Based on powerful epidemiological data such as numbers afflicted, mortality rates from suicide, personal and familial consequences, and skyrocketing fiscal costs, major depressive disorder (MDD) has the sad and ignominious distinction of being a leader among disabling disorders world-wide. This volume focuses on recurrences - perhaps most important among the many factors (from underdiagnosis and undertreatment to genetic vulnerability) that contribute to MDD's high morbidity. Its authors emphasize five critical topics: MDD's effect on women during three key periods of hormone transition - adolescence, childbearing years, and middle life; treatment strategies for chronic and recurrent depression, specifically addressing the continuing question of whether pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy combinations are superior to either alone; prevention of recurrences in patients with bipolar disorde r, updating the demonstrated benefits of several new anticonvulsant mood stabilizers and integrative treatment approaches; potential applications of new somatic treatment strategies, with data that suggest the efficacy of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS); and a "call to arms" with updated recommendations on how to ensure demonstrable, lasting progress in preventing recurrences of depression.
