University Daily Kansas / Friday, November 18, 1988
9
Scientists seek causes of depression
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Depression that afflicts hundreds of thousands of Alzheimer's patients may be caused by deterioration in parts of the brain that require it to keep people upbeat, researchers said yesterday.
The findings could have important implications not only for Alzheimer's patients, but also for millions of younger people who are depressed but unable to manage mental disorders, one of the researchers said.
Depression, a potentially debilitating disorder by itself, is still poorly understood, and current theories center on the belief that it is caused by low emotional messengers in the brain called neurotransmitters.
These neurotransmitters permit nerve cells to communicate with each other, and they are believed to be key in maintaining normal levels of appetite, sleep and interest in pleasurable activities.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not "normal" for
someone who suffers from Alzheimer's disease to become depressed, however devastating the disease, and only about 30 percent of Alzheimer's patients show depressive symptoms, according to Dr. Jacob H. Fox, director of the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago.
but that still means hundreds of thousands of the estimated 2.5 million people in the United States with Alzheimer's are depressed in addition to having a progressive mental disease that robs them of memory, judgment and physical mobility.
Alzheimer's accounts for about 60 percent of nation's cases of dementia, or loss of mental function, while multiple small strokes account for another 10 percent, a combination of the two another 10 percent and the remaining 20 percent have a "hodge-podge" of causes, Fox said.
To explore what might be causing depression, Pennsylvania researchers performed autopsies on the brains of 37 demented patients, mostly Alzheimer's victims, including 14 who were also diagnosed with major depression. For comparison
purposes, the researchers studied brain tissue from seven non-demented elderly patients.
The depressed subjects showed significantly more evidence of deterioration in two areas of the brain stem — the locus ceruleus and the substantia nigra — than the non-depressed subjects, the researchers found.
The researchers concluded that abnormalities in the neurotransmitter system may give rise to the depression in demented patients.
These parts of the brain produce two neurotransmitters believed to be important in keeping people free of depression — norepinephrine, which is involved in mood and sleep cycles, and dopamine, which is involved in physical movement.
One of the researchers, George S. Zubenko, director of geriatric health services at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, also suggested that the findings could help research into depression in general.
Aspirin labels to have new warning by FDA
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A stronger label warning against the use of aspirin by women in the last three months of pregnancy was proposed yesterday by the Food and Agriculture Organization that the painkiller can prolong labor and cause bleeding difficulties for boh mother and child.
Aspirin products currently must carry this standard pregnancy warning: "As with any drug, if you are pregnant or nursing a baby seek the advice of a health professional before using this product."
This additional wording would
be required under the FDA's proposal: "IMPORTANT: Do not take this product during the last three months of pregnancy unless directed by a doctor. Aspirin taken near the time of delivery may cause bleeding problems in both mother and child."
It could be several months — perhaps a year — before the FDA technically is able to require the stronger warning for aspirin. But as practical matter, agency officials said, aspirin makers probably will go ahead and start changing their labeling soon, now that the FDA has made clear its intention.
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Model 70-121
80386 Processor
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DOS 4.0
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Dot matrix, high speed draft or near-letter quality printer. Single sheet, form and envelope feed, Parallel printer cable included.
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Laser Quality Printer. 300 X 300 dpi, prints 6 page per minute,
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SALE PRICE: $2899.00
OPTION #9: PERSONAL PAGEPRINTER 4216-P22
Microsoft is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark and Personal System/2 is a trademark of the International Business Machines Corporation IBM Corporation 1988
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