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Overview, Common Pathways Model, Administrative structureLink to PMBC Members and Contact InfoUpcoming and past Lectures, Workshops, Journal Clubs, etc.Pilot research and other PMBC research projects, PMBC publicationsReviews of assessment tools, Consultation, Equipment referralsClinical Scholars Program, Workshops, Lectures, Summer InstituteMeasurement Resources . . .Request consult on Biological, Psychosocial, Health Behavior, or Sleep research		 Depression is associated with substantial levels of medical burden, including elevated
rates of hypertension, coronary artery disease, and type II diabetes.  Mechanisms underlying
depression-health relationships are poorly understood, compromising our ability to identify
depressed patients at risk for medical morbidity and to reduce levels of medical burden in this
population.  The proposed supplement will support the integration of biological assessments of metabolic, neuroendocrine, immune and inflammatory markers within an on-going depression
treatment study, Depression: The Search for Treatment Relevant Phenotypes
(MH65376, E. Frank, PI).  The current seed study will provide bridge funds to support this
on-going pilot work until receipt of supplemental NIH funding.

The proposed supplement will support the prospective assessment of indicators of the metabolic syndrome (including blood pressure, central adiposity, lipid profiles, fasting glucose/insulin), as
well as specific markers of HPA regulation (including early morning cortisol rise and evening cortisol
levels), immune competence (including in vitro cytokine production following mitogen stimulation),
and circulating inflammatory markers (including IL-6 and CRP) in a sample of 90 depressed adults
assessed repeatedly over the course of outpatient depression treatment.
 
. Our aims are:
(1) To determine which groups of depressed patients are most likely to display significant
dysregulation across metabolic, neuroendocrine, immune and inflammatory parameters
at pretreatment baseline;
(2) To examine whether indicators of metabolic, neuroendocrine, immune and inflammatory
function change over the course of successful depression treatment, and
(3) To explore the extent to which self-reported health behaviors moderate and/or mediate
relationships across psychological variables and physiological risk factors in depressed
patients.

Contribution to Understanding Mind-Body Relations:
The proposed supplement will allow for the prospective assessment and integration
of psychological, biological, and health behavior variables within a group of clinically depressed
adults undergoing depression treatment.  These areas represent important components of the
PMBC model of stress and health, and may help to clarify potential mechanisms
underlying depression-health relationships.   (PDF VERSION)
 

Pilot Projects Overview.Current Pilot Projects.Prior Pilot Projects
  11/4/2005  LA / tc

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