TITLE:
The Muscle Immobility of Depression—The Weightlessness Within
AUTHORS:
Berislav Momčilović, Juraj Prejac, Vjeran Višnjević, Stipe Drmić, Ninoslav Mimica, Željka Bukovec-Megla, Sanja Brundić, Anatoly Viktorovich Skalny
KEYWORDS:
Depression; Suicide; Hair; Blood; Sodium; Potassium; Vasopressin; Muscle Immobility; Weightlessness
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.3 No.9A,
September
26,
2012
ABSTRACT: The purpose of the study was to elucidate the role of bioelements in human depression. We studied hair sodium and potassium in 311 adult subjects (188 women and 123 men) in the randomized, prospective, observational study; 192 were controls (83 men and 109 women), and 119 have major unipolar depression (40 men and 79 women). Depression was diagnosed by the DSM-IV criteria, and hair sodium and potassium were analyzed by the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP AES). In the subgroup of 19 controls and 24 depressed subjects who attempted suicide (the gravest form of major depression), antidiuretic hormone (ADH) was assessed by using the standard laboratory ADH diagnostic kit. Significant gender differences were observed, since men have more hair Na and K than women (Na p