The social and economic impacts of depression of13 million depressed Americians are staggering
. Untreated depression leads to suicide in about 15% of cases. The direct and indirect costs of depression including healthcare costs, prescription antidepressant medication, lost time from work and lost productivity are estimated to be over $30 billion a year. While the research team believes that depression is a complex disorder that probably involves a number of brain functions and circuits, they are hopeful their discovery will open the door to the possibility of using gene therapy to combat the illness.