Figures for the year 2012 indicate that mental illness is costing the Canadian economy more than $12 billion a year in lost workforce participation. Among active members of the workforce, the story is not much more encouraging. One in six of them have reported being diagnosed with depression and the actual number is believed to be much higher still.

Numbers like these highlight the urgency of efforts to develop more effective therapies to fight depression and a new study by a team from Rockefeller University is generating hope of achieving that goal. Results of the study are the focus of an article on the Rockefeller University website and reveal previously unknown mechanisms by which a new class of antidepressants work:

A new class of drugs under development to treat depression has shown some success by targeting brain cells’ ability to respond to the chemical messenger glutamate. But the mechanism by which these experimental therapies work has remained unknown. The recent discovery, by a Rockefeller University-led team, of a molecular amplification system helps explain how the drugs alter brain signaling in particular neurons, and so produce an antidepressant effect.

The article is quite technical in nature as you may imagine but the upshot is that by unmasking the mechanism by which this new class of antidepressants works researchers may be able to leverage this information to create even newer, more effective drug therapies. But that’s not all. The study’s senior author Neuroscientist Paul Greengard sees potential for this new information to play a part in developing treatments for other neurological disorders as well. Says Dr. Greengard:

Since mGluR5 is considered a target for treating a variety of neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and Fragile X Syndrome, our research may have implications for therapies for diseases beyond depression.

All this is encouraging news for the millions of Canadians, and some 150 million other people worldwide, who currently suffer from depression, (as well as countless others living with Parkinson’s and related disorders) because depression has long been one of the most vexing conditions facing the mental health community. It has several known causes and yet in some cases, there is no obvious trigger at all. Because of that developing effective treatments has been one of the great challenges facing both neuroscientists like Dr. Greengard and the psychiatric community as a whole.

Disability Tax Credit is There When the Need is Greatest

In Canada today businesses are facing acute shortages of personnel with critical skills. They cannot afford to lose some of their best and brightest to the scourge of depression. At the same time, those who have had their work lives adversely affected by the condition encounter the cruelest of ironies as their ability to earn a living is compromised just as the medical bills begin to pile up. Without assistance, many of these people will find themselves facing the gut-wrenching choice of either paying for their medication or paying the rent. It’s fair to say that most people of conscience would agree it should not have to be this way.

The Disability Tax Credit was devised as a method to help Canadians disabled by depression or other conditions avoid having to make such decisions. Since its inception, the program has received praise from disability rights groups and has indeed helped thousands of disabled Canadians and their families get the help they need to stay together and continue to contribute to society.

Unfortunately, many who are eligible for the program are not taking advantage of it, either because they’ve been poorly advised or because they found the application process intimidating (You can read our easy-to-understand guide on Disability Tax Credit Certificate). At Disability Credit Canada we strive to ensure that every eligible Canadian who wishes to receive benefits through the Disability Tax Credit can do so. Our benefits specialists are some of the most powerful advocates you can have on your side and will work tirelessly to make sure you receive the maximum benefits you’re entitled to by law.

Seek Help Today By Contacting Disability Credit Canada

Stop stressing over mounting medical bills and the costs of managing mental health. Our mission at Disability Credit Canada is to help Canadians secure financial assistance like CPP disability, tax credits, and long-term disability claims. Call us at 1-855-765-4458 and let us take the weight of healthcare-related expenses off your shoulders for good.