Identify The Hidden Triggers Of Depression

Depression is a chronic condition. About 30 million Americans have had at least one occurrence of severe depression in their life time.

Depression can be associated with distressing events in your life, such as loss of a loved one, stress and hormonal changes, sicknesses, specific medical treatments, or drug/alcohol abuse. Recent studies have shed new lights on different reasons of depression.

Depression Is Associated With Inflammation.

Anybody who has experienced a viral or bacterial infection understands what it means to feel sick. Sickness leads to fever and nausea, lack of appetite and loss of interest in physical and social surroundings. Sick people tire easily, and have deprived sleep. Additionally, they feel miserable and prickly; suffer from shortened attention span and temporary memory loss.

Just as terror is normal in the face of a predator, sickness is a normal response to infection prompted by factors called inflammatory cytokines/markers created by body's immune and inflammatory cells.

There is a growing evidence to suggest that inflammation is linked with depression. Here is some of the evidence:

• Enhanced levels of inflammatory cytokines can provoke depressive behavior.

• Inflammatory cytokines can move in the brain and alter the levels of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin in the brain.

• Amounts of inflammatory cytokines are much higher in people going through stress, grief, sadness, and other difficult emotions.

• Higher levels of inflammatory markers preceded the beginning of depressed mood in an elderly population with no psychiatric history.

• Depression is frequently connected with a variety of factors (e.g., psychosocial stress, medical illness, obesity, poor diet, diminished sleep, social isolation) that are known to cause an increase in inflammatory markers.

• Depression is a known complication of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

• Depression shares similarities with 'sickness behavior', a normal response to infection or inflammation.

• In cancer and hepatitis C patients receiving immunotherapy, depression occurred in up to 50% of patients.

• Neurochemical findings in autopsy studies suggest an inflammatory component to depression.

• Medications with an effect on the immune system can affect mood.

Inflammatory Cytokines Play A Crucial Role In Depression

Scientists do not know why inflammatory cytokine levels are higher in depressed and anxious people. They reason that psychological strain can change blood pressure and heart rate. These stress-related changes can cause the release of cell signaling molecules that stimulate cytokine production. Other resource of elevated inflammatory cytokines include smoking, fat-rich diet, and being overweight.

Various scientific observations implicate inflammatory cytokines have a key role in depression. Inflammation may initiate, worsen, and lengthen depression through:

• Hyper-responsiveness to acute stress

• Weakened immune system

• Neuronal impairment and neuron death

• Diminished neuron revival

• Enhanced neuronal toxic end products

Links Connecting Depression And Inflammatory Disorders

Accumulating studies have shown strong relationships between depression and known inflammatory or autoimmune diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Therefore, it is essential to recognize inflammation as a common factor that may cause many health issues.

Depression is a known risk factor for the development of heart disease, as well as an independent predictor of poor prognosis following a cardiac event. For example, patients with heart disease are three times more prone depression than the general population.

Stress could be an underlying trigger that leads to the development of both depression and heart disease. Stress can set off depression by activating the nervous system, disturbing heart rhythm, increased tendency for clotting of the blood, and augmented inflammatory responses, all of which negatively change the cardiovascular system.

Inflammation that aggravates both the disease and the tendency towards depression is seen in diabetes and cancer. While negative emotions may not increase the risk of developing diabetes or cancer, they could intensify these illnesses.

There is evidence that once you have cancer, psychological distress and depression can worsen the cancer through increased levels of inflammatory cytokines. Study proves that inflammatory cytokines can cause challenge to chemotherapy, accelerating the transition of tumor cells into advanced cancer. Some cytokines appear to encourage the formation of new blood vessels that nourish tumors, the crucial process in tumor metastasis.

Several large studies showed the evidence that patients with COPD are at an increased risk of developing depression. Despite advances in various treatments, the death rate associated with COPD has doubled in 30 years. The presence of anxiety and depression has been linked to increased death, declined functional status, and reduced quality of life.

Of people who suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS), more than 20% have depression. Evidence also suggests depression can aggravate IBS.

Links Between Depression And Inflammatory Skin Diseases

Depression is often accompanied with inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis, acne and rosacea.

Psoriasis is a hyper-proliferative inflammatory skin disease that often appears as rough, red, flaking lesions. Multiple studies have established that depression is a widespread challenge among psoriasis patients, which can modify the progress of psoriasis as well as the effectiveness of treatments.

The association between depression and acne has long been documented, especially in teens. Acne increases the risk of depression and suicide attempt. Depression can also aggravate acne.

Control Of Inflammation Represents A Novel Approach To Alleviate Depression

Evidence shows that inflammatory cytokines causes not only signs of sickness, but also true disorders in vulnerable individuals and physically sick patients despite the fact that they have no previous history of mental disorders.

The findings that inflammation can actually initiate depression and various chronic illnesses suggest that targeting inflammatory responses could be an innovative approach to relieve depression and associated health issues. Various studies are under way to treat symptoms of depression with anti-inflammatory drugs including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Encouraging results have been achieved by blocking inflammatory cytokines in psoriasis and from the treatment of COX-2 inhibitors in patients with depression.

Herbal Treatments For Relief of Inflammation And Depression Symptoms

For decades, NSAIDs have been broadly recommended for diverse aspects of flu-like symptoms or sickness-related behaviors. Unfortunately, 25% of NSAIDs users encounter severe and sometimes fatal complications such as stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding. The newer NSAIDs such as selective COX-2 inhibitors (Vioxx and Celebrex) have been connected with an increased risk of severe undesirable cardiovascular events including heart attack and stroke.

In this scenario, the good news is that safer reliefs are existing. You can control depression and anxiety without the side effects of antidepressant drugs or NSAIDs! Nutrients, anti-inflammatory herbs and herbal remedies have been demonstrated to relieve depression symptoms.

By keeping inflammation under control, anti-inflammatory treatments may:

• Improve sleep and reduce headaches and anxiety

• Help restore the balance of nitric oxide and prostaglandins, which contributes to the severity of depression, anxiety, and sexual dysfunction

• Repair the body's antioxidant defense

• Boost the vascular healing and repair

• Reestablish vascular cell function and integrity

Millions of people go undiagnosed or untreated for depression. Without treatment, depression may linger for 6 months or longer, with increased frequency and intensity of episodes.

If you agonize from depression, or your symptoms of depression continue despite the treatment of anti-depressant medicines, or your anti-depressant drugs become less helpful, you may need to identify inflammatory sources and request for anti-inflammatory remedies.

References:

1. Inflammatory mechanisms in major depressive disorder. Raedler TJ. Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 24(6):519-25, 2011

2. Inflammatory cytokine levels and depressive symptoms in older women in the year after hip fracture: findings from the Baltimore Hip Studies. Matheny ME. et al. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 59(12):2249-55, 2011

3. Association between social isolation and inflammatory markers in depressed and non-depressed individuals: results from the MONICA/KORA study. Hafner S. et al. KORA Study Investigators. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity. 25(8):1701-7, 2011

4. Cytokines mediated inflammation and decreased neurogenesis in animal models of depression. Song C. Wang H. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 35(3):760-8, 2011

5. Glucocorticoids, cytokines and brain abnormalities in depression. Zunszain PA. et al. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 35(3):722-9, 2011

6. Inflammatory biomarkers in depression: an opportunity for novel therapeutic interventions. Li M. Soczynska JK. Kennedy SH. Current Psychiatry Reports. 13(5):316-20, 2011

7. Altered expression of genes involved in inflammation and apoptosis in frontal cortex in major depression. Shelton RC. et al. Molecular Psychiatry. 16(7):751-62, 2011

Comments? Questions? Email Here

© HowtoAdvice.com

How to Advice .com