It is a long, slow slog to treat major depression. Many antidepressant medications are available, but no single biomarker or diagnostic test exists to predict which one is right for an individual. As a result, for more than half of all patients, the first drug prescribed doesn’t work, and it can take months to figure out what does.
Now, based on the final results of a nationwide study led by UCLA, clinicians may be able to accurately predict within a week whether a particular drug will be effective by using a non-invasive test that takes less than 15 minutes to administer. The test will allow physicians to quickly switch patients to a more effective treatment, if necessary. [continue reading…]
Ihave just discovered healthtalkonlineHealthtalkonline, an award-winning charity website, lets you share in other people’s experiences of health and illness. This information is based on qualitative research into patient experiences led by experts at the University of Oxford.
Interviews with around 2000 patients illustrate how people’s lives can be changed by illness and how important it is for patients and families to be listened to and understood by healthcare professionals. Link to See and hear people’s real -life experiences with Autism Source: healthcareonline
September 10th, 2009,is World Suicide Prevention Day, organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). Every year many millions of people make serious suicide attemptswhich, while they do not result in death, require medical treatment and mental health care, and reflect severe personal unhappiness or illness. Millions more people – the family members and close friends of those who die by suicide are bereaved and affected by suicide each year, with the impact of this loss often lasting a lifetime.
Suicide exacts huge psychological and social costs. Because almost a quarter of suicides are teenagers and young adults aged less than 25 years ( 250,000 suicides a year) suicide is a leading cause of premature death, accounting for more than 20 million years pf healthy life lost. link to read more about World Suicide Prevention Day activities from around the world
