OMG Digital Magazine Issue 257 4th May 2017 | Page 6

OMG Digital Magazine | 257 | Thursday 4th May 2017 • PAGE 6
SoulFood
4 Realistic
Ways To
Combat
Depression
By Carlin Flora
For years, experts have taken a one-size-fits-all
approach to treating depression, leaving a significant
number of patients unsatisfied and still unwell. But
researchers now recognize that there are likely many
variations of the illness, and each might respond
best to a particular treatment. This shift has led to
alternatives to the standard protocol—some of which
can be tried today, no prescription required. Brandon Alderman, PhD, director of the Exercise
Psychophysiology Lab at Rutgers University. His team
found that aerobic exercise can reduce rumination;
they also discovered that mildly to moderately
depressed people experienced a nearly 40 percent
decrease in symptoms when they ran for 30 minutes
(and meditated for 30 minutes) twice weekly for eight
weeks.
HEARTENING MOVES ANTIDEPRESSANT ANTI-
INFLAMMATORIES
There’s an intriguing connection between bodily
inflammation and emotional deflation: Studies
reveal that taking the anti-inflammatory celecoxib
(Celebrex) can further alleviate symptoms for people
on antidepressants. Other research suggests that
consuming omega-3 fatty acids may decrease
INFLAMMATION WHILE
IMPROVING MOOD.
Runner’s high is not a myth. In fact, a meta-analysis
involving more than a million subjects has shown
that aerobic exercise can help prevent depression.
“Adopting and maintaining exercise habits at any age
can mean a significantly decreased risk of depression
in the future,” says lead author Felipe Schuch, PhD.
One possible explanation is that exercise increases
levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a
protein that helps nerve cells grow and survive,
thereby producing antidepressant effects. But since
working out activates most of the body’s systems,
it’s likely fighting depression on multiple fronts, says
Brain inflammation can be 30 percent higher in
clinically depressed patients, according to a 2015
study, and even mild depression is linked to elevated
levels of pro-inflammatory markers. K. Ranga Krishnan,
MD, dean of Rush Medical College, notes that people
with psoriasis, an inflammatory skin disease, often
have depression—and when they’re treated with anti-
inflammatories, their mood typically improves along
with their skin. Based on these and other findings,
researchers hope to develop anti-inflammatory
medication that targets depression.
HOPE IN A HALLUCINOGEN
It’s known as Special K on the street and as an anesthetic
in hospitals. And for about half of the treatment-
resistant depression patients who received an IV
ketamine infusion in studies, it was a miracle drug that
reduced symptoms by 50 percent (or more) within a
couple of hours. One of the key things ketamine does
is work on the neurotransmitter glutamate, used by
about 90 percent of the brain’s synapses, says Chadi
Abdallah, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale
School of Medicine. “The chronic stress of depression
weakens those synapses; ketamine sends the message
that they need to be strengthened,” he says.
Ketamine clinics around the country offer this off-label
treatment even though long-term consequences are
unknown. Some patients experience side effects
like temporary nausea or an out-of-body sensation,
says Carlos Zarate Jr., MD, chief of the experimental
therapeutics and pathophysiology branch at the
National Institute of Mental Health. He’s working to
develop a ketamine drug that won’t cause negative
side effects and plans to begin testing it by next year.
A TWINGE OF RELIEF
Approved by the FDA for mildly treatment-resistant
depression in 2008, transcranial magnetic stimulation
“delivers pure energy into the brain,” says Stephan
Taylor, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University
of Michigan. Magnetic coils are placed on one side
of a patient’s head to induce electrical currents
that cause neurons to discharge. Therapy typically
involves four to six weeks of 30- to 40-minute
sessions administered five
times a week in a doctor’s
office and can be as
effective as taking
antidepressants—
with fewer side
effects. Says
Taylor, “The idea
that we’re able
to ameliorate
depression with a
magnet is a pretty
cool thing.”