Workaholic, programmed lifestyle is augmenting depression among teens

 
Worldwide, the incidence of major depressive disorder (MDD) is increasing annually, resulting in greater economic and social burdens. Moreover, the pathological mechanisms of MDD and the mechanisms underlying the effects of pharmacological treatments for MDD are complex and unclear, and additional diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for MDD still are needed. The currently widely accepted theories of MDD pathogenesis include the neurotransmitter and receptor hypothesis, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hypothesis, cytokine hypothesis, neuroplasticity hypothesis and systemic influence hypothesis, but these hypothesis cannot completely explain the pathological mechanism of MDD. Even it is still hard to adopt only one hypothesis to completely reveal the pathogenesis of MDD, thus in recent years, great progress has been made in elucidating the roles of multiple organ interactions in the pathogenesis MDD and identifying novel therapeutic approaches and multitarget modulatory strategies, further revealing the disease features of MDD.

Some newly discovered potential pharmacological targets and newly studied antidepressants have attracted widespread attention, some reagents have even been approved for clinical treatment and some novel therapeutic methods such as phototherapy and acupuncture have been discovered to have effective improvement for the depressive symptoms. In this work, we comprehensively summarize the latest research on the pathogenesis and diagnosis of MDD, preventive approaches and therapeutic medicines, as well as the related clinical trials.

It's often said that depression results from a chemical imbalance, but that figure of speech doesn't capture how complex the disease is. Research suggests that depression doesn't spring from simply having too much or too little of certain brain chemicals. There are many possible causes of depression, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, and stressful life events. It's believed that several of these forces interact to bring on depression.

Chemicals are involved in this process, but it is not a simple matter of one chemical being too low and another too high. Rather, many chemicals are involved, working both inside and outside nerve cells. There are millions, even billions, of chemical reactions that make up the dynamic system that is responsible for your mood, perceptions, and how you experience life.

With this level of complexity, you can see how two people might have similar symptoms of depression, but the problem on the inside, and therefore what treatments will work best, may be entirely different.

Popular lore has it that emotions reside in the heart. Science, though, tracks the seat of your emotions to the brain. Certain areas of the brain help regulate mood. Researchers believe that — more important than levels of specific brain chemicals — nerve cell connections, nerve cell growth, and the functioning of nerve circuits have a major impact on depression.