Using downward dogs to treat depression

[BlueGin]

(CNN) -- When Cesar Castillo's cancer returned for the second time, he fell apart.

"I had to go through a rigorous chemo and radiation therapy and a stem cell transplant," he said. "I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't relax. I was really anxious and depressed. All I kept thinking was: 'Here I am, not even 30, being poisoned and fighting for my life.'"

Diagnosed with severe depression, Castillo was put on Paxil.

"The medicine turned me into a totally different (person)," he remembers, "and yet I still couldn't relax."

Are we over-diagnosing mental illness?

A year later, with the help of a yoga class for cancer survivors at his gym, Castillo was feeling like his old self again. By then he had given up on the medication.

So, when a work crisis triggered a second bout of depression and panic attacks, he had no intention of trying meds again.

"I went back to what had worked for me the first time. I upped the Bikram yoga and I channeled my energy into getting stronger and more relaxed again," he said. "Yoga became my saving grace."

Castillo's success with yoga would not surprise Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Doraiswamy is one of three authors of a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Using downward dogs to treat depression - CNN.com

 

[waltky]

Depression blood test successful...

Blood Test Could Diagnose Depression
September 17, 2014: U.S. researchers have successfully tested a blood test for depression. And it not only could help diagnose and treat patients, but it could also help remove the stigma of a common mental illness.

Depression is one of the most common of all mental disorders, says the Northwestern University psychiatry professor who developed the test, Eva Redei, PhD. “The World Health Organization estimates that about 350 million people suffer from depression yearly,” she noted in a telephone interview, adding, “That number is probably underestimated.”

Depression is typically diagnosed in an interview with a therapist, but Redei says she looked for a biological test because of how she views depression. “I think it came from my firm belief that depression is an illness, just like any other illness is. And if it is an illness, that means you can also diagnose it in an objective manner,” she said.

A blood test.

Her test measures nine characteristics, or markers, in the blood. The results can tell a doctor whether a patient is depressed. And Redei says blood markers showed improvement as patients went through psychotherapy treatment for their depression. “So that is suggestive,” she said, “that perhaps we can follow the way the patients respond to treatment by measuring these markers in the blood.”

This was a small study, and there’s still more research to be done before a blood test for depression is available to doctors. But Redei says she is “sure” that one day, blood tests may also be developed for other mental illnesses. Her study is published online by the journal Translational Psychiatry.

Blood Test Could Diagnose Depression

 

[waltky]

Granny takes a aspirin whenever she gets the blues...

Anti-inflammatory Drugs May Ease Symptoms of Clinical Depression
October 23, 2014 ~ New research suggests that some anti-inflammatory drugs, like aspirin, may improve symptoms of clinical depression. The findings were based on observations that people with inflammatory diseases suffer from more depression than others and are helped by the addition of some painkillers.

It’s estimated that 10 to 20 percent of the world's population suffers from clinical depression at some point in their lives. For a significant number of them, traditional anti-depressant drugs don’t work that well. Now, researchers in Denmark have discovered that some pain medications, including aspirin and ibuprofen, appear to ease depressive symptoms. A review of 14 international studies, involving more than 6,200 patients, found the prescription pain-killer celecoxib offered the strongest mood elevation when given with anti-depressant medication. Celecoxib goes by the brand name Celebrex. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

In most of the studies, all of the participants were already taking anti-depressants and were either given an anti-inflammatory drug or a placebo - an inactive substance. Medical student Ole Kohler of Aarhus University helped lead the study. Kohler says researchers have observed for some time that people who suffer from chronic illnesses which involve inflammation, such as heart disease and diabetes, are at highest risk. “So that when you have infections or cancer, so disorders where there is an inflammation going on, then you have an increased risk of depression, for example,” Kohler said. Clinical depression is marked by feelings of hopelessness, sadness and sometimes suicidal thoughts.

Kohler says researchers were interested in seeing whether there was a benefit among psychiatric patients who took anti-depressants along with a painkiller- compared to those on depression medication alone. “And we found basically that treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs improved the anti-depressant treatment,” Kohler said. Kohler says further studies are needed to determine exactly who benefits from anti-inflammatory drugs and at what doses. Doctors will also need to weigh the risk of some painkillers against their potential benefits. For example, some anti-inflammatory drugs, notably Celebrex, have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.

Anti-inflammatory Drugs May Ease Symptoms of Clinical Depression

 

[Delta4Embassy]

(CNN) -- When Cesar Castillo's cancer returned for the second time, he fell apart.

"I had to go through a rigorous chemo and radiation therapy and a stem cell transplant," he said. "I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't relax. I was really anxious and depressed. All I kept thinking was: 'Here I am, not even 30, being poisoned and fighting for my life.'"

Diagnosed with severe depression, Castillo was put on Paxil.

"The medicine turned me into a totally different (person)," he remembers, "and yet I still couldn't relax."

Are we over-diagnosing mental illness?

A year later, with the help of a yoga class for cancer survivors at his gym, Castillo was feeling like his old self again. By then he had given up on the medication.

So, when a work crisis triggered a second bout of depression and panic attacks, he had no intention of trying meds again.

"I went back to what had worked for me the first time. I upped the Bikram yoga and I channeled my energy into getting stronger and more relaxed again," he said. "Yoga became my saving grace."

Castillo's success with yoga would not surprise Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Doraiswamy is one of three authors of a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Using downward dogs to treat depression - CNN.com

Prescribing an anti-depressant for what seems situational depression, not clinical depresison is wrong. Sounds like he had pleanty of reason to be depressed and that being so was natural. Medical intervention wasn't proper. Instead, teaching people how to cope with those sorts of feelings would be the way to go as with yoga or other natural methods.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Granny takes a aspirin whenever she gets the blues...

Anti-inflammatory Drugs May Ease Symptoms of Clinical Depression
October 23, 2014 ~ New research suggests that some anti-inflammatory drugs, like aspirin, may improve symptoms of clinical depression. The findings were based on observations that people with inflammatory diseases suffer from more depression than others and are helped by the addition of some painkillers.

It’s estimated that 10 to 20 percent of the world's population suffers from clinical depression at some point in their lives. For a significant number of them, traditional anti-depressant drugs don’t work that well. Now, researchers in Denmark have discovered that some pain medications, including aspirin and ibuprofen, appear to ease depressive symptoms. A review of 14 international studies, involving more than 6,200 patients, found the prescription pain-killer celecoxib offered the strongest mood elevation when given with anti-depressant medication. Celecoxib goes by the brand name Celebrex. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

In most of the studies, all of the participants were already taking anti-depressants and were either given an anti-inflammatory drug or a placebo - an inactive substance. Medical student Ole Kohler of Aarhus University helped lead the study. Kohler says researchers have observed for some time that people who suffer from chronic illnesses which involve inflammation, such as heart disease and diabetes, are at highest risk. “So that when you have infections or cancer, so disorders where there is an inflammation going on, then you have an increased risk of depression, for example,” Kohler said. Clinical depression is marked by feelings of hopelessness, sadness and sometimes suicidal thoughts.

Kohler says researchers were interested in seeing whether there was a benefit among psychiatric patients who took anti-depressants along with a painkiller- compared to those on depression medication alone. “And we found basically that treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs improved the anti-depressant treatment,” Kohler said. Kohler says further studies are needed to determine exactly who benefits from anti-inflammatory drugs and at what doses. Doctors will also need to weigh the risk of some painkillers against their potential benefits. For example, some anti-inflammatory drugs, notably Celebrex, have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.

Anti-inflammatory Drugs May Ease Symptoms of Clinical Depression

And if nothing else, daily low-dose aspirin reduces the chance of several cancers.