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New treatments for depression have pushed antidepressants into the background
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Currently, new methods are being used to treat depression, which have pushed antidepressants to second place.
Currently, not only medicines are used to treat severe depressive conditions, but electric and magnetic stimulation of the brain, cognitive-behavioral therapy for stress management, etc.,
The authors of the new research project Julie Alderson (Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Loyola in Chicago) and Murali Rao (MD) believe that the treatment of depression requires first of all to understand the physiological cause of such conditions. For more than 50 years, depression has been studied by scientists, and as a result, this condition has been characterized as a shortage of chemical reactions that facilitate the exchange of signals between cells. Classical antidepressants used for treatment are designed to either increase or block the release of neurotransmitters - norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. All classical antidepressants will be washed only in half the cases. Therefore, the authors of the study decided to direct all efforts to understand the causes of depressive disorders. According to the new theory of the development of depression, the reason is the difference between the density of neurons in different parts of the brain, in addition, attention is paid to the effect of stress, which affects the production and death of brain cells, the role of inflammation, which is caused by stress and the role of feedback pathways in the head brain.
It is considered that constant stress is the most common cause of the development of a depressive state. Neurons in the hypocampus (the area of the brain responsible for emotions, memory, learning ability) begin to die off gradually. It is possible that all mechanisms play an important role in mental disorders. In addition, in the human body can be found biomarkers of depression, in which the role of molecules are. Scientists have identified more than a dozen potential biomarkers of depression, in particular anti-inflammatory cytokines, monoamine regulators, as well as other neurotransmitters of inflammation, etc.
Today, the most effective treatments are dexamethasone, anesthetics, benzodiazepines, tricyclic or atypical antidepressants, corticotropin-releasing hormone antagonists, a prolonged course of behavioral therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation of the brain, and the like.
This type of treatment takes several months. As a result, the authors of the study created programs for the treatment of depressive states on average over a month and a half, but this is not enough for a complete recovery.
Depression is now considered the main cause of disability in the world, after the disease of the musculoskeletal system. Experts came to this conclusion after comparing data of more than 200 diseases or injuries. As experts note, depression should be regarded as a first-line problem in the world.
WHO intends to take all measures to combat this severe mental disorder and has already developed an action plan for the treatment of depression.
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