Antidepressant medications might be associated with an increase in clogging of the arteries, according to new observational data presented at the American College of Cardiology 2011 Scientific Sessions. Interestingly, the study looked at a large sample of male twins, enabling researchers to focus on cases where one twin was taking an antidepressant, and the other wasn’t.
“What we found was that the twins who were taking the antidepressants had thicker carotid [walls] than the twins who were not taking the antidepressants,” said lead investigator Dr Amit Shah (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA). “The brother who was taking the antidepressants had neck vessels that [appeared] four years older than the brother who was not taking the antidepressants in our study.”
In recent years, medical research and technology have significantly increased our knowledge about mental illnesses like depression, why they occur and how to best treat them. We know that chronic pain can cause severe anxiety and depressive symptoms, and depression and anxiety often target the spine, causing muscle tension, headaches, migraines and neck and back pain. This creates a painful cycle where physical pain and mental/emotional pain feed off each other. If these symptoms sound familiar, chiropractic treatments for depression might help you.
Chiropractors can isolate the pain and, once it is alleviated, individuals will most likely start to feel reinvigorated. Adding natural alternative treatments for depression, natural anxiety treatments and stress management techniques can make a big difference in your life. Dr. Ridley can help you understand these alternatives.
The brain is probably more sensitive to what you eat and what pills you take than any other organ in the body. Dr. Ridley can use diet and nutrition to help the brain fight depression, and among other things, improve circulation, blood sugar regulation and the level of neurotransmitters.