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Atypical depression: diagnosis and therapeutic issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

JR de la Fuente
JR de la Fuente*
Affiliation:
Universitad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Facultad de Medicina, Edificio B, Apdo Postal 70-443, 04510México, DF, Mexico
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Summary

A number of Meso-American artifacts which appear to depict subjects presenting severe depressive episodes have been identified, showing that concern with depressive disorders is not a recent phenomenon. Atypical presentations of depression in modern Mexico are characterized by a high degree of somatization, perhaps to avoid the stigma of “mental disorders”. Other characteristics are mood reactivity, substantial anxiety, phobias and the reversed vegetative manifestations. There is a high comorbidity with panic disorder and with bipolar depression. Nosological terminology is not fully standardized, and commonly encountered diagnoses include “neurasthenia”, “neurotic depression”, “mixed depression”, “resistant depression”, etc. Treatment involves a variety of modalities, including TCAs, MAOIs, and anxiolytics, together with a number of drug combinations; open trials are underway with newer agents such as SAMe, SSRIs and the RIMAs.

Keywords

depressionatypical depressiondiagnosistreatment
Type
Research Article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 8 , Issue 5: Worldwide therapeutic strategies in atypical depressive syndromes , 1993 , pp. 235 - 240
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 1993

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