[Biologico-pharmacologically oriented methods of treating depression with special reference to the state of medical practice].

Following a discussion of the diagnostic preconditions that are essential to any treatment of depression, this paper deals with the biologically-based therapies that recommend themselves in psychotherapy. Of chief interest here are the pharmacotherapeutic possibilities and above all the indications of the various antidepressants - many of them new - which are listed together with their German, Austrian and Swiss brand names in Table 8. Some new drugs that are not first and foremost antidepressants are also discussed here, as well as adjunctive medication and treatment of therapy-resistant depression. The main types of chronobiological therapy discussed are sleep deprivation and the use of light in the treatment of depression. Finally, there is a brief outline of shock therapy; for non-medical reasons, this no longer plays an important role today, but is nevertheless an extremely effective method of treating depression.