A recent Duke study came to the conclusion that exercise was just as effective as most common anti-depression medicines in reducing the symptoms of major depression.   A new trial is diggging deeper into the benefits of exercise because up to 1/3 of depressed patients may not respond to drug therapy, and those who do take drugs complain of side effects Duke points out.  At the completion of the new trial,  Duke University will have a better understanding also of how much of the outcome was derived from exercise and how much from a supportive atmosphere.

A new focus on the latter trial also examines vascular depression, a form of the disorder that is not widely recognized and occurs in older patients who have other vascular diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, or stroke. (What we do concretely know is that exercise does help to stave off diseases such as these.) 

Exercise to reduce physical and mental diseases and disorders and maybe as that old song goes: "Don’t worry-be happy"!