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Depression Over the years this Web Site has been on-line, millions of people have e-mailed and asked about depression, what would happen to their depression if they quit the antidepressant or what they could do for depression before starting an antidepressant. I feel the need to let you know where I stand on a few issues first. I do believe there is such a thing as depression. I do believe depression can be debilitating. I do believe depression can be difficult at times to overcome. I do not believe a chemical imbalance is the cause of depression. There is no scientific proof of a chemical imbalance. I do believe when a person is depressed they have an endocrine change in their body. (This is different from a chemical imbalance.) I do believe there are two areas that should be addressed when dealing with depression.
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The
Truth About Depression Depression has been
very firmly fixed in the mind of America and the world as a physically-caused
disease, and anyone who gets depressed for more than what might be considered a
"normal" period of time might believe they have this disease.
In fact, if you are reading this article, you may be curious, too. But has depression,
as a physical disorder, actually been proven to exist?
And can it be treated with drugs, as so many drug companies assert? Depression
as a Disorder Depression Disorder
is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM),
published by the American Psychiatric Association, this way: The essential
feature of a Major Depressive Episode is a period of at least 2 weeks during
which there is either depressed mood or the loss of interest or pleasure in
nearly all activities. In children
and adolescents, the mood may be irritable rather than sad.
The individual must also experience at least four additional symptoms
drawn from a list that includes major changes in appetite or weight, sleep, and
psychomotor [of or relating to movement or
muscular activity associated with mental processes]
activity; decreased energy; feelings of worthlessness or guilt;
difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decisions; or recurrent thoughts
of death or suicidal ideation, plans, or attempts." The above has a ring
of truth to it -- but only because the DSM authors have taken various
manifestations of depression and decided what exactly constitutes a
"depression disorder". They
do not state their reasoning, so it's difficult to see exactly how they drew the
line between someone who is simply depressed and someone who has a
"disorder". But now that
we've seen how the DSM defines depression disorder, what do they say about what
causes it? Searching for
Physical Causes
For the answer, let's
go back to the DSM. The only
information given there as to physical causes of depression is: Neurotransmitters
implicated in the pathophysiology [study
of the physical effects of a disease] of a Major Depressive Episode
include norepinephrine, serotonin, acetylchlorine, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutryric
acid. What does all that
mean? Here's a simple explanation. A neurotransmitter
is a chemical that helps transmit nerve impulses through the nervous system.
There are many different neurotransmitters used by the body.
What the DSM definition is saying is that, by some method, the
neurotransmitter chemicals known as norepinephrine,
serotonin, acetylchlorine, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutryric acid seemed to be
lower in some depressed people, or higher in non-depressed people. Note
carefully the use of the word implicated in the DSM definition, however.
And therein is the first clue, for it has never been clinically proven
that depression is based in neurotransmitters.
We repeat: Never.
And believe it or not, there is not a doctor on Earth that will disagree
with that statement. Which leads to the
conclusion that a physical cause for depression has never been isolated.
How, then, did an entire industry become fixated on neurotransmitters as
a cause of depression? History
In 1973, two
scientists named Candice Pert and S. H. Snyder made a discovery, published in Science
magazine, that there were definite, specific nerve receptacles for opiate drugs
(opiate drugs, such as opium and marijuana, have a tranquilizing, euphoric
effect) . It was immediately wondered why the body would have such
receptacles -- does the body naturally expect opiate drugs? A
few years later, the answer was found: It
was discovered that the body had its own opiate chemicals -- the very
neurotransmitters later targeted by anti-depressant drugs, listed above in the
DSM definition. The way that a
neurotransmitter chemical operates normally is,
it is passed along from one nerve to another.
A bit of it is sent out at a time from one nerve to the next.
After a bit is sent out and received by the next nerve, any of the
neurotransmitter remaining between the nerves is taken back by the first nerve,
a process called reuptake.
The question was then
posted that, if levels of these "opiate" neurotransmitters were
elevated, wouldn't it give the person a sense of well-being?
It was also theorized that depressed people might not have enough of
these chemicals operating in their system, hence the depression. It was also realized that the
level of specific neurotransmitters could be raised by inhibiting the reuptake
process, causing the neurotransmitter to continue in a steady stream instead of
intermittently. Investigation
Stops
That was in the late
nineteen-seventies and early nineteen-eighties, and that's where the whole story
takes a very nasty turn. For if the
investigators had proceeded as they should have, with scientific methods and
principals, the following would have happened: a) The theory that the cause of depression lay in neurotransmitters or the lack of them would have been proven or disproved. b) If the theory were proven, then drugs which worked positively to treat depression would have been developed, or, c)
If the theory were disproved, then no drugs would have been developed, and research would have
continued looking for other causes. Instead,
what happened was that some money-minded individuals realized what might happen
if someone announced a "cure for depression". They convinced other like-minded individuals.
And there the science stopped, and the profits and lies began.
The
theory that certain neurotransmitters are responsible for depression remains a
theory to this day -- completely unproven.
In fact, if you check the literature for any antidepressant drug, it will
say that a) the true cause of
depression is unknown, but is believed
to be caused by the lack of certain
neurotransmitters, and b) the exact action of their drug is unknown.
You will find this in each and every case, drug for drug.
How
could it have happened that depression's causes could be so admittedly unknown,
yet drug companies march boldly forward with "cures"?
Profits
Over Science
In
1987, a major drug company released the first anti-depressant drug to
specifically target the neurotransmitter serotonin, with a marketing budget that
would have ended hunger in most small countries.
This was the first of a class of drugs known as Selective Serotonin
Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). The
word "selective" in this name simply referred to the fact that the
drug only "selects" serotonin, and not other neurotransmitters.
The
release of this drug was fraught with fraud and deceit.
From the beginning of the drug's development, the manufacturing
pharmaceutical company had direct ties to the Food and Drug Administration, the
government agency responsible for approving a drug for release.
The company managed to force the drug through the release process by
altering test results and hiding information.
Two months prior to the drug's release, there had already been 27 deaths
in the drug's clinical trials. Yet
the FDA approved it, and it was released. By
1992, more than 28,600 adverse reactions to this drug, plus an additional 1,700
deaths, had been reported to the FDA. It
is now 2003, and many, many more adverse reactions -- and deaths -- have been
reported. Yet this drug remains
firmly on the market. The
answer to the question, "Why?" lies in the fact that the drug made billions of dollars, and became the best-selling drug of
all time. It made pharmaceutical
stocks a very popular trade amongst investors.
Again, if you announce, with enough conviction, that you have a
"cure for depression", people will buy it. The lie, of course, was that it was not a cure. It was not
even a treatment. It was a highly
dangerous chemical based on very loose theory. Of
course, once it was so successful, other drugs of the same type were released by
other companies hoping to cash in on the first drug's success.
The antidepressant market has become a force not to be reckoned with.
The
real problem is, of course, that a cause
of depression was never investigated and found by the original investigators.
And they're not looking, now. The
drug companies continue to rake in billions of dollars based on flawed data and
heavy speculation. What
Should You Do?
If you have not started on a course of medication for your depression, we urge you not to do so. Please do not become another victim of a well-financed scam aimed at cashing in on your troubles. If you can easily spot the source of your depression, such as loss of a loved one, job loss etc, those can be addressed individually. The depression will lift in time but it does take a toll on the body. Stress and depression does wear your body down. You probably do not need anyone to tell you that. You can feel it. This is the area where psychiatry and many physicians miss the mark. They generally see you after you have been depressed for some time and you are physically worn out. They are trying to cure a normal physical let down with medications that were not meant to treat this body condition. Feeling depressed over a loss or the threat of a loss IS NORMAL. You are not alone with that feeling. Try changing your routines, exercise, diet and vitamins will generally help. If you around someone that can only offer sympathy, tell them to stop it. Has the sympathy made you feel better? Understanding or empathy is one thing, sympathy is another. You can get out of the depression, YOU need to decide to do it. This might seem harsh, it might seem impossible, it might seem there is no way out, THERE IS. We will be posting shortly alternatives or things you can do to defeat depression. Real solutions to a real problem. We are not denying that you feel how you do. If
you have already started on a course of medication for depression, we urge you
to We then urge you to consult your physician and talk about discontinuing the drug. Conclusion - Clinical TrialsNeuroadaptations to hyperdopaminergia in dopamine D(3) receptor-deficient
mice. Effect of Sesamin in Acanthopanax senticosus HARMS on Behavioral Dysfunction
in Rotenone-Induced Parkinsonian Rats. Behavioral stress modifies hippocampal synaptic plasticity through
corticosterone-induced sustained extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen-activated
protein kinase activation. Phosphorylation of proteins involved in activity-dependent forms of synaptic
plasticity is altered in hippocampal slices maintained in vitro. Overview of the tolerability of gefitinib (IRESSA) monotherapy : clinical
experience in non-small-cell lung cancer. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor acutely enhances tyrosine phosphorylation
of the AMPA receptor subunit GluR1 via NMDA receptor-dependent mechanisms.
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