Tests lead to mental illness, says teachers' leader

The Government's excessive regime of school tests is making children mentally
ill, a teachers' leader warned today.

More information at: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/information/news/?EntryId17=57533

Laboratory Test for Depression May Be Possible

Researchers have discovered a change in the location of a protein in the brain could serve as a biomarker for depression. The finding may lead to development of a simple, rapid, laboratory test in the next 10 years to identify patients with depression and to determine whether a particular antidepressant therapy will provide a successful response.

“This test could serve to predict the efficacy of antidepressant therapy quickly, within four to five days, sparing patients the agony of waiting a month or more to find out if they are on the correct therapeutic regimen,” said Mark Rasenick, UIC distinguished university professor of physiology and biophysics and psychiatry.

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The Role of Heredity in Mood Disorders

Emerging evidence suggests individual genes do not cause depression, but they are thought to increase the probability of an individual having a depression in the face of other accumulating risk factors, such as other genes and environmental stressors. One gene that has been shown to increase the risk for depression in the context of multiple stressful life events is the gene for the serotonin transporter protein.

This gene is responsible for making the protein that is targeted by all current drug treatments for depression. In a number of studies it has been shown that people who inherit one form of this gene, called SLC6A4, are at up to four times the risk of depression if they experience unusual stresses in their lives.

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Genes May Increase Risk for PTSD

A new study finds a particular genetic profile appears to increase the risk of posttraumatic stress disorder among adults who were abused in their youth. Emory University researchers hope the discovery will lend insights into why the disorder, initially viewed as a potentially normative response to traumatic exposure, does not develop in everyone.

According to the researchers, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating stress-related psychiatric disorder, with prevalence rates of at least 7 percent to 8 percent in the U.S. population, and with much higher rates among combat veterans and those living in high-violence areas.

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Research shows meditation helps those suffering from depression

It could be inside a Japanese temple, but the Chicago Zen Center sits inside a stately Evanston home that some call a hospital for the mind.
Sensei Sevan Ross heads the Zen Center.
"Since the beginning of Buddhism, to help people with mental afflictions. That's what we do," he said.
Student Mike McKane goes to the Zen Center to lighten his depression.
"The meditation sort of put things in perspective for me. It was doing something good for me," he said.

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Swedish Rhodiola rosea Extract Effective in Treating Mild to Moderate Depression in New Clinical Trial

A new clinical trial has found that an extract of Rhodiola rosea roots and rhizomes demonstrated anti-depressive activity in patients with mild to moderate depression.
This is the first double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of Rhodiola rosea in patients diagnosed with depression. Patients given the Swedish-made Rhodiola rosea extract showed significant improvements in depression compared to those given placebo.
The trial, published in the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, utilized a proprietary Rhodiola rosea root extract called SHR-5, a standardized extract used in the product Arctic Root(R) produced by the Swedish Herbal Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden (distributed in the United States by ProActive BioProducts Inc. of Sedona, AZ (http://www.proactivebio.com/)).
The 6-week trial was conducted on 89 subjects, aged 18 to 70, who were assessed with clinically significant depression according to two different standard measurements used in psychiatry. Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group received 2 tablets once daily (340 mg/day) of SHR-5, the second group received 2 tablets twice daily (680 mg/day) of SHR-5, and the third group was given 2 placebo tablets once daily. (Placebos were identical in appearance to the treatment tablets and contained 170 mg lactose.)

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Depression main cause of hospitalisation

Depression accounted for almost one in three admissions to Irish psychiatric units last year, according to latest statistics.
The figures show that there were 20,288 admissions to psychiatric units last year; 965 fewer than in 2005.
A total of 5,601 people were admitted for the first time, but readmissions accounted for seven out of every 10 admissions.
People in the 45-54 age group were most likely to be admitted, with a rate of 763 per 100,000 of the population, and the 18-19 age-group has the highest rate of first admissions to psychiatric units.
A socio-economic breakdown of figures showed that the unskilled occupational group had the highest rate of admissions and first admissions.

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