Friday, February 11, 2005

Team Approach Studied in Treating Depressed Teens (California) Daily News story reprinted at MentalHelpNet - "Ventura County doctors, nurses and therapists participated in a new study which looked at the benefits of a team approach in treating depressed teens. Ventura County Medical Center and Ventura County Behavioral Health participated in the UCLA-led study, which also includes the Rand Corp. and Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Los Angeles."  
  

Herb as good as depression drug BBC story - "A German study has added weight to the argument that a herbal remedy is an effective treatment for depression. Researchers compared the effectiveness of St John's wort to anti-depressant drug paroxetine in treating moderate and severe depression. The team found half of those with the condition improved when given the herb, compared with a third using the drug, the British Medical Journal reported. UK experts said the study of 244 people should be treated with caution. The study also found patients on paroxetine - also known as Seroxat - suffered more side effects."  
  

Social Support May Stave Off Depression in Women Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "Feeling loved and supported by family and friends appears to protect women -- but not men -- from major depression, new research reports. In a study of more than 1,000 opposite sex twin pairs, investigators found that women who felt they had relatively little social support had a higher risk of major depression, a condition that affects women more than men. The perception of social support had a much smaller influence on men's risk of depression, the authors report in the American Journal of Psychiatry."