Monday, August 04, 2003

Antidepressant Drugs May Protect Brain From Damage Due to Depression
AScribe Newswire story reprinted at PsycPORT - "Studying women with histories of clinical depression, investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that the use of antidepressant drugs appears to protect a key brain structure often damaged by depression. Previous research has shown that a region of the brain involved in learning and memory, called the hippocampus, is smaller in people who have been clinically depressed than in those who never have suffered a depressive episode. Now, researchers have found that this region is not quite as small in depressed patients who have taken antidepressant drugs."  
  

Mental health problems rife among US youth
Story at Health News (UK) - "The extent of mental health problems among American adolescents is revealed in new research, which suggests that it has reached 'alarming' levels. The study found at least 16 per cent of boys and 19 per cent of girls have a diagnosis of at least one problem, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression or substance dependence. The study also found that sexual and physical assault or even witnessing violence increases the risk of PTSD, depression and substance abuse. The investigation by the Medical University of South Carolina’s National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center involved more than 4,000 young people aged between 12 and 17."