THE
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2006
NEWS
3A
HEALTH
Professor seeks drugless treatment
Steve Ilard's phone rang. As he answered it, he heard one of his patients weeping.
Ged Lyon Caren
BY GINA SOUDERS
"Remember how you made me promise to call you if I ever intended to kill myself?" his patient sobbed on the other line.
"Luckily I have never had a patient go through with committing suicide," Ilardi said. He said he managed to talk the patient out of suicide after finding the man several hours later and admitting him to a hospital.
"I wanted to keep my promise."
This particular incident, fortunately, ended on a happy note.
Ihardi is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Kansas and is involved with a continuous research study known as Therapeutic Lifestyle Change, or TLC. This is believed to be the first known research study to promote a change in lifestyle as an effective treatment for depression.
This was not the first time Ilardi had known someone who planned to commit suicide. Many of Ilardi's patients at his small psychology practice are diagnosed with depression.
In college, Ilardi was one of those guys who made fun of the psychology students. He teased them and
Click.
teacher who said he just wanted his patients to get better.
claimed it wasn't a real major. He said he didn't believe "mentally ill patients" were even ill.
Now, he is a respected psychology
The percentage of patients with depression has increased 10 times since World War I. In the 1940s, 2 to 3 percent of the U.S. population
Zoloft and Prozac, increased the risk of suicide among children and adolescents. Other studies have shown a risk of suicide among adults, but
"If the hunter-gatherers suffered from depression as much as we do now, I don't think the human race would have even survived."
"Yes?"
Alarming statistics like this push lardi to classify depression as an epidemic of the 21st century.
Whereas many doctors offer drugs as a solution to the problem, Ilardi is not satisfied with that answer.
"If these drugs worked as they advertised, I'd be all for them," he said. "But these drugs don't live up to their hype."
STEVE ILARDI Associate professor of psychology
Ilardi's study shows that only 40 percent of patients actually see better responses to curing their depression through the medications, and only 28 percent of these patients completely recover.
suffered from depression. Now, the figure is closer to 25 percent.
"If the hunter-gatherers suffered from depression as much as we do now, I don't think the human race would have even survived," Ilardi said.
The change in lifestyle required patients to increase their level of physical activity. Lawrence Athletic Center donated free memberships to the study and the research offered exercise consultants to give their patients more motivation.
style could help treat depression. So far, TLC has seen an 85 percent response rate from patients following these changes.
In 2004, the FDA announced that certain antidepressives, such as
Brian Stites, one of TLC's co-coordinators, called the study the "grandmother philosophy" because of its basic objectives.
no statistics have been released to the public. Ilardi said these risks make him uneasy and motivate him to continue his work.
His study is researching whether a change in life-
"It is something you probably heard your grandmother tell you to do when you were a kid," Stites said. "These patients involved have tried everything. They have failed four to five other treatments in the past, including medications, and nothing has worked for them. This treatment is so simple and so effective, but it's also a lot of work."
Without an increase in revenue, Boyle said the T would need to combine several routes and alter a few others. Several new transfer points would be added throughout the routes.
The governing body would consist of representatives 50 percent from the city, 25 percent from the University and 25 percent from the students.
With a 20 percent financial increase over five years, both lines would be able to add evening routes and increase frequency. A new route would be added serving the Legends Apartments and Wakarusa Drive.
If both the University and the city agree to the recommendations, Boyle said contracts could be in negotiation as early as the beginning of 2007.
Boyle said money would come from both the city and the University.
The plan recommended the two systems create an independent and representative governing body between the University and the city
The research is nowhere near complete, but Ilardi said he planned to continue working until he had found all the statistics he could in order to save lives. Until then, he said he would continue to teach, treat patients and answer the phone worried, afraid that the next time it might be too late.
In Ilaardi's abnormal psychology class the topic of depression is covered for more than two weeks. He said it was another positive outlet to spread the word, and many of his students couldn't agree more.
ANDERSON, Mo. — Investigators expect to rule out arson as the cause of a fire that killed 10 people at a group home for the elderly and mentally ill, a police spokesman said Tuesday.
"The world is already overmedicated," Eric Travis, Pittsburg senior, said. "People need to learn to start taking care of themselves."
Kansan staff writer Mark Vierthaler can be contacted at mvierthaler@kansan.com.
Edited by Mindy Ricketts
Sgt. Jason Clark of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said he did not "foresee that something through the night will lead us to believe that this is an arson investigation."
Officials have revealed little about what may have sparked the flames, which originated in an area that included a living room and some bedrooms. They scheduled a news conference for Wednesday.
Kansan correspondent Gina Souders can be contacted at editor@ kansan.com.
Edited by Nicole Kelley
interest in the blaze at Anderson Guest House, but he declined to answer other questions about investigators' findings.
Clark said authorities do not have any suspects or persons of
TRANSIT (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
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NATION Police expected to rule out arson in Missouri fire
Coroner B.J. Goodwin said most of the victims had been asleep when the fire broke out, noting they were found in their pajamas and were not wearing shoes. All of them died of smoke inhalation, he said.
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