Showing posts with label Medical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medical. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Depression and Malnutrition Disorders

Eating disorders and glumness are interrelated and complex illnesses that aid from a comprehensive approach to treatment. As challenging as it is to remedying depression, it becomes even more so when another complex ailment takes hold at the same time. Studies beget shown that a strong connection exists between downheartedness and eating disorders. And the link is as complicated as the two illnesses: They may blossom at the same time, or one can lead to the other.
Depression and Eating Disorders: Understanding The Link
Like recession, eating disorders are complicated illnesses. In to boot to the eating behavior, there are also underlying subconscious issues. The problem may start because of the attention our society puts on thinness, on being nonsuch- or movie star-beautiful. Too regularly women judge themselves by how end they come to that chimerical. Teens or young women in selective start dieting severely, in the count of reaching what they deliberate on is the perfect body. Because they again have a poor self-effigy and feel they can never be too scant, the dieting pattern goes to extremes.
"There is no one origin of an eating disorder; rather, it is characterized by a preoccupation with eats and a distortion of body image," says Basheer Lotfi-Fard, MD, a issue and adolescent psychiatry fellow at the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University and Children's Plaque Hospital, in Chicago. The way patients see themselves is distorted, and they can get more and more emotionally caught up in their omission to reach the ideal they've set for buy cheap Valium online. Gloominess and anxiety become part of the conceive of. Although depression and eating disorders are two sequestered illnesses, one condition can easily trigger the other. Comprehensive, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that up to 75 percent of those with an eating jumble also suffer from slump or anxiety.
Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders
 The most proletarian eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, or eccentric dieting sometimes to the point of starvation, and bulimia nervosa, bouts of binging followed by laboured vomiting. Some signs of these embrace:
* Bulimia. People with bulimia fork out a lot of time in the bathroom with the water event (to camouflage the sound of vomiting) and may follow dour diets, yet may eat a lot at times, and may frequently use laxatives to "rout out." Bulimics may be at a normal weight for their age and level.
* Anorexia nervosa. On the other side by side, the anorexia nervosa sufferer may be emaciated, weighing significantly less than stable, and may mention missing her period (her body has stopped menstruating, a side power). Often described as high achievers, these patients in fact show signs of low self-esteem and moan about their weight being too ear-splitting when it may be obviously below normal.
 Treating Eating Disorders and Depression: A Comprehensive Approach
 Because of the complex properties of the two illnesses, individualized treatment plans that lecture the unique problems of each diligent have the best results; the eating breach of the peace and the depression, anxiety, or substance misemploy that is sometimes a factor can all be treated simultaneously. A psychotherapy overtures called cognitive-behavioral analysis is often used to change the behaviors associated with each eating uproar. 
For anorexia in particular, paralipsis must be on getting the patient to payment weight as well as change both her eating habits and her meditative about food and her body conception; there might be physical conditions caused by the anorexia that must to be treated as well, such as voice damage. As Dr. Lotfi-Fard notes, "Near the start treatment is imperative, as the annual mortality figure of young women with anorexia is 12 times higher than the vague population."
According to the American Academy of Lassie & Adolescent Psychiatry, a comprehensive medical gang might include a physician, a nutritionist, and a inclination health therapist. Treatments may involve medication, such as antidepressants, to object the depression and any other psychological factors that led to the eating tangle.
Many patients are effectively treated for the disorders, remarkably when the conditions are identified early on. If you are troubled about a loved one with an eating hodgepodge and depression, don't hesitate to seek help. Ask your doctor or pediatrician for a referral to a psychiatrist or buy generic valium

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Combined antidepressants and psychotherapy most effective for childhood anxiety

Treatment that combines cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) with an antidepressant medication is most likely to help children with anxiety disorders, but each of the treatments alone is also effective, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
"Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders affecting children and adolescents. Untreated anxiety can undermine a child's success in school, jeopardize his or her relationships with family, and inhibit social functioning," said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, MD "This study provides strong evidence and reassurance to parents that a well-designed, two-pronged treatment approach is the gold standard, while a single line of treatment is still effective."
The Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS) randomly assigned 488 children ages 7 years to 17 years to one of four treatment options for a 12-week period:
* Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a specific type of therapy that, for this study, taught children about anxiety and helped them face and master their fears by guiding them through structured tasks;
* A Selective Serotonin Re-Uptake Inhibitor (SSRI) class antidepressant (sertraline [Zoloft®]);
* CBT combined with sertraline;
* pill placebo (sugar pill).
The children, recruited from six regionally dispersed sites throughout the United States, all had moderate to severe separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder or social phobia. Many also had coexisting disorders, including other anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and behavior problems.
The six CAMS sites were Duke University; New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Medical Center; Johns Hopkins University; Temple University/University of Pennsylvania; University of California, Los Angeles; and the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic/University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
John Walkup, MD, of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, and colleagues found that among those in combination treatment, 81 percent improved. Sixty percent in the CBT-only group, and 55 percent in the sertraline-only group improved. Among those on placebo, 24 percent improved. A second phase of the study will monitor the children for an additional six months.
"CAMS clearly showed that combination treatment is the most effective for these children. But sertraline alone or CBT alone showed a good response rate as well. This suggests that clinicians and families have three good options to consider for young people with anxiety disorders, depending on treatment availability and costs," said Walkup.
Results also demonstrated that the treatments were safe. Children taking sertraline alone showed no more side effects than the children taking the placebo and few children discontinued the trial due to side effects. In addition, no child attempted suicide, a rare side effect sometimes associated with antidepressant medications in children.
CAMS findings echo previous studies in which sertraline and other SSRIs were found to be effective in treating childhood anxiety disorder. The study's results also add more evidence that high-quality CBT, with or without medication, can effectively treat anxiety disorders in children, according to the researchers.
"Further analyses of the CAMS data may help us predict who is most likely to respond to which treatment, and develop more personalized treatment approaches for children with anxiety disorders," concluded Philip C. Kendall, PhD, of Temple University, a senior investigator of the study. "But in the meantime, we can be assured that we already have good treatments at our disposal."

Friday, November 26, 2010

There is a Big Gap in the Understanding Depression

There are many Americans that claim they do not know much about depression; however, most are very aware of the risks of not receiving care for depression according to a survey released by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
The survey provided a "three dimensional" measurement of responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, such as caregivers of adults diagnosed with depression, and adults living with the illness.
One major finding that the study found was almost 50 percent of caregivers who responded had been diagnosed with depression themselves, however; only about 25 percent said they were getting help.
Additionally the survey discovered that almost 60 percent of people living with depression said that they use their primary care physicians for direct care rather than a mental health professional.
"The survey reveals gaps and guideposts on roads to recovery," said the Executive Director of NAMI Michael J. Fitzpatrick. "It tells what has been found helpful in treating depression. It can help caregivers better anticipate stress that will confront them. It reflects issues that need to be part of ongoing health care reform."
"There are many treatment strategies," said Medical Director of NAMI Ken Duckworth. "What often works is a combination of treatments that fit a person and their lifestyle.” He continues, "research indicates that the combination of medication and psychotherapy are most effective. But physical exercise, prayer, music therapy, yoga, animal therapy and other practices all can play a role.”
Duckworth states that “The good news is that 80 percent or more of the public recognize that depression is a medical illness, affecting people of all ages, races and socioeconomic groups, which can be treated”
This study may light the way for Americans and providers to pay better attention to the gap that exists with depression and the understanding and treatment of it. NAMI, a grassroots mental health organization who is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families that have been affected by mental illness will continue to help bridge that gap.