It has been an inspiration to have the opportunity of editing this focus issue on depression. Not only have the accounts of recent advances provided tantalising indications of how the effective management of depression might change radically in the near future, the contributions from people with the disorder have demonstrated the extraordinary determination of human courage that can be shown in overcoming a condition to which, sadly, many still succumb.
The growth of genetics is offering the promise of individually-tailored treatment. The importance of the interaction between genetics and environment is becoming more and more evident. While it is obvious that biological factors can affect an individual's psychosocial status, psycho¬social factors can also affect biological states relevant to depression, through neurochemical and epigenetic mechanisms. The observation that antidepressant treatment might affect brain-de¬rived neurotrophic factor (BDNS) implies that early effective treatment of depression might prevent or even reverse some of the cognitive and structural brain changes associated with this condition.