16 Apr Brain Health and Wellness, a primer

Some say that although we live in a connected world, we do not communicate. There are a lot of great things that can come from an innocent conversation: a job offer, making a new friend or finding out a useful tip or information. We hear a lot these days about America’s need to have a conversation and while the term is probably over-used (especially given that we are in the midst of an election year) it seems to sum up our objective with this column. We want to start a conversation.

As a NIMH-trained psychiatrist treating patients and conducting clinical research for over 20 years, I still find it amazing that there remains significant confusion surrounding mental health in our country today. The first bit of confusion begins with the word mental or the term mental health. The medical model of diseases of the brain have been advancing for more than a decade. Today, a better way to describe this discipline is brain health which ultimately leads to wellness. Brain health is physical health and vice versa. As with any physical illness, a medical approach to brain disorders takes into account variables including Biology (genetics), Psychology (behavior) and Social (environment) as disease-relatedness domains.

We are just starting to fully understand the mind-body connection, but it seems clear that the two entities are inter-related:

We are just starting to fully understand the mind-body connection, but it seems clear that the two entities are inter-related:

• The CDC reports that not addressing depression can increase a women’s chances of having a stroke by almost 45%.

• Researchers in the UK report that men and women with the high mental distress scores are more likely to have dementia. How? Chronic levels of psychological distress may raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol which can have toxic effects on the hippocampus, a part of the brain that is critical for memory.

• A study just released this month from Molecular Psychiatry demonstrates that the interaction between depression and metabolism is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

• A research team from the University of California and the University of Minnesota determined that depression is an independent predictor of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes due to a decreased level of anti-oxidants in the system.

Brain health issues are now at epidemic levels, causing a serious drain on national economies: estimates from the World Health Organization reflect $2.5 trillion in 2010 and it is expected to grow to $6 trillion by 2030.

Psychiatric illnesses affect quality of life in a very personal and individualized manner. Depression as a disease adversely impacts quality of life by affecting family life, social life, and work/school life. Treatments made available by clinical research bring solutions to those who struggle and lighten the burden of disease on the individual, their family, their community, and society as a whole. We believe that brain health will be the definitive public health priority in the near future. For now, we do the best we can with the treatment approaches we have and the medications available. But we need to do so much more. Clinical research continues its quest to bring treatment options to those individuals, families and communities that need support.

[Read the full article at Northfulton.com: http://northfulton.com/stories/Pick-my-Brain-Brain-health-and-wellness,89242?]