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Objective: Affecting more than 264 million people, depression is a systemic and multifactorial disorder that represents one of the leading causes of illness and disability worldwide. Several studies showed an inflammatory response in depressed patients, including the involvement of both chronic low-grade inflammatory response and activation of cell-mediated immunity. The present study aimed to verify the efficacy of a structured functional therapy program for patients with depressed mood, and to determine whether this program can significantly reduce levels of C-reactive protein. Method: 28 outpatients with depressed mood received 20 individual sessions of Functional therapy. Data about socio-demographic variables, depression, self-esteem, and quality of life were collected; moreover, blood specimens were collected before and after treatment, and CRP measurement was performed by immunoenzymatic method. All measures were administered at baseline, at the end of treatment (i.e., 3 months after baseline), and at follow-up (i.e., 6 months after baseline). Results: A repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference after treatment on depression levels, levels of self-esteem, and all dimensions of quality of life, such as physical, psychological, social relationships, and environment. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference on levels of CRP was found. Moreover, at follow-up, improvements were maintained. Conclusions: The study revealed initial evidence of the efficacy of a functional therapy program on treating depression and its psychological and inflammation-related markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective: Nowadays, the interaction between cognition and emotions during a depressive disorder is an area of interest in the scientific literature. Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) usually show alterations in various cognitive functions: attention, working memory, mental processing speed, executive functions. Clinical observation of the effects of cognitive deficits on quality of life in patients with MDD, in euthymic and in relapse phases, needs a review of recent scientific literature on the impact of antidepressant treatment as a protective factor on the improvement of cognitive performances. Method: Electronic PubMed and PsycInfo searches were conducted to identify research articles that focus on the effect of antidepressant treatments in responder and non-responder patients. We searched for papers published between 2006-2011, using the following keywords: major depressive disorder, cognition, neuropsychology and antidepressants. Our working group selected fifteen main scientific articles. These are: five non-blinded clinical trials, six case-control studies, three double-blind controlled clinical trials and a prospective part-randomised trial. Results: Although some heterogeneous methodological aspects, the articles show comparable characteristics, such as common evaluation tools and point out that depression is characterized by specific biases in emotional processing that include negative information processing and deficits in cognitive control. An early antidepressants drug treatment (especially SSRIs and SNRIs) may play a protective role in cognitive impairment. SNRIs seem to have a stronger effect than SSRIs on cognitive functions, that persists even after cessation of treatment during recovery. We cannot establish if a neuroprotective function is attributable only to treatment or to the natural course of depression. An appropriate drug treatment appears to be effective in improving cognitive abilities and depressive symptoms in elderly depressed patients. According to some authors, a bias in processing of appropriate stimuli varies with mood and individual history. Conclusions: Although some conflicting data, impairment is frequently reported in the acute phases of the illness: depression is associated with impairment in everyday life functions and job performance. Traditionally, that impairment is seen as an effect of affective symptoms, but it was found that improvement of depression symptoms is not associated with a similar improvement on daily activities. A cognitive training could be useful in long-term anti-depressive treatment to prevent relapses and improve the quality of life. In conclusion, cognitive functions and their importance in daily life should be taken into great consideration for their functional impact on patients and the psychiatrist's choices in terms of drug and rehabilitation treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psichiatria e Psicoterapia is the property of Giovanni Fioriti Editore and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)