Category Archives: Psychology/Psychiatry

Blending Psychology and Dance

Many of our graduating seniors can likely relate to the difficulties of choosing a career path, let along having to make difficult decisions between pursuing a research passion versus one of a more personal nature. This choice was once faced by the new president-elect of the American Psychological Association, Nadine Kaslow, an Emory professor and chief psychologist of Grady Health System who is also the psychologist for the Atlanta Ballet. Dr. Kaslow has been able to incorporate her two passions through these joint appointments. To learn more about the motivations underlying her career and lifestyle paths, please visit http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/10/health/lifeswork-nadine-kaslow/.

Levering the immune system against depression

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An Emory University research team led by Andrew H. Miller, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, recently released the results of a study proposing a novel treatment target for difficult cases of depression.  Inflammation is the body’s innate reaction to a wound, but has also been observed in patients with depression and chronic inflammation is associated with depression cases that do not respond to typical medications and treatments.  In the study, participants with chronic inflammation and depression received infliximab, a drug used to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, or a placebo in addition to a prescribed anti-depression regimen. Infliximab was found to improve the treatment outcomes for depressed individuals with high levels of inflammation, and is a promising tool leveraging the immune system in the treatment of psychiatric conditions.
For more information about the study, please visit: http://news.emory.edu/stories/2012/09/psych_miller_inflam_dep_archgenpsych/index.html.