Toward an Understanding of Major Depressive Disorder

The medical article talks about researchers on the topic on depression. States that depression affects one in six people in America which approximates to about 17. 6 million people each year. Patients suffering from depression are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease type 2 diabetes. People suffering from depression have also shown suicidal ideation as seen in the Canadian study which 485 of the patients showed the signs.

Major depressive disorder is one of the most common mental disorders, with a 12-month prevalence of 6.7% of adults in the United States (NIMH). There is no definite etiology of depression, but several risk factors have been identified. Functional and structural changes in the brain have also been explored. The most common treatment for depression is the use of drugs that act on monoamine transmitters, including norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. Decreases in these transmitters, especially serotonin, were hypothesized to play an important role in the cause of depression (Breedlove & Watson, 2013). The serotonin hypothesis led to the development of selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase the amount of serotonin in the brain. Further research suggests that the serotonin hypothesis is not entirely accurate and the neurobiology of depression is much more complex. The “chemical imbalance” explanation of depression may not reflect the full range of causes and may be given greater credibility by patients and doctors than is supported by evidence based research.

Depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors (“Depression: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments” 2015). Researchers are becoming increasingly aware that depression runs in families (Kam,2009) meaning that certain genes may make people prone to depression suggesting a biological vulnerability. The biological factors that have some effect on the hereditary and biological influences of depression are the genes, hormones, and brain chemicals.

Depression is a clinical condition associated with the normal emotions of bereavement and sadness. However, this condition does not pass on when the external causes of these emotions dissolve and is usually inconsistent to their cause. In essence, the classic severe conditions of depression have not been attributed to external precipitating cause. One of the most common conditions of depression is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), which is a psychiatric condition that impairs moods, behavioral patterns, and thoughts for a protracted duration. This psychiatric illness tends to impair the patient’s social functioning and quality of life due to its impacts on cognitive functioning. Some of the most common symptoms of the condition include difficulty in concentration, weight change, minimal interest in pleasure, high rate of suicide, and physical impairment. The severity of this disease was evident in the year 2000 when the World Health Organization ranked it as the fourth cause of disability and premature death across the globe.

Depression in itself is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that prevents neurons, the cells that compose the brain, from functioning properly. This occurs when the synaptic vesicles and receptor sites of the neurons become blocked, consequently preventing the chemical signals known as neurotransmitters from being transmitted from neuron to neuron. The reduction of this brain impulse activity is commonly seen in depressed patients making it argued that due to the lack of transmitting impulses occurring in the brain results in a hormonal imbalance, which plays a major role in the mood of an individual. As a result of this chemical imbalance in the brain a person may experience what is called clinical depression. However, clinical depression is not the only common type of depression. Environmental depression is another example that is caused by stressful events occurring to or around an individual such as the death of a loved one, divorce, or financial instabilities such as job loss. This kind of depression often leads people to feel powerless in a dire situation. Be that as it may, depression in itself seems to be more commonly seen in women than in men. Countering this is, in its most dramatic aftermath- death by committing suicide- the rates seem to be much higher in men than in women. Regardless of the type of depression or who has it most often, it is imperative to reach these people before they

Major depression is defined as a person who “has a history of one or more depressive episodes and no history of manic or hypomanic episodes. Symptoms often interfere with the person’s social or occupational functioning and in some cases may include psychotic features”. (Varcarolis 327) Psychotic features are “breaks with reality (such as

According to Barlow (2008), major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common depressive disorder and affects million of Americans each year. The symptoms experienced by individuals with MDD can be debilitating. The Global Burden of Disease Study, initiated by the World Health Organization, estimated depression to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the world (Barlow, 2008). To further examine this, The National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) found that each year roughly 13 million

Major Depressive Disorder or MDD is a very common clinical condition that affects millions of people every year. According to the Agency for Health Care Policy & Research, “ depression is under diagnosed & untreated by most medical doctors, despite the fact that it can almost always be treated successfully.

The cause of Clinical depression has long been a mystery to physicians and researchers. Many different theories have been proposed, but no conclusive evidence has been put forth. However, most of what we know about depression stems from the results of certain drugs which have been successful in treating the clinically depressed. These anti--depressants have led to the assumption that depression is most likely due to a chemical imbalance (of neurotransmitters) which somehow leads to the symptoms of depression. To try and write a paper on all the theories of depression would be endless, as would be a study on all the different types of

The leading theory explaining the biology of depression is the monoamine hypothesis of depression. (Stahl, 3) This theory suggests that depression is caused by a deficiency in one or another of the three neurotransmitters: serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. The theory was formulated after the accidental discovery of the original drugs for depression and psychosis, much in the same way Fleming discovered penicilin.

Major Depressive Disorder may be diagnosed as one or more episodes of a Major Depressive Episode. Symptoms of a major depressive episode include depressed mood, diminished interest or pleasure in activities, weight changes, sleep problems, slowing of speech or agitation, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness and/or guilt, difficulties in thinking, concentrating, or indecisiveness, and thoughts of death, suicide, or suicide attempts. These symptoms are not due to another medical or psychological reason, and they

(3) While successful drug therapies which act on neurotransmitters in the brain imply that depression is a neurobiological condition (4), the fact that such medications do not help about 20 percent of depression-sufferers seems to show that not all depression is due to such imbalances. Rather, depression is not caused by one single factor; it is most often caused by many different things. Genetics, biochemical factors, medicines and alcohol, developmental and other external factors, and relationships, marriage and children all have effect on the development of clinical depression. (5) The strongest hypotheses on the pathways to depression are in decreases in the activity of specific neurotransmitters, or the overactivity of certain hormonal systems. (3)

Depression and Anxiety causes too many problems and tears apart many people’s lives. We see many of these problems spark up in as early as the adolescents to late as the elderly. More specifically, Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder are the main culprits of many people’s mental illnesses and often times, these disorders occur simultaneously or sequentially. First of all, Major Depressive Disorder, often shortened to MDD, is a mental disorder that can negatively affect a person’s daily life activities and according to Anxiety and Depression Association of America, approximately 6.7% of the U.S. population has this mental illness (2014). It is often diagnosed based on the severity and frequency of

The severity of depression has been supported through scientific evidence that indicates that depression has a biological basis in the brain of a depressed person along with psychological and social implications. Whilst there are many catalysts in a person’s life that can be identified as a possible root cause of depression, such as stressful life events or the death of a loved one, the issue is far more complex, as the biological triggers of depression are not as easily expressed, such as faulty mood regulation in the brain, vulnerable genetics in the DNA, and other medical problems. Many things are altered in the brain of the depressed person. Firstly, what most understand to be an imbalance in the levels of chemicals that regulate emotions, is in reality far more elaborate. The true issue surrounding the many chemicals involved inside and outside of the nerve cells that undergo numerous chemical reaction which make up the dynamic system that is responsible for mood, perceptions, and the way one experiences life you experiences life can be altered in different ways that affect how one lives. Along with the brains chemicals, the connections between nerve cells called neurons decrease and deteriorate, meaning the

The neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin is also thought to play a role in depression (Porth 1371).  There are decreased levels of these neurotransmitters present in the pre and post synaptic cleft.  Dopamine levels have been studied and increased levels of dopamine are found in mania and decreased levels in depression (Porth 1372).