Major depression afflicts one out of 10 adults, resulting in profound and disturbing changes in mood, energy, sleep, appetite and interests. Most patients, while in the grips of depression, are unable to function in their work or family life, and suicide is an ever-present risk.
While treating depression with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, has been around since the late 1980s, new brain imaging technologies and genetic detective work are rapidly revealing what can cause depression and how best to treat it. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.
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