Depression treatment needs overhaul

http://bit.ly/2P2T2ZT

The way depression is diagnosed and treated needs a major overhaul, say authors of a new review article in the scientific journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

The way depression is diagnosed and treated needs a major overhaul, say authors of a new review article in the scientific journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

This is because current treatment of depression is ineffective and lacks a plausible, coherent theoretical basis, they claim.

A new theory for depression and its treatment is proposed in the article “Depression subtyping based on evolutionary psychiatry: Proximate mechanisms and ultimate functions,” authored by Markus J. Rantala, from University of Turku in Finland; Severi Luoto, from the University of Auckland in New Zealand; Indrikis Krams from the University of Tartu in Estonia and University of Latvia; and Hasse Karlsson from the University of Turku.

“We argue that depression is not a single disease; it is a heterogeneous syndrome, with patients differing remarkably in symptom profile, pathophysiology and treatment responsiveness,” says Severi Luoto, a PhD candidate in evolutionary psychology at the University of Auckland.

The review article classifies depressive episodes into 12 subtypes based on evolutionary psychiatry.

The 12 subtypes are induced by:

  1. infection, in which sickness behaviour to combat pathogens and parasites may lead to symptoms such as loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, anhedonia, impaired concentration;
  2. long-term stress which is known to activate the immune system, causing an increase in proinflammatory cytokine levels that influence mood;
  3. loneliness;
  4. traumatic experience;
  5. hierarchy conflict where events such as unemployment, exclusion from a social group, bullying at school or professional hierarchy conflicts may trigger a depressive episode;
  6. grief;
  7. romantic rejection;
  8. postpartum events which lead to depression in 10-15% of women;
  9. the season, where Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects the individual at the same time each year;
  10. chemicals such as alcohol and cocaine;
  11. somatic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, migraine, epilepsy, stroke and traumatic brain injury; and
  12. starvation which is known to reduce mood and, when prolonged, can lead to apathy and social withdrawal.

Leave a Reply