Serotonin appears related to platelet factor 4. Changes in serotonin may lead to more sticky blood and a greater likelihood of a clot. The clot, in turn, could produce a coronary. Of note is the fact that both minor and major depression seem to influence the rate of cardiovascular deaths in conjunction with depression. Heart disease is the most common cause of death for people in the western hemisphere.
Depression is the second leading cause of medical impact and morbidity.
Thus in discussing their relationship, we are talking about two diseases which account for an overwhelming amount of the population's illness. What I have tried to illustrate in these examples is the exciting nature of current research on psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, the extraordinary nature of the technology, the newness of the conceptualizations, the links between psychiatric illness and non-psychiatric illness, and particularly, the mainstream nature of psychiatric illness and research. This kind of consideration has not been lost on policy makers and on the American public. Many are clamoring for a doubling of the medical research budget because of the excitement of research such as I have described to you. Senators Specter and Harkin, and Representatives Porter and Lowey, among others, have taken leads to make this happen within the Congress.