By Gabe Sanders Ph.D., NSCA-CSCS
Major depression, also known as clinical depression, is a diagnosis due to a person exhibiting many factors that revolves around a constant sense of hopelessness and despair. Interestingly, women appear to be twice as likely as males to be diagnosed with clinical depression.
A caveat to this statistic may also be that women are more likely to seek medical help for depression-like symptoms, whereas men are not as likely to visit the doctor. The sex difference may also be due to hormonal changes with puberty, menstruation, childbearing, and more.
Medications are not a cure for depression
Regardless of sex differences, new research is trying to find the mechanism behind depression. If research can identify certain mechanisms in the body or brain that leads to depression, then modern medicine may be able to better treat people diagnosed with depression, as opposed to medicines aimed at temporarily suppressing depression-like symptoms.
Typically, depression is treated with a drug called a Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) and this medicine is designed to regulate serotonin (a chemical transmitter) uptake in the brain, keeping a person well balanced and avoiding extreme lows or highs.
While this medication can be useful to treat depression, it is not a cure and there is a long list of negative side effects.
Researchers are looking for the root cause
To battle the hopelessness of depression, researchers are aiming to identify the root cause of depression in an attempt to better treat the disease.
In a recent study of more than 300,000 participants, researchers have identified new genetics that may influence depression. Understanding the genetic makeup of the factors involved in depression can significantly improve therapy and treatment aimed at a cure, as opposed to temporary improvements.
While much research is needed, there seems to be hope for the future of better treatments for depression.
***24-hour hotline of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255); TTY: 1-800-799-4TTY (4889) to talk to a trained counselor
Article’s Source
Levey, Daniel F., et al. “Bi-ancestral depression GWAS in the Million Veteran Program and meta-analysis in> 1.2 million individuals highlight new therapeutic directions.” Nature Neuroscience (2021): 1-10.
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