The marketing of depression

When the family of a longtime patient invited me to her funeral, I found myself wrestling with a question I never addressed in medical school. 

New Alzheimer's blood tests are accurate, available, and increasingly advertised — but for healthy people, a positive result is rarely useful. 

Standard medical practice isn't the same as proven medical practice — and the difference can be deadly. 

Talking about depression can be difficult and very subjective. A personal experience is shared in this episode, with a goal of raising awareness about the different methods of therapy that we can follow to heal. Your questions, comments, feedbacks, and experiences are very welcom ... Show More

Depression is complicated but some of the treatments can be simple. That doesn’t mean following through with these treatments is easy–battling depression is a tough job. But it does mean that a few lifestyle changes can sometimes make a big difference to someone who is living wit ... Show More

Antidepressants and revised guidance from NICE reflecting that, for some people, they can be difficult drugs to come off; Margaret McCartney explains why this initiative is long over due. Chemotherapy backpacks - a novel way of giving cancer therapy that allows people to stay at ... Show More

Arts therapies appear to ease a host of brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. But these treatments that rely on music, poetry or visual arts haven't been backed by rigorous scientific testing. Now, artists and brain scientists have launched a program to change that. NPR's bra ... Show More

For a cancer diagnosis, it's sometimes not known for sure which chemotherapy drug will work best. Clinical trials have helped to narrow the options for common cancers but even then, one drug won't always suit everyone. With the more rare kinds of cancer there may not be drug tria ... Show More

There are many ways to address depression: therapy, meds, exercise, music. And then there are our own thoughts. We learn the mantras, reminders, and rituals that some of our listeners use to get through it when Clinny D flares up. 

<p><span>Depression has often been blamed on low levels of serotonin in the brain. That answer is insufficient, but alternatives are coming into view and changing our understanding of the disease. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Redwood Trail” by Audionautix.</span></p ... Show More