Depression

Everybody feels sad once in a while. Depression, on the other hand, is a complex condition characterized by profound sadness, lethargy, feelings of worthlessness, and a loss of interest in social activities. About 15 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with clinical depression each year.

In one study, we found that anyone who reported use of an anti-inflammatory or analgesic agent had a much poorer treatment outcome compared to people who didn’t report any use of NSAIDs.

One of the open questions is what dose is needed over what time period to produce this effect, said Warner-Schmidt, a research associate in the university’s laboratory of molecular and cellular neuroscience. “Until a double-blind real clinical trial is done, we can’t say what the dose is or what the time course is.

“We may only be looking at people who are taking NSAIDs over a long period of time, but it’s not clear,

Even though it is possible that individuals with TBI and depression may warrant different approaches to treatment than the general population with depression, there were only two studies of treatment in this population,” co-author Melissa McPheeters, co-director of the Vanderbilt Evidence-based Practice Center, said in the news release.

“It’s unacceptable, with so many people sustaining TBIs — both in combat and civilian life — that we know so little about treating depression in this population,