Depression Help

People who suffer from severe depression following a heart attack might be more likely to experience cardiac complications while hospitalized, according to a new study.


Lead author Jeff Huffman, M.D., and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School said,"There is good evidence that if a person has depression after a heart attack, they are more likely to die from cardiac causes in the following months and years. But it can not studied yet whether depression impacts cardiac outcomes immediately after a heart attack-the time we see the most complications."


There are 129 patients included in the study at Massachusetts General Hospital. Within 72 hours of having a heart attack, each participant underwent an interview to determine if he or she suffered from depression or not. 17 of the original group members had a diagnosis of major depression lasting for at least two weeks.


Major depression was a significant predictor of heart rhythm problems, congestive heart failure or a second heart attack.


Huffman added,"The results suggest that physicians should be especially mindful of treating depression in patients with cardiac risk factors, and also suggest close in-hospital monitoring of heart attack patients with major depression given this increased risk for complications."


David Bush, M.D., associate professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Heart Institute said,"Surprising thing is that differences in outcomes were seen in a relatively short time and the new observation is that risk for these bad outcomes start while patients are still in the hospital".

It is investigating that deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy will help people who suffer from major depressive disorder, a severe form of depression. Two patients, a 59-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man, were implanted at hospital in Chicago, with the St. Jude Medical Libra® Deep Brain Stimulation System, an investigational device.

The name of study is BROADEN™ (BROdmann Area 25 DEep brain Neuromodulation) and it controlled, multi-site, blinded study that is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of DBS in patients with depression for whom currently available treatments are not effective.

BROADEN™ is researching a particular part of the brain called Brodmann Area 25 that is thought to be involved in depression. It is estimated that more than 21 million U.S. adults suffer from some kind of depressive disorder and approximately 4 million adult Americans live with depression that doesn’t respond to any medications, psychotherapy or electroconvulsive therapy.
Eligiblity for this study are:

• Currently be diagnosed with major depressive disorder.
• Be between 21 and 70 years old, with onset of first episode before age 45.
• Have tried at least four treatments in their current episode, such as different medications, various combinations of medications or electroconvulsive therapy.
• Have been depressed for at least one year.

According to a study, in London, about 790,000 households have been facing stress and depression problems trying to keep up with their mortgage payments and rents. The cost of housing forced many people to spend less on food and about 213,000 took out loans.

This news is just like a Breaking Point, in which 373,000 families spend more than 50% of their income on housing. People are going to extraordinary lengths to ensure that they pay their rent or mortgage, but due to the effects of stress or depression, having to sell possessions or deprive the kids of treats can be making family life very shocked and upset.

In the study, 80,000 have missed a rent or mortgage payment and near 740,000 households spend less on food and about 400,000 sold possessions to pay for home and   has urged the government to complete its target of building three million new homes by 2020, and provide 45,000 social rented homes every year by 2011.

Clinical Research says about unmarried women who are living in rural areas ,have lower self-rated health status than married women. This lower health status often causen of self-assessed feelings of depression. Primary care physicians should take an active role in health concerns of unmarried women.Study says being single may be associated with a greater degree of separation from usual health care, as many women gain insurance through a spouse and lack of social support also may contribute to poor health among single women.                        

The study analyzed about marital status and self-assessed mental health as big risk factors for poor overall self-rated health among female primary care patients. Women who are depressed also had worse overall health. Financial problems increase feelings of emotional stress. People today are worried about daily life crisis and many are left wondering how they are going to pay for necessities. But rural, unmarried women are more economically depressed than other.

Patients who are experiencing feelings of poor self-rated mental health can take help of concerns programs like, screening ,health promotion and treatment programs.

In the life of every person,depression will affect up to 25% of the population at some point . A strong genetic component has been shown by it. Take an example, if one of your close family members has depression, your chance of also being a so is 3 to 4 times the general population risk. Researchers are trying to find the genetic causes of depression and believe the answers could lie with short DNA sequences which work as 'genetic switches' controlling key genes in a part of the brain that influences mood.

These switches ensure that certain genes are only used in the correct area of the brain at the right times and in the right dose. Any dissimilarity in these can cause imbalances in the amount of important proteins in the brain that may increase susceptibility to depression. Recently, it was found that these switches were so important in evolution that they have been kept, nearly unchanged.Researchers explained that only by comparing the genomes of species as diverse as mice, marsupials and birds has it been possible to identify these switches as, they are located far away from the genes they control. The distances involved are as surprising as having a tubelight in US with the switch for controlling it.

Comparison of the genomes of different species has helped them to identify the switches responsible for controlling genes known to be involved in depression, addiction, obesity and inflammatory pain. Researchers will study the effect of these 'switch' sequences and look at common variations found in these sequences using DNA samples taken from patients with chronic depression.It is hoped that it will also examine why some sufferers do not respond to anti-depressant treatments.Researchers said that this study would have not been possible even four years ago. It is only through advances in the DNA sequence of many different species that we can now use powerful computers to pick out the most important bits of the human genome that contains the switches needed to control genes.

This study has given hopes to discover how the same genes in different people are controlled in different ways in the different parts of the brain that control fear and mood and hope to find out how these differences may change the way that depressed patients respond to medicines.We can now study millions of genetic variations in the human genome but it is only studies like that that will allows us to track down those that are important in depression.

Depression can be an unpleasant experience. But simple natural cures are available for depression.Following are what you can do to naturally prevent depression:

• Take a walk or exercise for at least a half-hour every day and learn to find the good in everything.
• Live out with only positive health-oriented peopleand concentrate on the positive aspects of your life.
• Eat an extremely healthy diet and don't take high glycemic index carbohydrates, alcohol, fruit juices, caffeine products, processed vegetable oils and other foods high in refined sugars and unhealthy fats.
• Drink plenty of water and eat a whole food diet with lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, lean poultry and fish high in omega 3 oils.
• Keep your fat maintenance around 30% and make sure it comes mainly from healthy natural sources of whole grains, nuts, olive oil and fatty omega 3 fish.
• B Complex has been proven need to both physical and emotional health.B vitamins are destroyed by alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, stress, processed foods and high glycemic sugars.
• Vitamin C is essential for Stress, pregnancy, lactation, smoking and taking aspirin, tetracycline, and birth control pills .
• Minerals, like calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, manganese, selenium and particularly zinc, are necessary for stable moods and brain activity.
• Omega 3 fish oil with EPA and DHA can cange your mood.
  
• Good quality, pure fish oil capsules is a good safe, low calorie, low cost way to safely prevent and overcome ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, depression and other brain-related conditions.
• A highly respected and widely published journalist,Moss Greene is focusing on optimum health for the body, mind and spirit.

Chief executive of an NHS Trust has claimed that by the cause of "institutional racism" in the health service, Asianpatients suffering depression and many other mental health problems are missing out on treatment .Women from south Asian backgrounds are twice as likely to commit suicide than the rest of theAntony Sheehan, "The mental health service had effectively chosen not to engage with the Asian community.We really should know impact of institutional racism is there in mental health and other health and social care services as well as it has been recognised in the criminal justice system.The real issue is just how we have chosen and not to connect with the community."population, and there are concerns that this may be in part due to their failure to get help with mental problems.

According to chief executive of Leicestershire NHS Trust,Lord Patel of Bradford,the chairman of the Mental Health Act Commission,said to BCC,"Greater efforts are created to offer support to Asian communities but even they could suffer similar levels of problems to black African and Caribbean groups, which are vastly over-represented in mental health institutions. People from these ethnic groups are as much as 18 times more nearly to end up in a mental institution than the national average.System must be alert to signs that people from Asian backgrounds are also experiencing problems.If we neglect these messages in the next 10 to 20 years we wil see the same numbers of south Asian people ending up in the mental health system as young black African and Caribbean people are doing now, and that's completely unacceptable in the 21st century."

What's different about alcohol for older people? As we get older, our bodies change. On the outside we notice lines, wrinkles, extra weight. Our skin is perhaps not quite as strong or flexible as it used to be. On the inside we:

• lose muscle
• gain fat
• break down alcohol more slowly.

How much is it safe to drink? The more you drink, the more likely it is that alcohol will harm your health; BUT there are “sensible” levels of drinking which, for most people, are unlikely to be harmful. These are roughly:

• 14 units of alcohol a week for women
• 21 units for men
  

How many people drink too much? Older people tend to drink less alcohol than younger people, but even so 1 in 6 older men and 1 in 15 older women are drinking enough to harm themselves.

Are there any risks to “sensible” drinking? Just because we drink within the limits does not mean that it is safe. Very little research has been done on older people so we may be mistaken in thinking that these limits apply to everyone. There are also some particular problems:

• health problems can make us more susceptible to alcohol
• balance gets worse with age - even a small amount of alcohol can make you more unsteady and more likely to fall.

Alcohol can:

• add to the effect of some medications, e.g. painkillers or sleeping tablets
• reduce the effect of others, e.g. medication to thin the blood (warfarin) – alcohol can increase the risk of bleeding or developing a clot or blockage in your bloodstream.

What are the risks of drinking too much? Alcohol can damage nearly every part of the body:

• the stomach lining → ulcers or bleeding
• the liver → cirrhosis and liver failure
• heart muscle → heart failure produces a build-up of fluid in the lungs which makes you breathless
• cancer → of the mouth, stomach and liver
• malnutrition→ alcohol has lots of calories for energy, but none of the protein, fats or vitamins you need to keep your body in good repair
• sense of balance → falls and accidents
• blackouts or fits
• stroke

Isn't drinking good for the heart? If you drink about 1 unit a day, you are slightly less likely to have a heart attack. This finding came from studies in men in their 40s and 50s - so it may not apply to everyone. It makes more difference to control your weight, take exercise and make sure that you get proper treatment for any high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes.

How can alcohol affect mental health?Too much alcohol can cause:

• Anxiety: This may be because you start to feel anxious as the alcohol wears off – like a mild withdrawal symptom. So you have a drink to feel better – but as the effect of that wears off, you start feeling anxious again.
• Depression: You feel less hungry, have difficulty sleeping and get tired more easily. You start to feel that you have lost interest in things you used to enjoy, are slower to take things in when reading or watching television and feel less positive about the future - or even feel that life is not worth living.
• Hearing voices: This is less common but can happen if you have been drinking heavily for a long time. It starts with vague noises, like leaves rustling, and gradually becomes distinct voices. These can be unpleasant and are usually distracting.
• Confusion: If you have been drinking but not eating, the lack of Thiamine, an important vitamin, can make you confused and unsteady on your feet. If this is not treated urgently, you can get permanent damage to your short-term memory – this is called Korsakoff’s syndrome.
• Dementia: You can lose your short-term and, as time goes on, your long-term memory.

How might an older person develop an alcohol problem? About a third of older people with drinking problems develop them for the first time in later life. Bereavement, physical ill-health, difficulty getting around and social isolation can lead to boredom and depression. Physical illness may be painful. It can be tempting to use alcohol to make these difficulties more bearable. It may then become part of our everyday routine and difficult to give up. Unlike younger people, there may be less pressure to give up drinking - there may be less family responsibilities, or no pressure to go to work each day.It is possible that health professionals don't spot heavy drinking in older people as often as they should, because:-

• Older people tend not to talk about their drinking, perhaps because of embarrassment.
• They mistake the effects of alcohol for a physical or mental health problem.
• They forget that older people may have drink problems so they don’t look so hard for it.
  

What help is available? It is often easier to treat drink problems in older people than it is in their younger counterparts.

Treatments include: Detoxification or ‘detox’, Support groups, Psychological or ‘talking treatments’,Acamprosate, Helping the problem

What do I do now? If you think that you have an alcohol problem, talk to your doctor. If necessary they can arrange for you to have tests, see a counsellor, or refer you to a specialist. There are also a number of organizations offering free advice for alcohol problems.



source: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk