Clinical Psychiatry News articles from January 2009

Clinical Psychiatry News archives from January 2009

Pyromania 'rare among arsonists'.(NEWS)
January 1, 2009... SEATTLE--Pyromania may be the first diagnosis to come to mind in cases of fire setting, but the behavior is much more likely to be a symptom of other psychiatric disorders, Dr. Suzanne Yang said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

Psychiatrists optimistic about health reform; parity bill, 'fresh approach' signal shift.(NEWS)
January 1, 2009... President Barak Obama's support for mental health reform combined with passage of the mental health parity bill are reasons for optimism among mental health providers in the new year, Dr. Nada L. Stotland says. "I was impressed by not only...

Teen drug use results for 2008 prove mixed.(NEWS)
January 1, 2009... WASHINGTON--Drug abuse among U.S. students remained steady in 2008 compared with recent years, but cigarette smoking is at a historic low, the 2008 Monitoring the Future survey shows. Still, some experts see the MTF data, released by the...

Report links TBI, risk of neurodegenerative illness.(NEWS)
January 1, 2009... Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have suffered severe or moderate traumatic brain injury are at increased risk for certain neurodegenerative symptoms such as Alzheimer-type dementia and parkinsonism, according to a report from...

Number of people per active Physician by Specialty, 2007.(VITAL SIGNS)
January 1, 2009... (In thousands) Child and adolescent psychiatry 41 Neurology 24 Psychiatry 8 Pediatrics 6 Family medicine/general practice 3 Source: 2008 Physician...

Nicotine dependence on rise among U.S. smokers.(NEWS)
January 1, 2009... PHILADELPHIA--American smokers have, on average, become significantly more nicotine dependent since 1989--which means that more aggressive interventions are needed to help them quit. That's because most of the smokers who could more easily...

Think substance dependency disorder in preteen drug users.(NEWS)
January 1, 2009... CHICAGO--Substance abuse before the age of 13 is a powerful predictor of legal problems and substance dependency disorders in adolescence that may warrant a differential approach to treatment, results of a study of 78 adolescents suggest. ...

Economy cited as reason for states' Medicaid, SCHIP cuts.(NEWS)
January 1, 2009... States are cutting back on the health care safety nets Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program in response to budget deficits caused by the worsening economic situation, according to a report by the advocacy group Families...

Neurobiology and sexual orientation.(EDITORIAL)
January 1, 2009... Since homosexuality was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a disease category in 1973, it has been mentioned as an illness only in the context of being a putative exacerbating factor in anxiety states. The...

Music and medicine.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... I enjoyed reading Dr. H. Steven Moffic's article about how music is an essential part of healing and the human experience ("Music and Mental Health," The Ethical Way, September 2008, p. 62). An often overlooked aspect of music in mental...

Early events may drive menopausal depression.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. --Menopause and depression may be linked in women who have a family history of depression or a personal history of sexual abuse, study results showed. "There is a link between menopause and depression, but it is...

Sleep and suicidality.(EVIDENCE-BASED PSYCHIATRIC MEDICINE)
January 1, 2009... The Problem Your patient has a suicide-attempt history and is currently depressed and experiencing insomnia. You discuss the benefits and risks of treating versus not treating his insomnia. The Question What is the link between...

Reframing therapy for the 21st Century.(THE PSYCHIATRIST'S TOOLBOX)
January 1, 2009... As a psychiatrist who has treated thousands of patients, I've been struck by the turmoil on Wall Street, and the extent to which this crisis has forced patients and potential patients to rearrange their priorities. People are holding back...

U.S. adults still using CAM for pain relief at high rates.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... About 38% of adults and nearly 12% of children in the United States used some type of complementary or alternative medicine therapy in 2007, according to survey data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National...

Broad analysis refuels debate on atypicals.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... Second-generation antipsychotics comprise a wide variety of drugs that in many instances do not have better efficacy against schizophrenia or a better side-effect profile than do first-generation antipsychotics, according to findings from the...

PTSD can present months after a shooting.(CHILD PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... CHICAGO--Schoolwide mental health screening should be routinely conducted after a school shooting to identify at-risk students and help guide the selection of appropriate treatment strategies. This conclusion is based on a study that showed...

Childhood trauma is tied to several DSM diagnoses.(CHILD PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... CHICAGO--Childhood trauma and family dysfunction were associated with multiple DSM diagnoses on a structured interview in a nationally representative adult sample. A history of childhood sexual abuse alone significantly increased the...

Fink! still at large: the reaction of some parents to Nebraska's safe haven law caught many off guard. What do the events in Nebraska suggest about the need for mental health services for adolescents?(CHILD PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... The highest form of abuse is abandonment, and that is what we saw happening in Nebraska last fall under the state's "safe haven" law. What started out as a well-intentioned effort to protect vulnerable infants left by their parents at a state...

Self-mutilation is not novel, but still needs early intervention.(CHILD PSYCHIATRY)(Report)
January 1, 2009... CHICAGO--Reports by radiologists showing multiple cases of self-mutilation by adolescents involving the deliberate embedding of foreign objects must be kept in perspective, according to Dr. Louis Kraus, chief of child psychiatry at Rush Medical...

Amyloid theory of Alzheimer's not dead--yet.(GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... The amyloid hypothesis is not dead, but it seems to be limping a bit in the race for an Alzheimer's cure. Some researchers who predicted 5 years ago that an anti-amyloid disease-modifying therapy was imminent are now re-evaluating that...

Methylphenidate reduces Alzheimer's apathy, caregiver distress.(GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... CHICAGO--Methylphenidate appears to improve the symptoms of apathy in patients with early Alzheimer's, benefiting both patients and caregivers, according to a small prospective trial. After taking the drug for 12 weeks, patients showed...

Four Alzheimer's susceptibility genes discovered.(GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... The first family-based genome-wide association study for Alzheimer's disease has identified four new genes that may significantly affect the risk of developing the disease. The gene with the strongest association lies on chromosome 14, not...

Perspective.(COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRY)(Report)
January 1, 2009... Children of alcoholic parents are at risk for negative mental health outcomes. But many overcome the genetic, biologic, and, often, environmental odds that are stacked against them and become competent, mentally healthy adults. Whether innate...

Building resilience in children of alcoholics.(PREVENTION IN ACTION)
January 1, 2009... The legacy of parental alcoholism cuts deep. Nearly 6.2 million children in the United States younger than 18 years old live with at least one parent who is currently dependent on alcohol, according to estimates from the 1996 National Household...

Laws on seizure-impaired driving vary among states.(FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... SEATTLE--States vary widely as to whether they legally require physicians to report patients whose driving may be impaired because of seizures, and whether they provide reporting physicians any legal protection, a new study shows. ...

Residents need better training for disability evaluations.(FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... SEATTLE--Senior psychiatry residents do not feel well prepared by their training to evaluate patients for mental health disability, investigators reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. "Disability...

Suicide risk is doubled for inmates who have ADHD.(FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY)
January 1, 2009... SEATTLE--Inmates who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have twice the risk of suicide as other inmates, a study has shown. Previous research has identified associations between ADHD and criminal behavior, according to lead...

Study begins piecing together profile of online predators.
January 1, 2009... SEATTLE--Individuals who solicit children for sex online are typically men with an average age of 35 who reside in the state in which the offense is committed, according to data for 107 offenders in South Carolina. "We looked at [online...

DBS: an evolving Tx for refractory epilepsy.(NEUROLOGY)
January 1, 2009... MADRID--Deep brain stimulation shows considerable promise for reducing intractable seizures in patients who are not candidates for epilepsy surgery, even though there have been few large-scale controlled trials to back up the practice. "We...

Antiepileptic age, polytherapy linked to more adverse effects.(NEUROLOGY)
January 1, 2009... MADRID--Adverse events are more common in patients who take older antiepileptic drugs or who take more than one antiepileptic, compared with those on monotherapy or newer agents. "The adverse effect profiles of antiepileptic drugs are often...

Lacosamide brings control to treatment-resistant epilepsy.(NEUROLOGY)
January 1, 2009... MADRID--The investigational antiepileptic lacosamide is well tolerated and reduced seizures by more than 50% in almost half of patients who took it as adjunctive therapy for medication-refractory partial seizures. "This study, with more...

Lessons learned earlier spur PQRI updates.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
January 1, 2009... WASHINGTON--Data from the first 6 months of the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) are spurring improvements for 2009, a Medicare official testified at a meeting of the Practicing Physicians Advisory Council. In the summer of...

Policy & practice.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
January 1, 2009... Psych Disorders in Young People Almost half of Americans aged 18-24 could be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder in a given 12-month period, according to an analysis of the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related...

FDA urged to change rules on off-label use.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
January 1, 2009... PHILADELPHIA--The Food and Drug Administration needs to change the way it regulates promotion of off-label drug use, according to the chair of the department of health policy and public health at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia....

Humor and the therapeutic alliance.(INPATIENT PRACTICE)(Clinical report)
January 1, 2009... The ability to understand and create humor is a high-order cognitive function that might elude some patients with mental illness. However, several studies have shown that very often, psychiatric patients are able to detect and appreciate humor....

Warning signs can predict psychosis-motivated assaults.(PRACTICE TRENDS)(Report)
January 1, 2009... SEATTLE--Certain symptoms that are present up to month in advance herald psychosis-motivated assaults by psychiatric inpatients, according to a study reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. ...

Medication for PTSD: a leap of faith?(PRACTICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY)
January 1, 2009... Conflicting reports about the efficacy of pharmacologic therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder leave clinicians in limbo, with more questions than answers on the subject. Two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)--paroxetine...

Low socioeconomic patients able, willing to use e-mail.(PRACTICE TRENDS)(Survey)
January 1, 2009... HONOLULU--The "digital divide" separating society's haves and have-notes may not be as deep as many fear, according to a study of 120 parents of adolescent patients and the patients themselves. In a survey, more than 60% of parents and...

Restoring to competence a case-by-case matter.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
January 1, 2009... SEATTLE--Defendants who are incompetent to stand trial are less likely to be restored to competence with treatment if they are older or have dementia, according to study results reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

Taking gratitude into the new year.(THE ETHICAL WAY)
January 1, 2009... The preamble of the American Medical Association's Principles of Medical Ethics delineates the areas of ethical responsibility to which we must adhere as physicians. These are "... to patients first and foremost, as well as to society, to other...

The irresistible appeal of personal narrative.(REEL LIFE)
January 1, 2009... Charlie Kaufman is arguably the most imaginative and psychologically compelling screenwriter working in the United States today (think of his scripts for "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation," and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind")....

Preventive Services Guide Updated.(FYI)
January 1, 2009... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has published its 2008 "Guide to Clinical Preventive Services," which highlights recommendations released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. In addition to previous recommendations, the...

National Substance Abuse trends.(FYI)
January 1, 2009... A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration gives results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The report reveals a drop in cocaine and methamphetamine use among young adults, and an increase...

Focalin XR label updated.(FYI)
January 1, 2009... The Food and Drug Administration has approved a 30-minute onset of action for Focalin XR (dexmethylphenidate HC1) extended-release capsules, 20 mg/day in children aged 6-12 years. The rapid onset of action brings potential benefits during the...

Veterans resource guide.(FYI)
January 1, 2009... A new flyer from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration lists a variety of resources for veterans, their family members, and treatment providers. The guide provides key resources, treatment locators, and referral...

Parental tip sheet on teens.(FYI)
January 1, 2009... The "Think You Know Your Teen? Brochure" is a card that offers a quiz on teenage lingo and comes with a tear-off tip sheet for parents. It can be distributed at events where one is likely to reach out to the parents of teenagers. The brochure...

Facts on mutual support groups.(FYI)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... A free six-page publication for health care providers gives information about mutual support groups for people with substance use disorders. "An Introduction to Mutual Support Groups for Alcohol and Drug Abuse" will familiarize readers with the...

Autism legislation database.(FYI)
January 1, 2009... A new online autism database provides up-to-date information about autism legislation introduced in each state and the District of Columbia. The Web site is maintained by the National Conference of State Legislators and is designed to allow...