NEWSLANC EDITOR: The below is one of those extraordinarily meaningful articles that does not allow for excerpts. We encourage carefully reading the entire article.
NEW YORK TIMES: …Essentially, all the anti-depressants now in use affect a single group of neurotransmitters called monoamines and are likely to treat only specific subtypes of depression. Clinicians and scientists alike are in agreement that other pathways in the brain that control mood need to be explored. The opioids are one such pathway.
One “natural,” nonmedicinal use of opioids for depression is already widespread. There is a generally accepted hypothesis that long distance running produces a “runners’ high” via the production of endorphins, one of the brain’s opioids. Intense exercise is often “prescribed” for the treatment of depression. I have had several patients over the years whose lives revolved around punishing exercise schedules. On days when they could not exercise, they often experienced feelings of malaise and low mood — not unlike patients who miss a day or two of their antidepressants.
It may seem counterintuitive and even dangerous to be considering the medicinal use of substances that are currently a scourge to our society. Yet opioids have a long history of being used to treat melancholia and other psychological disorders — right up until the 1950s, when the current group of antidepressants were discovered. Is it possible we’ve come full circle? We don’t know yet. But we owe it to our patients to find out… (more)
