Clinical Psychiatry News articles from December 2007

Clinical Psychiatry News archives from December 2007

APA advocates for mentally ill in jails.(Forensic Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... NEW ORLEANS -- Despite the growing number of programs designed to address the problems of people with mental illness who are in the criminal justice system, a great need for advocacy remains, said members of the American Psychiatric...

Top 10 diagnoses by psychiatrists in 2007.(VITAL SIGNS)
December 1, 2007... Top 10 Diagnoses by Psychiatrists in 2007 Depressive disorder[dagger] 11.7% Depression, single episode 10.8% Anxiety states 10.3% Attention-deficit disorder 8.1% Bipolar affective disorder* 7.4% Depression,...

Health promotion 'still lacking' for psychiatry patients: impact of psychotropics often not raised.(News)
December 1, 2007... VIENNA -- Only about half of patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and their caregivers have had a discussion with their psychiatrist or another physician about the potential long-term consequences of weight gain and the impact of...

ADHD in girls linked to mood, eating disorders.(News)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2007... BOSTON -- Girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are significantly more likely than girls without the condition to be diagnosed with major depression, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

CMS plans 10% Physician Fee cut for 2008.(News)
December 1, 2007... Unless Congress steps in, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will reduce payments to physicians by about 10% beginning in January 2008, a slightly deeper cut than had been proposed earlier in the year. Federal estimates show...

Imaging studies detect brain abnormalities in adult ADHD.(News)
December 1, 2007... BOSTON -- The brains of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have distinct structural and functional abnormalities in regions associated with executive functioning and attention control, new imaging studies by investigators at...

Drivers safe when proper zolpidem regimen is followed.(News)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2007... MIAMI BEACH -- A medical literature review and a news database search indicate that zolpidem is safe when a proper dosing regimen is followed--despite recent media reports suggesting an association between the agent and driving impairment. ...

Returning vets' mental health worsens over time.(News)
December 1, 2007... Veterans of combat duty in Iraq reported significantly more mental health problems 6 months after their return from deployment than they did immediately after their return, according to Dr. Charles S. Milliken of the Walter Reed Army Institute...

Dissociative disorders definition criticized.(News)
December 1, 2007... PHILADELPHIA -- The current official definition of dissociative disorders is too limited and hard for clinicians to use in practice, experts said at the annual conference of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation....

Second atypical is approved for treating schizophrenia in teens.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
December 1, 2007... The Food and Drug Administration has approved aripiprazole for the treatment of schizophrenia in adolescents. The approval, which came in late October and is based on a 6-week study of 302 adolescents in 13 countries, makes aripiprazole...

Antipsychotic okayed as add-on for MDD.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
December 1, 2007... Aripiprazole has been approved as an adjunctive treatment to antidepressants in adults with major depressive disorder, based on two short-term studies comparing placebo with the atypical antipsychotic in patients on an antidepressant. The...

Alert is issued on smoking cessation drug.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
December 1, 2007... The Food and Drug Administration has issued an alert about postmarketing reports of suicidal thoughts, aggressive and erratic behavior, and drowsiness associated with varenicline, the smoking cessation drug marketed as Chantix. A notice...

Haloperidol may raise the risk of heart arrhythmia.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
December 1, 2007... Patients who take the antipsychotic drug haloperidol may be at increased risk for heart rhythm abnormalities, according to an alert issued by the Food and Drug Administration. Revised labeling on the drug, which is marketed as Haldol, Haldol...

Column on religion came up short.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)(Column)
December 1, 2007... I'm mainly a psychotherapist and a fan of Dr. Paul J. Fink and his columns--except for the one discussing religion and referrals (Fink! Still at Large, October 2007. p. 47). I fear that Dr. Fink let his own spiritual beliefs get in the way of...

Faith communities can help.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... Dr. Michael S. Jellinek's recent column was given to me by a member of my congregation ("Help Families Carve Out Free Time," Guest Editorial, September 2007, p. 12). I appreciated his simple, straightforward strategy to fighting familial...

Remembering the AMA principles.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... I am concerned when there are discussions of psychiatric ethics without reference to the Principles of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association. As members of the American Psychiatric Association, we commit ourselves to abide by this...

Don't exaggerate gun danger to kids.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... After reading the piece by Dr. Karen Judy ("What To Do About Guns and Violence." Guest Editorial, July 2007, p. 22), I had to respond. Dr. Judy writes she has seen first hand the "devastation that guns cause." But she hasn't seen the...

Should the civilly committed mentally ill be precluded from buying guns?(POINT/COUNTERPOINT)
December 1, 2007... Restricting access would protect everyone. The Virginia Tech shooting is the most recent, but many cases illustrate the importance of restricting gun purchases in this population--not only for homicides but suicides as well. People...

Cardiovascular risk high in deficit syndrome.(Adult Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... VIENNA -- Schizophrenia patients with deficit syndrome are more likely to be at high cardiovascular risk than those without the syndrome, Dr. Celso Arango reported at the annual congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. ...

Risperidone and acute mania.(EVIDENCE-BASED PSYCHIATRIC MEDICINE)(Medical condition overview)
December 1, 2007... The Problem You have an adult patient who is clearly suffering with mania. He is already taking a low dose of risperidone (Risperdal). After you review the various treatment options with him, he will consent only to an increase in the dose...

Lawyers representing the man charged with killing three in a shooting in Georgia say their client was acting under 'delusional compulsion.' Is there any validity to such a label?(FINK! STILL AT LARGE)
December 1, 2007... Our society is rife with neologisms, and "delusional compulsion" is one of them. We have enough challenges in psychiatry without people creatively inventing new terms to meet their own medical or legal purposes. And in our specialty, I'm...

Schizophrenia patients often in criminal justice system.(Adult Psychiatry)(Medical condition overview)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2007... NEW ORLEANS -- Schizophrenia patients commonly have involvement with the criminal justice system, both as victims and as perpetrators of crime, according to a poster presented at the American Psychiatric Association's Institute on Psychiatric...

Beware of adrenal insufficiency with atypicals.(Adult Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... NEW ORLEANS -- Recognizing the potential for atypical antipsychotics to cause adrenal insufficiency is important to ensure that this serious condition is managed appropriately, two experts said. In one case, Dr. Violeta Tan and Dr. Natalie...

OROS methylphenidate lifts ADHD symptoms.(Adult Psychiatry)(Medical condition overview)
December 1, 2007... VIENNA -- Osmotic-release oral system methylphenidate proved effective in the Long-Acting Methylphenidate in Adult ADHD trial, Dr. Rossella Medori reported at the annual congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. ...

The art of Joel W. Carlson.(VISIONARY ART)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Even though Joel W Carlson grew up in Idaho, his mind has always been in a tropical place. Now aged 50, he's called Honolulu home for the last 24 years. "I've always wanted to live near the ocean--someplace warm. I fell in love with nature at a...

Yoga: a beneficial integrative therapy.(THE PSYCHIATRIST'S TOOLBOX)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Dr. Hans Selye's thinking was considered innovative back in the 1930s. That's when the endocrinologist developed his pioneering work on the concept of stress. "To understand the mechanism of stress gives physicians a new approach to the...

Sertraline, fluoxetine help PTSD patients, reviews show.(Adult Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... HONOLULU -- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors generally tend to be effective first-line treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder, Julia M. Whealin, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the National Medical Association. Dr....

Targeted program can delay onset of drinking.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- An intervention that allows at-risk adolescents to explore the strengths and weaknesses of their individual personalities can delay the onset of risky drinking for at least 6 months, possibly decreasing the growth of alcohol use...

Parental discord's ripple effect on children starts early.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... TORONTO -- Parental discord as seemingly innocuous as frequent belittlement can significantly increase a child's risk of psychological maltreatment, according to results of a study presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic...

Clue in to suicide risk among elderly patients.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... PHILADELPHIA -- Older Americans are more likely to use lethal means in suicide attempts, Patrick Arbore, Ed.D., said at a conference sponsored by the American Society on Aging. In addition, he said, the elderly are more likely to complete...

Behavioral therapy may prevent sight-related depression.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... An in-home program that teaches problem-solving skills to patients with age-related macular degeneration decreased the incidence of new-onset depression, a recent study suggests. In addition, the program appeared to shorten the course of...

[beta]-carotene does not improve short-term cognition.(Geriatric Psychiatry)(Medical condition overview)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2007... The antioxidant [beta]-carotene does not improve cognitive performance among healthy older men in the short term, according to a subgroup analysis of data from a longitudinal study. These findings add to the growing list of study results...

Treat substance use/ADHD with due caution: although complete abstinence is elusive, substance use should be controlled before addressing ADHD.(PRACTICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY)
December 1, 2007... Substance use disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder often go together. Alcohol abuse or dependence has been reported in 17%-45% of adults with ADHD, and drug abuse or dependence has been reported in 9%-30%. Conversely, an...

Women and men may respond differently to naltrexone.(Addiction Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- Naltrexone may have little positive effect either on drinking behavior in older women with alcoholism comorbid with depression or on drug-using behavior in women with alcoholism and comorbid cocaine dependence. Data presented at...

Perspective.(Community Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... I have a fantasy that university student health centers have the resources for addressing mental health issues that go beyond the average guidance counseling and coaching that some students need during their college tenure. But fantasies are...

Systems promote mental wellness on campus.(PREVENTION IN ACTION)
December 1, 2007... The shooting rampage that devastated the Virginia Tech community in April and the subsequent reports of gunman Seung-Hui Cho's many "red-flag" mental health issues prompted the media and the public to ask repeatedly: "How could he have fallen...

Consensus lacking on duty to report alcohol dependency.(Forensic Psychiatry)
December 1, 2007... MIAMI BEACH -- Only six states have mandatory reporting laws, so most physicians can be in a quandary when a patient is alcohol dependent and works where impairment could threaten public safety, according to a poster presented at the annual...

Ketogenic diet underused for control of seizures: biology is not understood, but studies show the high-fat, low-carb diet is effective for epilepsy patients.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
December 1, 2007... MAUI, HAWAII -- A high-fat ketogenic diet is effective in helping epilepsy patients control their seizures, but it is underused because it is misunderstood, said Dr. Eileen P.G. Vining. The diet is not difficult. It can be palatable,...

Basal ganglia abnormalities seen in neuropsychiatric lupus.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
December 1, 2007... BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND -- Metabolic changes in the basal ganglia that can be detected with magnetic resonance spectroscopy may precede irreversible changes from neuropsychiatric lupus, according to a pilot study. "Why look at basal ganglia?...

Prevalence of multiple sclerosis in selected countries as percentage of world cases.(DATA WATCH)
December 1, 2007... Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis in Selected Countries As Percentage of World Cases United States (n = 370,000) 14.8% Germany (n = 110,000) 4.4% United Kingdom (n = 95,000) 3.8% France (n = 50,000) 2.0%...

Long-term opioid use compatible with driving.(Pain Medicine)
December 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- On driving simulators, 51 patients on chronic opioids performed as well as 49 control subjects, preliminary data from an ongoing study found. The conventional recommendation that patients taking chronic opioids should...

Gene polymorphism linked to depression in CHD.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
December 1, 2007... VIENNA -- Patients with coronary heart disease who carry the short allele of the serotonin transporter gene have significantly higher rates of major depression and perceived stress than do those who are homozygous for the long allele, Dr....

Increased mortality seen in those with changes in sleep duration.(Psychosomatic Medicine)(Medical condition overview)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2007... Both too much sleep and not enough sleep appear to be associated with increased mortality, according to a new longitudinal study. Sleeping less than 6 hours per night or more than 9 hours per night was associated with almost twice the...

CBT shows promise for irritable bowel syndrome.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
December 1, 2007... VIENNA -- Irritable bowel syndrome can be conceptualized as an anxiety disorder--and, as such, responsive to cognitive-behavioral therapy, according to Dr. Sergej Andreewitch. "Core symptomatology of IBS is clearly physiological, but the...

Pregnant women eschew Meds.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Medical condition overview)
December 1, 2007... A minority of women believe it is safe to take depression medication while they are pregnant, according to a new survey by the Society for Women's Health Research. The survey of 1,000 women was conducted by telephone in October; 500 family and...

Secondary depression admits up.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
December 1, 2007... In 10 years, the rate of admissions for depression as a secondary diagnosis approximately tripled, from 93 per 10,000 to 247 per 10,000, according to the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. There were about 2.5 million hospitalizations...

Katrina's mental health cost.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
December 1, 2007... Contrary to what is observed after most disasters, mental distress seems to be on the rise on the Gulf Coast, not declining, according to results of an ongoing survey of 1,043 prehurricane residents of affected areas of Alabama, Louisiana, and...

... hits students also.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Schools in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas that received an estimated 196,000 students displaced by Katrina have not been able to meet students' ongoing mental health needs, according to a RAND Corp. survey released in October. The...

Data on elderly glossed over.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
December 1, 2007... Food and Drug Administration regulations for drug makers conducting clinical trials encourage the inclusion of elderly participants and the reporting of data by age, but the agency is not effective in getting its medical officers to include...

Medical students ignorant of military medical ethics.(Practice Trends)
December 1, 2007... The findings in a survey of medical students indicated that few received adequate training in military medical ethics, many were ignorant of a physician's responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions, and the overwhelming majority failed to...

Pain relievers.(Practice Trends)(Cartoon)
December 1, 2007... "It's normal to get depressed around the holidays, especially when we put too much pressure on ourselves."

If I were president (of our APA).(THE ETHICAL WAY)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Presidents--or presidential candidates--are on our minds now. Not only are we about a year away from our national presidential election, we also are in the midst of our annual election for officers of the American Psychiatric Association. ...

Tools assess patients' potential for violence.(INPATIENT PRACTICE)(Interview)
December 1, 2007... Violent acts by psychiatric inpatients are distressingly common. In one survey of 330 people working in the department of psychiatry at Odense (Denmark) University Hospital, 90% of physicians, nurses, and nursing aides reported having been...

Informed consent important with lamotrigine.(Practice Trends)
December 1, 2007... MIAMI BEACH -- Inadequate informed consent places physicians prescribing lamotrigine at increased risk of malpractice liability, Dr. Neelam Varshney suggested. Given that, it is important to inform patients about the risk of a rare but...

Medical schools boast largest enrollment ever.(Practice Trends)
December 1, 2007... The number of students who entered medical school this fall--17,759--was the largest ever, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Although that number represents only a 2.3% increase from the previous year, there was an...

Tiered plans cut drug use; enrollees spend more.(Practice Trends)
December 1, 2007... Cost containment strategies, such as tiered drug plans, reduce overall prescription drug utilization and increase the use of generics, according to an analysis of prescription drug use by Medicare-eligible retirees. But even with decreased...

Enrollment in consumer-directed plans still low.(Practice Trends)
December 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Consumer-directed health plans remain popular with large companies despite a lack of enthusiasm among their workers, according to the results of a biennial national survey. "Employers and health plans continue to be... quite...

Pay for performance programs may not do much for quality.(Practice Trends)
December 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The few studies that have examined the effectiveness of incentivized pay-for-performance programs have found a mix of moderate to no improvement in quality measures, which, in some instances, have led to unintended consequences,...

The sophisticated cinema of alcoholism.(REEL LIFE)
December 1, 2007... Foremost among the major psychiatric syndromes, alcohol dependence (for narrative ease, I'll take the liberty of using the terms "alcoholism" and "alcoholic" from now on) has been well depicted onscreen in several memorable films over the...

Campus Suicide Prevention Grants.(FYI)
December 1, 2007... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is accepting applications for Campus Suicide Prevention Grants. Fifteen grants will be funded for up to $100,000 each. This program will assist colleges and universities in...

Coping with dementia booklet.(FYI)
December 1, 2007... "What Happens Next?" is a booklet designed to answer patients' questions about early-stage dementia. It includes a list of support groups and information about research trials. It is published by the National Institute on Aging's Alzheimer's...

Youth Suicide Prevention Grants.(FYI)
December 1, 2007... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is accepting applications for State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention Grants. Ten grants will be funded for up to $500,000 each. This program will support the development and...

Point-of-sale drug abuse information.(FYI)
December 1, 2007... Facts about prescription drug abuse will now be provided at the point of sale to buyers of the most highly abused drugs. The fact sheets will be provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to 6,300...

Web-based physician applications.(FYI)(Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) suite provides practice management software and services for small- and medium-sized offices, including electronic health records; a patient self-service portal; and billing, front-office management, and...