Patient questionnaire for depression helpful.
PHOENIX--Clinicians in 17 diverse outpatient psychiatric practices across the United States reported that having patients complete a simple, short questionnaire about depression at each visit was helpful in 93% of visits and led to treatment changes in 40% of patient contacts. The nine-item depression scale of the...

Recognizing depression in adolescents.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dealing with the onset of depression is a trying time for any individual, but for adolescents, depression is more likely to lead to suicidal thoughts. Dr. John Constantino and Dr. Richard Todd attribute this to the fact that "adolescence is a time of identity formation...

Collaborative Alliance to Unveil an Initiative to Address Healthcare Gaps for Treatment-Resistant Depression.
HEALTH AND BEAUTY CLOSE-UP-17 August 2008-Collaborative Alliance to Unveil an Initiative to Address Healthcare Gaps for Treatment-Resistant Depression(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), and Baylor College of Medicine,...

Sick and down: to fight off an infection or illness, the body shifts into a slow-down mode that mirrors some symptoms of depression. In fact, scientists now think the immune response itself may even cause the mood disorder.
When one of psychiatrist Andrew Miller's patients asked about receiving the best drug available for treating hepatitis C, Miller said: "No way." The patient--in his early 20s and accompanied by his morn to the appointment--had no job, few friends and a history of depression. While Miller knows that hepatitis...

Nortriptyline beat SSRI for Parkinson's depression.
PHOENIX -- Nortriptyline was more effective than paroxetine or placebo in treating depression in patients with Parkinson's disease, an 8-week pilot study of 52 patients found. The study, while small, is the largest placebo-controlled trial of treating depression in patients with Parkinson's disease and the first in...

Benzodiazepines for major depression.
The Problem You have a patient with major depression. Symptoms include anxiety and insomnia. You prescribe an antidepressant and consider immediate augmentation with a benzodiazepine, but you are worried about the possibility that benzodiazepines could worsen the depression. The Question Do benzodiazepines aid...

Depression in pregnancy linked to child development.
A study linking antenatal depression to child development has been published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bristol Centre for Child and Adolescent Health research fellow and co-author Toity Deave stated: 'I believe the most important finding is that maternal...

Seasonal allergies linked to depression, suicide.
PHILADELPHIA -- Seasonal allergies might be associated with fatigue and mood disorders, including depression, in certain patients, Dr. Tedor T. Postolache reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. These possible associations are suggested by a series of observational studies documenting...

Simple screening tool spots elderly depression; A self-report survey was more accurate and took less time to complete than the widely used GDS screen.
WASHINGTON--A nine-item questionnaire of self-reported symptoms was more reliable and efficient than the widely used Geriatric Depression Scale and the Minimum Data Set 2.0 scale at assessing mood disorders in nursing home patients, according to a study in 71 facilities across eight states. Accurate detection of mood...

Screen for maternal depression at 2-month visit.
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. -- Screening for postpartum depression at the 2-month well-child visit caught most cases of maternal depression that developed within 6 months of delivery, according to a study of 199 young mothers. In addition, an electronic medical record system that prompted health care providers to...