at the School of Medicine are reporting in the Archives of Internal Medicine that abnormal heart rate variability is partially responsible for depression’s effects in heart patients.

Abnormal heart rate variability increases the risk of death for depressed heart patients.Scientists have known for years that depression increases the risk of dying in the months after a heart attack, but they haven’t understood how depression raises that risk. Now, behavioral medicine specialists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are reporting in the Archives of Internal Medicine that abnormal heart rate variability is partially responsible for depression’s effects in heart patients.

Joan Luby helps identify depression in children with “interview puppets.”Although all children are sad sometimes, preschoolers tend to be inherently joyful. But Joan Luby, director of the Early Emotional Development Program at the School of Medicine, has found that, like adults, very young children can experience depression. Her research team has developed a checklist to help clinicians identify young children at risk for developing the disease.

One in three college students is depressed.The numbers are startling. National studies have shown that one in three college students is depressed and one in four contemplates suicide. Why are young people so much more anxious and stressed than previous generations? What can be done to solve this problem? Alan Glass, M.D., director of Student Health and Counseling at Washington University in St. Louis, says recognizing the signs of depression and suicidal tendencies and keeping the lines of communication open are key to diverting a tragedy.

WUSTL researchers have found no convincing evidence that people can delay or hasten their own deaths through sheer will.Many of us know stories about terminally ill friends or relatives who were able to battle their illnesses in order to survive until a birthday or other important occasion. In much of medicine, it’s an accepted “truth” that people can hang on or give up and somehow influence the timing of their own deaths. But in reviewing every study on the subject of delaying death, Washington University behavioral medicine researchers have found that there’s no evidence to support the idea that terminally ill people can have an effect on when they die.

Areas of red and yellow show increased uptake of the altanserin tracer due to binding to the serotonin receptors.Most of us feel sad from time to time, even very sad, but during a bout of clinical depression, a person is unable to escape their low mood for several weeks at a time. A popular and effective treatment for depression involves a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Those drugs increase serotonin levels in the brain and help relieve symptoms of depression, and most scientists believe the brain chemical serotonin plays a key role in depression. Now neuroscience researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that in people who are depressed, a key brain structure has an abnormally low number of cellular serotonin receptors.