Depression Treatment: Smoking and Depression – a Review.

Smoking and depression – a review.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

Aust Fam Physician. 2012 May; 41(5): 304-7
Mendelsohn C

Background People with a lifetime history of depression are twice as likely to smoke as those who do not suffer from depression. Smoking is a major health issue in this population, but is often overlooked by health professionals. Objective This article examines the relationship between smoking and depression, and reviews the evidence for the use of specific therapies in general practice. Discussion All patients with depression should be asked if they smoke. Smokers with depression have higher nicotine dependence and, after quitting, experience more severe negative moods and are at increased risk of major depression. However, they are motivated to quit and many achieve long term abstinence. Effective strategies for smoking cessation in this population include cognitive behavioural mood management, nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline and bupropion. Additional support and longer courses of treatment may be needed. Smokers with depression should be monitored for mood changes after quitting. Preventive antidepressants may have a role in high-risk cases, especially for those with recurrent depression.
HubMed – depression

 

Influence of temple headache frequency on physical functioning and emotional functioning in subjects with temporomandibular disorder pain.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

J Orofac Pain. 2012; 26(2): 83-90
List T, John MT, Ohrbach R, Schiffman EL, Truelove EL, Anderson GC

Aims: To investigate the relationship of headache frequency with patient-reported physical functioning and emotional functioning in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) subjects with concurrent temple headache. Methods: The Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD) Validation Project identified, as a subset of 614 TMD cases and 91 controls (n = 705), 309 subjects with concurrent TMD pain diagnoses (RDC/TMD) and temple headache. The temple headaches were subdivided into infrequent, frequent, and chronic headache according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, second edition (ICHD?II). Study variables included self-report measures of physical functioning (Jaw Function Limitation Scale [JFLS], Graded Chronic Pain Scale [GCPS], Short Form?12 [SF?12]) and emotional functioning (depression and anxiety as measured by the Symptom Checklist?90R/SCL?90R). Differences among the three headache subgroups were characterized by increasing headache frequency. The relationship between ordered headache frequency and physical as well as emotional functioning was analyzed using linear regression and trend tests for proportions. Results: Physical functioning, as assessed with the JFLS (P < .001), SF-12 (P < .001), and GCPS (P < .001), was significantly associated with increased headache frequency. Emotional functioning, reflected in depression and anxiety, was also associated with increased frequency of headache (both P < .001). Conclusion: Headache frequency was substantially correlated with reduced physical functioning and emotional functioning in subjects with TMD and concurrent temple headaches. A secondary finding was that headache was precipitated by jaw activities more often in subjects with more frequent temple headaches. J OROFAC PAIN 2012;26:83?90. HubMed – depression

 

Neurogenomic evidence for a shared mechanism of the antidepressant effects of exercise and chronic fluoxetine in mice.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

PLoS One. 2012; 7(4): e35901
Huang GJ, Ben-David E, Tort Piella A, Edwards A, Flint J, Shifman S

Several different interventions improve depressed mood, including medication and environmental factors such as regular physical exercise. The molecular pathways underlying these effects are still not fully understood. In this study, we sought to identify shared mechanisms underlying antidepressant interventions. We studied three groups of mice: mice treated with a widely used antidepressant drug – fluoxetine, mice engaged in voluntary exercise, and mice living in an enriched environment. The hippocampi of treated mice were investigated at the molecular and cellular levels. Mice treated with fluoxetine and mice who exercised daily showed, not only similar antidepressant behavior, but also similar changes in gene expression and hippocampal neurons. These changes were not observed in mice with environmental enrichment. An increase in neurogenesis and dendritic spine density was observed following four weeks of fluoxetine treatment and voluntary exercise. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed four different modules of co-expressed genes that were correlated with the antidepressant effect. This network analysis enabled us to identify genes involved in the molecular pathways underlying the effects of fluoxetine and exercise. The existence of both neuronal and gene expression changes common to antidepressant drug and exercise suggests a shared mechanism underlying their effect. Further studies of these findings may be used to uncover the molecular mechanisms of depression, and to identify new avenues of therapy.
HubMed – depression

 

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