People suffering from atypical depression typically don't respond to common antidepressants. Moreover, monomine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI's), which have been used as a treatment have such dangerous side effects that they are rarely used. Dr. McLeod discovered that atypical depression is triggered by insulin resistance, a condition in which the body does not respond to insulin efficiently, and that supplemental chromium, a trace mineral needed by the body to help insulin work properly, could bring fast, safe, effective relief in people who had suffered from depression for as long as twenty or thirty years.