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After a Heart Attack, Why do Depressed People Have 3-5x the Risk of Dying than Non-depressed People?
Inflammation appears to be the immediate deciding factor, though a history of childhood distress and lack of exercise are also significant contributors. 
WestCoastLife's curator insight,
April 8, 11:19 AM
To effectively treat heart disease - don't overlook depression. Delete the scoop?
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WestCoastLife's curator insight,
March 17, 1:16 PM
Exercise is a key ingredient to batttling depression. If it is not enough, then there are many other options/combinations of approaches, including: --psychotherapy --mindfulness meditation --bright light therapy --L-methylfolate --hormone therapy --medications --non-invasive brain stimulation, such as cranioelectroc stimulation (CES) and transcranial magnetic stiulation (TMS)
If suffering from a very severe, acute depression, then more invasive, but often life-saving options include: --ECT (electroconvulsove therapy) --VNS (Vagal nerve stimulation) Delete the scoop?
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Five major mental disorders share some of the same genetic risk factors, the largest genome-wide study of its kind has found.
WestCoastLife's insight:
This is amazing information that brings us closer to truly understanding the basis of psychiatric illness and to finding more specific therapeutic approaches. Delete the scoop?
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WestCoastLife's insight:
A recent study suggests that TMS can significantly reduce involuntary movements such as tremor, dystonia, and myoclonus. Delete the scoop?
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Find out what CBT therapy is, how it works, & what risks are involved. And, try our free interactive CBT tool to manage your depression.
WestCoastLife's curator insight,
March 17, 4:17 PM
As faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine, Dr. Kira Stein teaches psychiatry residents CBT at the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Clinic, and find CBT extremely effect for depression, as well.
This is why Dr. Stein has contracted with West Coast Life Center team member Jennifer Lowe, LMFT, to provide CBT and other valuable therapies to her patients in the Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles area.
To learn more about how talk therapy at the West Coast Life Center can help you, check out our site at http://www.westcoastlifecenter.com/ Delete the scoop?
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Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, is a psychiatric treatment for depression that by itself does not involve taking medications. TMS works directly on the brain without being invasive..... Delete the scoop?
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Dr. Kira Stein of the West Coast TMS institute is an expert in the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation as well as in other mental illnesses and their treatments. In part 6 of her interview with author Andy Behrman, she answers questions about the use of TMS in pregnant women or women with postpartum depression. They go on to discuss whether TMS may be suitable for treating other mental disorders for which the treatment has not yet been approved.
WestCoastLife's insight:
I really enjoyed answering these questions, as the answers bring so much hope to so many. -- Kira Stein MD, Director West Coast TMS Institiute Delete the scoop?
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Learn how to preserve brainpower when you're stressed.
WestCoastLife's insight:
Stress is everywhere, but some are more vulnerable to its brain-toxic effects than others. This is a great articles that reviews how trauma, gene expression and life stressors can be (to some extent) counterbalanced by healthy life activities. Delete the scoop?
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TMS is an excellent option for patients who have not responded to their first medication, because research shows that TMS is considerably more effective than trying a second medication, with less risk of side effects. In fact, TMS is FDA-approved for the treatment of a major depressive episode that has failed to adequately respond to a first medication.Decisions about patient care need to be made on ......
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“This new procedure marks a paradigm shift in how depression can be treated,” Stein says. “I predict TMS will change the course of psychiatry the way antibiotics changed general medicine decades ago, [and] will be considered as routine as medications in the next 10 to 20 years.”
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Sleep problems often accompany depression, either as a condition of depression or as a result of medications taken to relieve depression. Delete the scoop?
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Try these 10 foods to improve your mood & feel energized. A diet rich in these foods can be a nice complement to traditional psychotherapy. Delete the scoop?
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Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths globally. Unfortunately smoking cessation is difficult, with more than 90% of attempts to quit resulting in relapse. Delete the scoop?
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WestCoastLife's insight:
Working memory is the ability to remember multiple peices of information for short-term use. This type of memory is impaired in schizophrenia, and thus people with schizophrenia often have difficulties functioning. TMS on the frontal lobe appears to improve this type of memory and functioning, something I have seen at my center. - Kira Stein MD Delete the scoop?
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WestCoastLife's insight:
West Coast TMS Institute in Los Angeles is proud to announce that we are bringing a new level of expertise and service to the Los Angeles area. Our new TMS coordinator, Leila Kushan-Wells has a masters in neurobiology and cognition, and has been involved in trasncranial magnetic stimulation research in Europe. Read more about our unique team at http://www.westcoasttmsinstitute.com/about/tms-institute-support-staff/
Learn more about the non-invasive brain stimulatuon technique called TMS at http://www.wcTMS.com
WestCoastLife's curator insight,
March 17, 4:04 PM
TMS is a new non-invasive treatment for depression that is drug-free and outpatient-based.
TMS is not shock therapy. Patients simply sit while awake in a chair, as we stimulate their brain with a magnetic field. It is safe and effective.
West Coast TMS Institute in Los Angeles is proud to announce that we are bringing a new level of expertise and service to the Los Angeles area. Our new TMS coordinator, Leila Kushan-Wells, MS has a masters in neurobiology and cognition, and has been involved in transcranial magnetic stimulation research in Europe.
Laura Pachecho, MS is our neurobehavioral specialist, who also helps maintain our uniquely supportive and enriching environment.
As medical director of both the West Coast Life Center and the West Coast TMS Institute Kira Stein, MD and her staff provide a whole host of treatment options, from talk therapy, bright light therapy, and non-invasive brain stimulation, to the Los Angeles and Sherman Oaks areas.
Read more about our unique team at http://www.westcoasttmsinstitute.com/about/tms-institute-support-staff/
Learn more about the non-invasive brain stimulatuon technique called TMS at http://www.wcTMS.com
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Check out episode information for "Home & Family," weekdays only on Hallmark Channel!
WestCoastLife's insight:
STIMULANT MIS-USE BY COLLEGE STUDENTS
More and more, stimulant medications are being diverted from medical use by patients suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Narcolepsy, and hard-to-treat depression, to non-medical use by students simply looking to boost their academic performance.
For those suffering from ADHD, stimulant medications such as Adderall and Ritalin help normalize the brain's own dopamine and norepinephrine activity, improving biologically based difficulties in executive functioning. Untreated, ADHD is associated with irritability, inattentiveness and restlessness, which can lead to social difficulties, poor self-esteem, depressive & anxiety disorders – as well as an increased risk of substance abuse.
In 2010, more than 1 million people misused stimulant medications without a medical prescription. Recently, it was estimated that at least 30% of college students have used stimulant medications; while only up to 5% of the population suffers from ADHD. The most common non-medical stimulant uses in college are for the purposes of grade-boosting, pulling all-nighters before a test, or for use as appetite suppressants.
UNEXPECTED RISKS While the intent is initially to get ahead (or keep up) in school, non-medical stimulant abuse increases the risk of experiencing side effects, serious complications, and addiction, especially if used in excessive doses, unsupervised by a physician.
POTENTIAL STIMULANT SIDE EFFECTS Side effects of stimulants can include anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks, irritability, agitation, high blood pressure, and poor nutrition. For those with underlying medical problems, the heart’s normal rhythm may be compromised.
ADDICTION RISKS Normally, the brain's reward circuit needs a measured increase in dopamine activity to experience pleasure from music, food, or sex. When using stimulants as grade-boosters, the temptation to rely on them only increases over time, as confidence in one’s own natural abilities diminish. Recurrent, unnecessary stimulant use can result in bursts of dopamine levels, putting the brain’s reward system into hyper-drive, and increasing the risk of addiction.
Excessive doses can lead to psychosis (hallucinations & paranoia), euphoria, hyper-sexual behavior, impulsivity and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
The experience of euphoria often encourages further indulgence, followed by withdrawals with depressed mood, excessive fatigue and hunger. More abuse occurs with the desire to avoid such "crashes", while tolerance builds.
These developments increase the chances of stimulant toxicity, including symptoms of psychosis, confusion, rage, cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death. While death is a rare occurrence, the non-lethal medical complications are serious. Between 2004 and 2009 the number of emergency room visits associated with stimulant use increased by over 200%.
BOTTOM LINE: Stimulant diversion is illegal and dangerous, while stimulant addiction is difficult to treat. Stimulants are too risky to use as academic performance-enhancing drugs.
RESOURCES: Cocaine Anonymous: http://www.ca.org/ Narcotics Anonymous: http://www.na.org/ Matrix Institute on Addictions: http://www.matrixinstitute.org/
WestCoastLife's curator insight,
March 17, 4:20 PM
Stimulants can be important and health-promoting agents if prescribed for people with low level dopamine and norepinepherine activities (such those with ADHD), but can be dangerous in those who use them recreationally or as performance enhancers, Delete the scoop?
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Feeling stressed? Of course you are. You have too much on your plate, deadlines are looming, and people are counting on you. You are under a lot of pressure—so much that at times, you suspect the quality of your work suffers for it.
WestCoastLife's insight:
What a great group of suggestions on how to reduce stress! Delete the scoop?
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Grapefruit and licorice among foods that may affect how some drugs work.
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Please click to launch this digital edition.
WestCoastLife's insight:
Read CSQ Magazine's Winter 2012-2013 interview of West Coast TMS Institute's medical director Kira Stein, MD on TMS and how it works. Delete the scoop?
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Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, has long been an effective treatment for severe depression, but side effects such as loss of memory have been a problem for many.
WestCoastLife's insight:
This is part 7 of a 10-part interview of me on depression treatments and TMS, published on About.com. I think the entire series is very informative and urge you to share. -- Kira Stein, MD, West Coast TMS Institute Director Delete the scoop?
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New on ABOUT.COM:
How does transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy compare to antidepressant treatment for depression? Can TMS and antidepressants work together?
These and other questions are answered by Dr. Kira Stein of the West Coast TMS Institute. Delete the scoop?
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The very thought of exercising may seem overwhelming when you are depressed. But research shows that exercise can help. Find out how to stay motivated. Delete the scoop?
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See Part 2 of 7 About.com interview series of psychiatrist and TMS expert Dr. Kira Stein. Dr. Kira Stein of the West Coast TMS Institute speaks with Andy Behrman about the kind of depression that transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy is approved to treat: depression that has not been adequately relieved by first-line treatments. Delete the scoop?
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Find out what CBT therapy is, how it works, & what risks are involved. And, try a free interactive CBT tool to manage your depression. Delete the scoop?
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Excellent Wall Street Journal article highlights new information about TMS for depression, with impressive remission, response, and durability rates.