Melancholia needs to be recognised as a distinct psychiatric condition – not simply as a more severe expression of depression – if clinical and community awareness is to be improved, writes Gordon Parker.
Electroconvulsive therapy remains one of the most effective treatments for severe depression, but new UNSW research shows the gentler ultra-brief pulse stimulation can be just as effective.
While there may be a connection between inflammation and depression, one doesn’t necessarily lead to the other, write Gordon Parker and Ute Vollmer-Conna.
Transcranial direct current stimulation delivered by an expert offers an effective and safe alternative treatment for depression, write Colleen Loo and Kerrie-Anne Ho.
Depression, alcohol and drug dependence are indiscriminate killers. It doesn’t matter how wealthy, funny or beautiful you are, write Katherine Mills, Frances Kay-Lambkin and Maree Teesson.
A drug traditionally used as an anaesthetic and sometimes used recreationally could be effective in preventing suicide in severely depressed patients, says a UNSW academic who has trialled the drug.
