ALL ROADS LEAD TO DEPRESSION - CLINICALLY HOMOGENEOUS, ETIOLOGICALLY HETEROGENEOUS

Manias, and particularly depressions, are syndromes not diseases. Cons iderable data support the fact that depressions, though similar clinic ally, are of heterogenous etiologies. We can separate depressions gene rally into those that are endogenous/psychotic and those that occur in the context of marked emotional instability. Familial pure depressive disease is a specific example of the former, depression spectrum dise ases a specific example of the latter. These are separable on the basi s of personality, clinical, follow-up, familial and treatment variable s. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.