DEPRESSION --- some help???

[gordonrussell]

With deep thanks to peeje

(link expired)

I hope it helps some.

[gordonrussell]

Could Stephen Hawking speak again?
Scientist tests iBrain headband which can 'read thoughts' direct from his head
Michael Zennie and Ted Thornhill
5 April 2012

Professor Stephen Hawking is testing a tiny - two penny-sized - device that could, just possibly, allow him to 'speak again' - reading his thoughts directly from his brain. The gizmo, invented by Dr Philip Low, CEO of California-based NeuroVigil, was designed for sleep monitoring, but it may also be able to help people to convey messages merely by thinking them. The device 'reads' brain wave patterns - and has been tested by renowned physicist Professor Stephen Hawking, who is paralysed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

'We'd like to find a way to bypass his body, pretty much hack his brain,' the company's founder, Philip Low, told KGTV San Diego. Dr Low told The New York Times: ‘The iBrain can collect data in real time in a person’s own bed, or when they’re watching TV, or doing just about anything. ‘The idea is to see if Stephen can use his mind to create a consistent and repeatable pattern that a computer can translate into, say, a word or letter or a command for a computer.’

The paper explained that the algorithm used by iBrain, which Dr Low calls ‘Spears’, was indeed able to translate Professor Hawking’s thoughts into individual signals. Dr Low plans on making further investigations into this aspect of the iBrain’s capabilities, but in the meantime, it’s being used as one of the most effective diagnostic tools for sleep researchers money can buy.

The science for such a development looks promising. Last summer Dr Low flew to Cambridge, England, and personally tested the device on Hawking. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, has left the astrophysicist almost entirely unable to control his body. He moves and communicates in painfully slow fashion, using an infrared scanner that picks up tiny twitches in his cheek muscles and translates them into words with complex computer programs. But Hawking, 70, is losing his ability to use even those muscles as his disorder advances.

Fitted with the iBrain device, which is a black headband with a series of neurotransmitters that sit against the cranium, Hawking was told to concentrate hard on several simple actions, such as forming his hand into a fist. Dr Low recorded the brain waves that the iBrain picked up from the actions and fed the results into his extensive mind-reading algorithm, called Spears. With enough research, Low believes he can develop software that will convert these brain waves into thoughts, and allow them to be translated into letters words and sentences.

Eventually, it might be possible to carry on entire conversations using only the iBrain and computer translation software hooked up to speakers, Dr Low told the New York Times. But for now, the machine has plenty of practical applications. Swiss drugmaker Hoffmann-La Roche is working with NeuroVigil to develop software that will allow the device to monitor how drugs on working in the brain. Low says it's a key step toward creating highly-effective personalized medication.

It can also be used to simply and quickly diagnose autism, sleep apnea, depression and other disorders that effect the brain.

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"It can also be used to simply and quickly diagnose autism, sleep apnea, depression and other disorders that effect the brain."
(very last line in article)

[faceless]

that's great technology - in years to come it will improve a lot of lives

[faceless]

Here's a radio doc about depression from the BBC World Service series 'Discovery'. It should work globally.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00my2sc/Discovery_Depression/

[gordonrussell]

Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford who teaches 'Mindfulness' techniques and whose research has shown that daily meditation can reduce the occurrence of severe depression at least as much as anti-depressants do.

(link expired)

Here is the second part of that excellent link faceless posted

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00n2znl

[faceless]

60 Minutes - Treating Depression
(go to 14'10 in the video for the segment)

[gordonrussell]

For those people living in England the NHS reforms ( Health and Social Care Bill ) should take effect in April next year and this will effect mental health services.
GPs will be commissioning mental health services and the intention was to provide more primary care - from the surgery - rather than having to go to hospitals.
1 in 4 will have a mental health problem at some point in their lives, 10 - 20% will have severe problems.
It may give you some insight into expectations and your rights on how the changes may affect you :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gvq3x

[gordonrussell]

Computer game helps kids with depression
2012-04-20

Paris - A computer game designed to lift teenagers out of depression is as effective as one-on-one counselling, New Zealand doctors reported on Thursday in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). Researchers at the University of Auckland tested an interactive 3D fantasy game called Sparx on a 94 youngsters diagnosed with depression whose average age was 15 and a half.

Sparx invites a user to take on a series of seven challenges over four to seven weeks in which an avatar has to learn to deal with anger and hurt feelings and swap negative thoughts for helpful ones. Used for three months, Sparx was at least as effective as face-to-face conventional counselling, according to several depression rating scales. In addition, 44% of the Sparx group who carried out at least four of the seven challenges recovered completely. In the conventional treatment group, only 26% recovered fully.

"Use of the programme resulted in a clinically significant reduction in depression, anxiety and hopelessness, and an improvement in quality of life," according to the study led by Sally Merry, an associate professor at the Department of Psychological Medicine. The adolescents also gave a high rating to Sparx, saying they liked being able to use it at home and to learn at their own pace. Eighty percent said they would recommend the computer therapy to others, although the treatment-as-usual group had similarly high approval ratings.

[gordonrussell]

--Interesting discussion on how allergies/immune function response , in our modern world may be linked to a proportion of people with depression.

"Clinical microbiologist, Graham Rook from University College London is hopeful that one day there might be a vaccination against depression. He's basing his ideas on two things: the finding that some people with depression are found to have higher levels of inflammation in the body and the idea that inflammation could be controlled by our exposure to contact with certain worms and bacteria - the so-called hygiene hypothesis. Professor Rook tells Claudia why he thinks with more research there could one day be a vaccine. The link between depression and inflammation in a proportion of people with depression is established, but is a vaccine for all really possible and would it be a useful avenue to explore for preventing the condition? Nick Craddock is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Cardiff and explains why he is critical of the idea."

Click on CHAPTER 3 at the bottom of the page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01j5mym

[gordonrussell]

Very candid (and moving) account of an award winning Gaelic broadcaster and his fall then coming to terms with his clinical depression

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mdgrs

[gordonrussell]

[gordonrussell]

Pity biofeedback therapy is expensive and doesn't seem available on NHS ( BUT YOU COULD ALWAYS ASK ! ), but the Link at the bottom has some sample relaxation exercises :
http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/biofeedback-and-depression-treating-the-blues-with-body-mind-thera


sample relaxation exercises

[gordonrussell]

Some useful information from The Student Room :

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1665671

[gordonrussell]

A method which can help women with mental illness bond with their babies:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p012skff

[gordonrussell]

"Crying Can Help Relieve Stress, But for Optimal Health You Need Better Stress-Relieving Tools "

By Dr. Mercola

The connections between stress and physical health are undeniable. Studies have found links between acute and/or chronic stress and a wide variety of health issues, including:

Lowered immune system function
Heightened inflammatory response
Increased blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Altered brain chemistry, blood sugar levels and hormonal balance
Increased risk of cancer and increased tumor growth1

The video above brings up another biological rea_ction associated with stress:crying.2 Interestingly, tears that are shed due to an emotional response, such as sadness or extreme happiness, contain a high concentration of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) — a chemical linked to stress.

One theory of why you cry when you’re sad is that it helps your body release some of these excess stress chemicals, thereby helping you feel more calm and relaxed.

While crying is a healthy response to a stressful situation, settling in for “a good cry” every day is unlikely to quell the ill effects of stress on your body.

Energy psychology techniques such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)can be very effective by helping you to actually reprogram your body’s rea_ctions to the unavoidable stressors of everyday life. Exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and meditation are also important “release valves” that can help you manage your stress.

Higher Heart Rate Tied to Earlier Death

Stress can also jack up your heart rate, making you feel like you’re running in a hamster wheel even when you’re sitting down. This too can have a very detrimental effect on your health. According to recent research,3 higher heart rate is tied to earlier death, even in those who exercise regularly. According to MedicineNet.com:4

"Should you be worried if your heart rate is high? Maybe, said study author Dr. Magnus Thorsten Jensen, a cardiologist at Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte. 'A high heart rate does not necessarily mean disease,' he said. 'But we know that there is a very strong and significant association between high heart rate and life expectancy.'"

Dr. Jensen’s previous research had shown that those with a resting pulse of 80 beats per minute die as much as four to five years earlier than those with pulses of 65 beats per minute. This is actually a remarkable finding, as this difference in life expectancy is similar to that of having a cancer diagnosis.

Normally, if you exercise regularly you’re likely to have a much lower resting heart rate than if you do not exercise. As reported by the featured article:

“That raises the issue of whether higher heart rates simply reflect the heart-unfriendly lifestyles of couch potatoes. The new study aimed to answer this question: Does a higher resting heart rate translate to an earlier death even among those who are healthy and exercise regularly? The researchers found that the answer is yes, suggesting that 'resting heart rate is not just a marker of fitness level, but an independent risk factor,' Jensen said.”

The study included nearly 2,800 men who were followed for 16 years, from middle-age onward. For each 10-beat per minute increase in the men’s resting heart rate, the risk of death increased by 16 percent. Compared with those who had a resting heart rate of 50 beats a minute or less, men with resting heart rates of 71 to 80 beats per minute increased their risk of early death by just over 50 percent. Those with heart rates between 81 to 90 beats doubled their risk, and a heart rate over 90 was equated with triple the risk. Dr. Jensen told The New York Times:5

“If you have two healthy people exactly the same in physical fitness, age, blood pressure and so on, the person with the highest resting heart rate is more likely to have a shorter life span.”

Based on these results, Dr. Jensen suggests rethinking the “normal” range of resting heart rate, which is currently set between 60-100 beats per minute, as the higher range appears to be a potent indicator of poor health, independent of physical fitness. So what can you do to improve (i.e. lower) your resting heart rate?

Two of the most obvious strategies include quitting smoking and exercising regularly. Even the mere act of reducing the amount of time you spend sitting down could help. Too much sitting actually takes a heavier toll on your health than you might think. According to research6 published last year, reducing the average time you spend sitting down to less than three hours a day could increase your life expectancy by as much as two years. Reducing your stress and being able to go through your day in a relaxed state would also certainly have a beneficial impact on your heart rate.
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Full article here