health

Depression is one of the oldest known mental disorders, having been
described by physicians in ancient Egypt and China, and is likely to continue
to be a common problem around the world. Present research
includes trials of newer antidepressants, comparisons of standard treatments
with various alternative therapies, and studies of the ways in which
culture or ethnic background influences depression. Another important
area of research is looking for ways to predict how patients will respond
to specific antidepressant medications, so that the trial-and-error approach
to finding the best drug for each patient could be eliminated.