background: major depression is a common disorder with great social and individual burdens. transcranial sonography (tcs) is a useful and noninvasive measure for assessment of normal and impaired brain parenchyma. the brainstem raphe nuclei are in close association with dorsocaudal limbic system and plays an important role in depression. in this study we compared the echogenicity of the raphe n...

aim and background: fundamental dysfunctions  in  affective  regulation have particular  importance  in development of psychological symptoms in mood disorders. the study investigated the role of alexithymic personality features to predict psychopathological symptoms in patients with major depression. method and materials: this was a longitudinal descriptive study. the sample consisted of 323 p...

CONTEXT There is limited information that accounts for comorbidity on the impact of role disability associated with a wide range of mental and physical disorders in population-based samples. OBJECTIVE To estimate the comparative effects of common mental and physical conditions on role disability in the general population using a novel method that accounts for comorbidity. DESIGN Direct inte...

The current definition of remission from major depressive disorder does not fully take into account all aspects of patient recovery. Residual symptoms of depression are very common in patients who are classified as being in remission. Patients with residual symptoms are at increased risk of functional and interpersonal impairments, and are at high risk for recurrence of depression. This article...

BACKGROUND Postpartum depression (PPD) is a global phenomenon. Depression in the first month following delivery is experienced by 20% of mothers in Japan. Therefore, a screening instrument that identifies the risk for depression during pregnancy and in the early postpartum period is required for primary prevention. The aims of this study were to develop the Japanese version of the Postpartum De...

Assessment: People with major depression were identified using the short form of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Diagnosis of depression required five or more depressive symptoms in the same two week period during the year preceding the interview. The short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale was used to assess the severity of depressive symptoms oc...

Major depression is a common, disabling, and often difficult-to-treat illness. Decades of research into the neurobiology and treatment of depression have greatly advanced our ability to manage this disorder. However, a number of challenges remain. A substantial number of depressed patients do not achieve full remission despite optimized treatment. For patients who do achieve resolution of sympt...

BACKGROUND Treatment of major depression is crucial to decrease the burden of disease. Hence, in this study, the efficacy of Botox was compared with placebo for treatment of patients with major depression. METHODS In this randomized clinical trial, 28 consecutive patients with major depression were enrolled. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either Botox or placebo and the scores...

OBJECTIVE We examined the course and predictors of postpartum depression in the 18 months following interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT). METHOD We enrolled 120 community women with major depression in a 12-week randomized trial of individual IPT during the postpartum period (O'Hara, Stuart, Gorman, & Wenzel, 2000). At 6, 12, and 18 months posttreatment, women participated in clinical interviews...

Overnight post dexamethasone plasma Cortisol levels were estimated in thirty patients of major depression and 30 controls. The cut-off point after which post dexamethasone plasma Cortisol level could be considered abnormal, in patients of major depression, has been worked out at 15 μg/dl in the present study. The results are discussed.