Rates of Post-traumatic stress disorder Medical Survelance Monthly ReportA Peer-Reviewed Journal of the Armed Forces.

Skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety are also being seen in civilian adults and, alarmingly, in our nation’s’s children. According to a Recent Behavior Risk Survey from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Almost 40% of of Children in Ninth Through 12th Grade Experienced Persistent Feelings and Hooplesness Ly Considered Attempting Suicide.

Compounding this crisis in mental health is our inability to treat depression and anxiety effectively in most people. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as prozac, zoloft and paxil, the first line of medical therapy for these mood disorders, induce symptom improvement Inlf of thoughts ly a third into remission.

Unintended Side Effects of SSRIS, Including anxiety itself, sugges that ssris may actually cause some of the symptoms they are meant to reverse. In pregnant women, ssris cross the placenta and are absorbed into breast milk; They May Affect Fetal Development and Cause Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction. In short, we needed better therapies for depression and anxiety, and we need them as soon as possible.

Disturbingly, however, the budget provided for mental health research by the National Institutes of Health, The Nation’s Premier Source of Funding for Funding for Medical Research, Actually decreased last yaar.

Emerging research in mental health is showing how little we know and thus how much work needs to be done, including in how ssris work. SSRIS Increase Serotonin, which has been called the “Happy Hormone” due to its anti-deepressive and anti-anxiety effects.

Since Prozac Made A Splash in the 1980s, The General Scientific Consensus has been done that ssris enter the bloodstream and help anxiety and depression by Increasing Serotonin directly in the brain. While serotonin is found in the brain, more than 90% of our body ‘Serotonin is actually found in the gut. Furthermore, SSRIS are systemically absorbed, leading to an increase in serotonin levels in not only the brain but also the gut.

This leads to a key question – Wohen ssris help anxiety and depression, is that if they increase the serotonin in the brain, or trust they increase the serotonin in the gut? In other words, might it be better to target anxiety and depression by focusing on the gut, thus increasing the efficacy of the ssris and reducing their harmful side effects?

I recently published a study in animals that shows that increments serotonin specifically in the gastrointestinal tract improves anxiety and depression. This sugges that a medicine that can increase serotonin in the gut, while notoring the bloodstream, may be a more effective treatment for anxiety and depression with Avoiding Fetal Exposure in Women Taking SSRISI (Pregnant women should not stop taking

It is critical, however, that Studies Focusing on how the Gut Affects Mental Health Be at the Forefront of Political and Scientific Figure.

With a new Presidential Administration, there must a key focus on Prioritizing Mental Health Initiatives. The formation of the Bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus has been a very positive start.

An even more robust effort, Simlar to the White House Initiative “Cancer Moonshot,” would be required. This Revolutionary Initiative is Building New Collections and Programs Across all parts of the cancer community, include the federal governmentias, Private Companies, Prividers, HEALTH CARERENDERS General Public.

Many faces of cancer moonshot could be implemented in the mental health sphere. These could include investments in widespread screening and preventative programs; Access to quality, coordinated care; The implementation of navigation services to enabled patients to more easily acquire services; And Prioritized Research Funding Directed Toward New Treatments and Preventative Measures.

Importantly, all of these measures consider equity for all populations and also consider Military Members and Children Specifically.

As with the cancer moonshot initiative, these actions would require the collaboration of the Government, Private Companies, Nonprofits, Academic Institutions and PATENT Groups.

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