Dr. Greden

Depression. The very word is enough to bring you down.

And for the tens of millions of people who have depression, hope can be hard to find.

Dr. John Greden leads a team that’s trying to change that. He and more than 120 of the University of Michigan’s top experts have created the nation’s first center devoted entirely to all forms of depression and bipolar disorder.

Together, the people of the U-M Depression Center want to bring hope, and help, to patients and their families. They want to fight the stigma and misunderstanding that surround depression.

How? By finding better ways to diagnose depression in its early stages and treat it effectively throughout a person’s life. By making discoveries about the genes, brain chemicals, life events, sleep problems and other factors that play a role in depression. By educating health care professionals, lawmakers and students about the latest knowledge on depression and its care.

Since 1999, they’ve patterned their center after the cancer and heart centers that have formed across the country in the last two decades, to make the most of teamwork, information sharing, and innovation.

As Dr. Greden explains, "To really make a difference, we needed to bring together different types of expertise. Collaboration between scholars, doctors, social workers, neuroscientists, behavioral scientists and nurses inspires new directions in patient care, research, education and public policy."

In late 2006, the Depression Center will move into its new home, a light-filled building that will foster even more cooperation - and even more hope.

An Issue That Affects Us All

Every member of the U-M Depression Center team knows the heavy toll that depression and bipolar disorder can take on a person, on a family, on a society.

They know that the World Health Organization has named depression a leading cause of disability, and that the billions of dollars in estimated economic costs don’t even come close to measuring the real human cost.

In fact, depression affects 17 percent of the population, yet many cases go undiagnosed or under-treated.

"Depression and bipolar disorders are the most burdensome disabilities on society today," says Dr. Greden. "And they are the second most costly of all medical disorders. Only cardiovascular disorders are more costly. A new vision was needed."

Complete Patient Care

Part of that vision is a new framework for treating depression and bipolar disorder. Each patient receives care from a multidisciplinary team of U-M specialists for their depression and for common related conditions such as anxiety, panic attacks, substance abuse and medical illnesses.

And, because depression tends to recur throughout a person’s life, the center offers child, adolescent, adult and geriatric programs. The center has even worked with U-M's Women's Health Program to develop programs to monitor vulnerable women during pregnancy.

A Bright Vision

Dr. Greden and his colleagues tackle depression on four fronts: early detection, true remission, prevention of recurrences and reduction of social stigma.

"We know that depression and bipolar disorders are genetically predisposed. We are working hard to develop tests so those who have vulnerabilities can be diagnosed earlier. The real goal is to prevent episodes from ever starting," says Dr. Greden. ”We also know that episodes are triggered, and made worse by, stress. We may not be able to prevent stress, but we can work together to develop new coping responses to stress and new treatments to keep people better. We can and will do this."