Inflammation and Depression – Specific Symptom Cluster

adminBasic Science, Depression, Diagnosis, Major Depression, Physical Conditions and Health, Psychobiology Leave a Comment

A study of 15 population-based cohorts, totalling 56,351 individuals, suggests that there is a correlation between inflammation as measured by elevated  C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and a specific sub-group of symptoms of depression. The inflammation cluster consisted of four physical symptoms: changes in appetite, felt everything was an effort, loss of energy, sleep problems; and one cognitive symptom: little …

Do We Need 8 Hours of Sleep?

Peter ForsterInsomnia, Insomnia Treatment

A recently published study that looked at patterns of sleep in three different hunter gatherer societies challenges the long-held notion that we all need to sleep 8 to 9 hours a night and that many of us in Western society are chronically sleep deprived. The results are summarized in an article we just published in our companion website MoodSurfing.com. Tantalizing …

Cortisol and Depression

Peter ForsterPsychobiology

A middle aged man with depression came in today for his first psychiatric evaluation. He had lots of questions about the relationship between cortisol and depression, because his first serious depression, at age 45, occurred in the context of a severe work stress. And this work stress was associated with many physical manifestations of stress – fatigue, severely disrupted sleep, …

Treatment of Fatigue in Patients with Depression or Bipolar

Peter ForsterBipolar Treatment, Diagnosis, Physical Conditions and Health, Treatments of Depression

Treatment of depression in patients with depression or bipolar is often complicated. If medications are prescribed, will they make mood symptoms worse, or have other significant adverse effects? And yet fatigue is common in people with a history of depression (it occurs in up to 10% of the general population and is much more common in women, who have a …