A new scientific model that incorporates the myriad drivers of depression could lead to more precise treatment for an illness that affects 350 million worldwide.
Developed by scientists at Michigan State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the model provides a better understanding of depression and the foundation for creating a pioneering tool to attack the complex disorder.
A paper outlining the research team's findings is published online in the journal Psychological Medicine.
"Clinicians who treat depression tend to work on a trial-and-error basis, whereas this model could give them a more systematic and effective method for making decisions about treatment," said Andrea K. Wittenborn, associate professor in MSU's Department of Human Development and Family Studies and lead investigator on the study. "Most importantly, this model provides a method for personalizing treatment to each unique patient."
Depression is likely caused by multiple biological, psychological, social and environmental drivers, and these factors often overlap, such as cortisol hormone levels going up in response to stress from troubled relationships or economic hardship. Yet most previous research on depression focused on only one or two factors, and not how the many factors intersect and unfold over time.
[For more of this story go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/re.../12/151201130011.htm]
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