Adult Men and Women Who Suffer From Chronic Depression
By Charles
Donovan
Market surveys on women, men and depression suggest an estimated 4.4
million Americans are believed to suffer from chronic treatment-resistant
depression. Depression is a chronic, disabling disorder and a major
worldwide public health problem. Depressive episodes usually recur over
time, with risk for further episodes proportional to the number of prior
episodes. After three major depressive episodes, the probability of
recurrence is 90%. In the U.S. alone, approximately 18 million people suffer
from depression over six million of which are receiving some form of medical
treatment.
Market studies on women, men and depression also estimate that over
100,000 Americans each year are treated with electro convulsive therapy (ECT)
for their depression. Roughly 15% of all people with severe depression that
require hospitalization commit suicide. Disorders related to men and
depression are also very expensive. Depression is ranked as the second
leading cause of disability worldwide in 1990. Depression costs in the U.S.
alone are estimated to exceed $50 billion annually, including over $12
billion in direct treatment costs. The total market in the U.S. for
anti-depressants is estimated to exceed $6 billion.
Several general factors may be linked to women, men and depression but
the exact causes of depressive disorders are unknown, although both
biological abnormalities and psychological factors are thought to
precipitate this disease. Diminished synaptic concentrations of
neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and norepinephrine, are implicated
in the pathogenesis of depression. Most current standard therapies regarding
men and depression are thought to affect either one or both of these
neurotransmitter systems (1) SSRI drugs (serotonin-specific reuptake
inhibitors) or (2) MAOI drugs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) that decrease
the breakdown of norepinephrine and serotonin. It is of interest to note
that several antiepileptic compounds, such as carbamazepine, valproate and
lamotrigine, are used as mood stabilizers and that lamotrigine and
gabapentin are also used as antidepressants.
There is a new alternative treatment for this debilitating disease. On
June 15th, 2004 an FDA Medical Device Advisory Panel recommended approval of
the vagus nerve stimulator as a treatment for chronic or treatment-resistant
depression. Learn more about this remarkable device at
www.VagusNerveStimulator.com.
Charles E. Donovan, III
Author
Out of the Black Hole: The Patient's Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and
Depression. Published November 1, 2004 by Wellness Publishers,L.L.C.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/
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