Dysthymia and the Spectrum of Chronic Depressions

by Akiskal, Hagop S.; Cassano, Giovanni B.

• ISBN13: 9781572300897
• ISBN10: 1572300892
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-05-15
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

Recent research findings have led to a paradigmatic shift in our conceptualization of chronic depressions, ushering in a new era of optimism about their clinical management. This volume documents the ongoing transformation of theory and practice--from art into science--in this critical field. Bringing together leading international experts in psychiatry and psychology, the book reviews what is currently known about the nature and classification of specified chronic depressive subtypes. With vital implications for the pharmacologic treatment of a range of disorders that were historically believed to be beyond the reach of somatotherapy, the book also considers psychotherapeutic issues and raises numerous compelling questions for future investigation.

Author Biography

Hagop S. Akiskal, MD, FAPA, is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the International Mood Center at the University of California, San Diego, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Affective Disorders. The recipient of the clinical research award of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists (1981) and the Samuel G. Hibbs Award of the American Psychiatric Association (1989) for his work on chronic depression, Dr. Akiskal has also been honored with the Gold Medal of the Society of Biological Psychiatry (1995). Prior to his current post, he was Senior Science Advisor to the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

Giovanni B. Cassano, MD, FRCP, is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of Pisa, Italy. A leading European psychiatrist combining expertise in both academic and clinical psychiatry, Dr. Cassano, with his Pisan colleagues, has advanced our understanding of the spectrum concepts in mood and anxiety disorders. He is the author of a best-selling book on depression for the Italian public.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 Overview of Chronic Depressions and Their Clinical Management	1	(34)
Hagop S. Akiskal
CHAPTER 2 Dysthymia: Clinical Picture, Comorbidity, and Outcome	35	(9)
Marcio Versiani
A. Egidio Nardi
CHAPTER 3 Primary Dysthymia: Predictors of Treatment Response	44	(10)
Arun V. Ravindran
Yvon D. Lapierre
CHAPTER 4 Chronic and Residual Major Depressions	54	(12)
Giovanni B. Cassano
Mario Savino
CHAPTER 5 Chronic Depression: The Efficacy of Pharmacotherapy	66	(9)
James H. Kocsis
CHAPTER 6 "Residual States" in Affective, Schizoaffective, and Schizophrenic Disorders	75	(12)
Andreas Marneros
Anke Rohde
CHAPTER 7 Depressive Personality: Relationship to Dysthymia and Major Depression	87	(9)
Daniel N. Klein
Gregory A. Miller
CHAPTER 8 The Need for the Concept of Neurotic Depression	96	(34)
Martin Roth
C. Q. Mountjoy
CHAPTER 9 A Critical Reappraisal of the Concept of Neurotic Depression	130	(18)
Mario Maj
CHAPTER 10 Beyond Neurasthenia and Chronic Fatigue	148	(17)
Donna B. Greenberg
CHAPTER 11 Atypical Depressions	165	(9)
Jonathan R. T. Davidson
CHAPTER 12 Chronic (and Hysteroid) Dysphorias	174	(9)
Jonathan W. Stewart
Donald F. Klein
CHAPTER 13 Minor and Recurrent Brief Depression	183	(8)
Jules Angst
CHAPTER 14 Suicide in Chronic and Recurrent Depressions	191	(7)
Stuart A. Montgomery
CHAPTER 15 Depression and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder	198	(10)
Rachel G. Klein
CHAPTER 16 Chronic Depression in Childhood	208	(13)
Maria Kovacs
Index	221