| Summary: | The improvements in treatment for depression as reviewed here are based on: 1. New developments in the realm of antidepressive medication, involving the use of second-generation antidepressants; treatment with precursors; new forms of treatment by intravenous drip infusion; and a new approach to long-term pro phylactic therapy entailing administration of an anti-epileptic agent. 2. Improved psychotherapeutic procedures employed as an accompaniment to antidepressive medication; correction of errors liable to be committed in the conduct of psychotherapy; clarification of the indications for group, family, or behavioral therapy and psychoanalysis. New psychotherapeutic methods allow conversational therapy to be more closely adapted to the patient's indi vidual needs and render it more effective. 3. New findings relating to diagnosis and monitoring of the clinical course with the help of biological markers. Although no specific markers have yet been dis covered, the markers now available do make it possible to establish a more ac curate differential diagnosis of the various types of depression. Moreover, in individual cases of depression, the response to treatment can often be more sat isfactorily monitored by resorting to state-dependent markers. A clear-cut biological classification of depressive states would in certain types of depression make it feasible in the near future to administer substitution treat ment with precursors and later possibly even to provide causal therapy. Discussion In supplement to this comprehensive survey, findings were reported which may support the hypothesis that the cortisol escape after dexamethasone could be a trait variable
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