Depression Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Depression, including details on clinical depression, medication, symptoms, treatment, counselling, therapy.

Emerging treatments for depression.

Holtzheimer PE, Nemeroff CB

Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, 1841 Clifton Rd NE, 4th floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA. pholtzh@emory.edu

Established treatments for depression are often effective. However, a significant number of patients show limited or no response. With advancements in the explanation of the underlying neurobiology of depression, several novel therapeutic approaches have been developed. Emerging drug targets include novel monoamine oxidase inhibitors, triple monoamine re-uptake inhibitors, omega-3 fatty acids, melatoninergic agonists and receptor antagonists for corticotropin-releasing factor(1), glucocorticoid, substance-P and NMDA. Developments in therapeutic focal brain stimulation include vagus nerve stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic seizure therapy and deep brain stimulation. The role of psychotherapy, both as monotherapy and as adjunctive therapy, is an active avenue of investigation. Although data on these treatments are limited, preliminary results are encouraging. A major goal that remains to be achieved is the identification of predictors of response to the various antidepressant treatments that have diverse mechanisms of action.

Published 19 November 2006 in Expert Opin Pharmacother, 7(17): 2323-39.
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