비정형 우울증의 개념

Abstract

A diagnostic entity - atypical depression - was termed from clinical observations that depressive patients sometimes respond well to monoamine oxidase inhibitors treatment, many clinicians now use the term atypical depression for its clinical usefulness. Clinically speaking, atypical depression occurs when depressive patients experience mood reactivity and two of the following features; significant weight gain or increase in appetite, hypersomnia, leaden paralysis, or longstanding patterns of interpersonal rejection sensitivity(DSM-IV). Even very young patients are apt to exhibit atypical patterns of disease. However, some researchers have suggested that as patients age, the disease would more likely be of an atypical nature. Atypical depression has less biological abnormality than non-endogenous or melancholic type depression, but its prevalence has yet to be determined or surveyed. In this article, the author has reviewed the conceptual changes of atypical depression and the ensuing clinical implications.