According to background information provided in a new paper by Northwestern University researchers, over half of antidepressants fail to provide relief to depression sufferers. Their research seems to indicate it may be because what we believe about what triggers depression is entirely wrong.
Eva Redei and her team used rats which were genetically engineered to become severely depressed. They isolated specific genes in this group of rats and compared them with four genetically different groups of rats which had been exposed to chronic stress for two weeks. When they studied gene changes that increased or decreased in particular brain regions, they found that the genetically different rats that had been exposed to stress did not have any significant overlap in their genetic changes with the rats that had been genetically altered to be depressed.
The implication of these results? Redei and her team concluded that stress does not play a role in triggering the genetic changes associated with depression; and, if stress does not play a role in depression then this means that antidepressants, which are generally tested on animals by stressing the animals and then observing how the antidepressant modifies their behavior, are actually treating stress, not depression.
Redei says that drug developers have been focusing on the effect (stress) rather than the cause of depression. "That's why it takes so long for them to work and why they aren't effective for so many people," explained Redei. They are not actually treating depression at all.
Perhaps antidepressants don’t work because depression is not a disease. If people are extremely miseerable then there is usually a reason. When a student is Chicago kills himself because of overwhelming student loan debts then the solution is to make tertiary education free not blaming his problems on some phoney “chemical imbalance”.
Well, the key word in the previous post is “usually,” in that poster’s opinion. Just because someone has student loans doesn’t mean that everyone with student loans will become severely depressed to the point of suicidal ideation or follow-through. What that poster cannot imagine is that some people can indeed feel “miserable,” without any specific reason, or might be more vulnerable to feeling depressed due to circumstances than others who do not have tendencies toward depression. Having personally gone through the absolute hell of major depression, alternating with clusters of panic, I can state clearly that, in my own experience, there were many times when there was no clear situation that triggered it. It took me five years to realize that no matter how strong my will, or my efforts to think it away, it was winning out. After searching for a decent med combination for a couple of years, I’ve been finally able to sleep regularly again, go back to school, and feel good about things and about the way my life is going, instead of being locked into an interminable state of intermittent deep sadness beyond sadness, and an almost constant state of apathy about much of anything. Anything that can virtually suck the life out of an otherwise levelheaded human being with a strong will to survive, is definitely a disorder, disease, imbalance of some sort, whatever one wants to call that. Thank you, and I’ll take this opportunity to get off of my soapbox now. …
Thank you Tina ! You hit you hit the nail on the head with your comment. It is a disease (dis-ease). Whatever the reason for which causes it. I myself have lived with it many years now and nothing I’ve tried works. It effects me everyday, but comes in waves of intensity that holds me down for up to two weeks at a time, then lifts just enough to function to my regular low level normal.
Anyway, thanks for clearing up the first comment.
Tina, you hit it right on the head! I personally think that it is something we are born with in our brain that causes this and stress is not it. Science may take years before it is found. I have been on treatment for 12 years now and still have problems. Yes, life’s downs sure contribute to it but that is still not the whole reason. For sure it is passed on to the generations and who knows what generation back for hundreds of years started it.
I agree With Tina. I am 45 years old and I’ve had debilitating depression on and off since my late 30’s. I have been on many different anti depressants since then. They work for a while and then they stop having an effect on me. I had another bout with debilitating depression this past summer by the end of the summer I couldn’t even get out of bed. My husband took action and found a psychiatrist who can prescribe meds for me as well as giving me therapy. It’s been 6 weeks since I’m seeing the new Dr. and I have been on new meds and as of this week I’m feeling much better. Now my husband understands my condition and he is being very supportive. Up until recently he did not understand that it was a medical condition and he took it personally. Even though I started my Meds in my late 30’s I knew something was not right with me when I was in My 20’s.I definitely believe it’s something your born with.
As stated, “Their research seems to indicate it may be because what we believe about what triggers depression is entirely wrong.”
“Redei says that drug developers have been focusing on the effect (stress) rather than the cause of depression. “That’s why it takes so long for them to work and why they aren’t effective for so many people,” explained Redei. They are not actually treating depression at all.”
They need to find the “root cause” of depression. If you notice in the ads on t.v. it states that that they think depression is caused by low Serotonin, etc.
I am presently in my 7th episode of a major depression. So far (2) meds, Effexor XR and Lexipro have not brought me out of this depression. I am now looking into NeuroStar a transcranial stimulation procedure which is non-invasive.
I hope that those of you who have posted find what works for you for recovery. We deserve a high quality of life!
Depression is a disease. The fact that we cannot explain the entire neurochemical mechanism that causes it does not mean it is not a disease. I’ve suffered from it for more than 35 years and have been unable to work at my profession for more than 16 years.
I too have had good results from an antidepressant and then had them no longer work. This means more work is needed to determine how to prescribe, which medication for what sort of person/depression.
The good news for me is that I don’t have the debilitating major depression every day that I used to have; now it is episodic, with more normal if not work-filled days in-between.
Hope that more research will result in better medications. The saddest part about people who believe what the first poster believes is they make it harder to funnel money into research.
Each to their own opinion; but the 1st comenter either doesn’t have depresion or the pain there of
or been diagnoised with a depressive disorder.It is one of many diagnoises of Mental Illness. I’ve been through many episodes of depression,and the pain being worse than a simple tummy ache or a slight cold. Those simple ailments can be remedied in a few days. Depression on the other hand, the remedy doesn’t go away in a few days. We don’t know when it really goes away, if it does go away
It’s living down, in the dark, knowing that light exists but without tools to reach it…
my son is survierlly depress and I feel there is nothing that I can do about helping him. I have tried to get him help but it seems that everyone that I have talked to thinks there is nothing wrong. What can I do?
Okay for what it worth I do experience depression severe in fact. I had tried to commit suicide more than once. My problem is a combination of things including past mistakes which now haunt me. Making excuses doesn’t really wash and so called therapy is a variation on self-pity. YOUR comments about the fellow who killed himself seems a variation on the “eat your vegetables, kids are starving in Africa” argument parents have used on children in the past. The fact that many people, but not everyone, who has a student loan commits suicide proves nothing except the cruelty of the so-called helping professionals.
To h*** with the first poster, wouldn’t be surprised if a simpleton conservative, saying depression isn’t a disease. Anyone who says that has not experienced severe depression.
It’s a disease no different from schizophrenia in the way it alters reality for the sufferer, in terms of conviction beyond will-control.
Silly to say the brain can’t get sick. That biochemicals have nothing to do with it, as if emotions were completely abstract. Which is ‘why’ mind altering chemicals “work”.
As for the article. Surely they’re not focusing on the right things regarding depression. It’s probably more about what can sell in most numbers.
Try adding deplin. It is a broken down form of folic acid (regular folic acid often doesn’t work with severe depression). No side effects and safe with all meds unless you take seizure meds (which shouldn’t be taken with folic acid, either). Works quickly and definitely helped my depression. Make sure to get a discount card from the manufacturer b/c it’s brand and many providers don’t cover it. Also, the low dose and the high dose cost the same so if you take the low dose (7.5 mg) have it prescribed as the high dose (15 mg) 1/2 pill per day to save money. I think you can go to deplin.com for more info.