Clinical Psychiatry News articles from June 2009

Clinical Psychiatry News archives from June 2009

Target social skills in autism, Asperger's.
June 1, 2009... BALTIMORE -- Social interventions are especially important for children with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome, according to an autism expert. "For some higher-functioning kids, there's self-awareness of the fact that they...

Opioid abuse in military likely to rise, experts say: drugs' impact on PTSD cited as factor.
June 1, 2009... NEW YORK -- Soldiers injured while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan might receive medications such as opioids to help them cope with the pain so they can return to their units. However, these drugs also help ease stress, and soldiers might begin...

FDA reverses course, approves iloperidone.
June 1, 2009... The Food and Drug Administration has unexpectedly approved the atypical antipsychotic iloperidone (Fanapt) for schizophrenia. The drug, which will sold by Rockville, Md.-based Vanda Pharmaceuticals, had been rejected by the FDA in July...

IOM guidelines geared to curb conflicts of interest.(NEWS)
June 1, 2009... Physicians should stop accepting gifts or meals from industry representatives, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine that offers 16 recommendations aimed at limiting financial conflicts of interest in medicine. While...

Antipsychotics became leading drug class in 2008.(VITAL SIGNS)
June 1, 2009... Note: Therapeutic classes shown represent top five for 2008. Source: IMS Health

Acetaminophen, NSAIDs get stronger warning labels for liver injury risks.(NEWS)
June 1, 2009... The Food and Drug Administration is requiring manufacturers to place more prominent warning labels on certain over-the-counter drug products to alert consumers to the potential risks of liver injury from acetaminophen and stomach bleeding from...

List of illegal over-the-counter weight-loss products grows.(NEWS)
June 1, 2009... A diuretic, an antidepressant, and an unapproved stimulant are among the latest undeclared active drug ingredients identified in over-the-counter weight-loss products, the Food and Drug Administration recently announced. In a statement,...

Nine companies are asked to stop making unapproved narcotics.(NEWS)
June 1, 2009... The Food and Drug Administration has warned nine companies to stop manufacturing and marketing 14 narcotic products, including unapproved versions of high-concentrate morphine sulfate oral solution and unapproved immediate-release tablets...

Peer bullying in childhood is a predictor of psychotic symptoms in early adolescence.(NEWS)
June 1, 2009... Children who were repeatedly bullied by their peers when they were 8 or 10 years old were almost twice as likely to exhibit psychotic symptoms at age 12 years, based on data from more than 6,000 children. Previous research has shown that...

Ethnicity plays role in age of autism spectrum diagnosis.(NEWS)
June 1, 2009... BALTIMORE -- Hispanic and African American children are more likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder after age 3 years than are white children, a retrospective study of more than 250 children with the disorder shows. Hispanic...

Online prescribing tools.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... In light of the recent revelations about pharmaceutical industry influence over journal content and other information sources, it is incumbent upon psychiatrists to distinguish between credible, evidence-based drug and treatment information and...

Parity is at a crossroads.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2009... Thankfully, implementation of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act is just a few months away after many years of hard work by the U.S. mental health community ("Mental Health Advocates Praise New...

Where is the hurt? How do we help?(EXPERT COMMENTARY)
June 1, 2009... In recent years, we've seen an increase in reports of medically treated anxiety, depression, and somatic comorbidity disorders in adults and children, and in adolescents in particular. The medical literature often mentions the benefits of...

In the mind's eye of the beholder.(EXPERT COMMENTARY)
June 1, 2009... Imagery rehearsal therapy is a broad term for myriad cognitive-imagery treatments for chronic and potentially acute nightmare disorders. Several groups are researching specific brands of the therapy, and this modality is receiving substantial...

Initiative aims to stem inpatient suicide risk.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... SEATTLE -- Human factors analysis can be an effective means of improving observation practices on psychiatric units to reduce the risk of inpatient suicide, according to one unit's experience. "A significant number of inpatient suicides...

Social media sites assume lifeline role in suicide prevention.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... SAN FRANCISCO -- Suicide prevention experts are finding more potentially suicidal people online than they know how to help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline recently started to establish a presence on social media sites such as...

Fink! still at large: factitious disorders are rare and often challenging to treat. What factors might motivate these patients to feign illness, and what therapeutic approaches could be used to treat them?(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... I was recently consulted by a woman, Ms. S., who had been labeled by child protective services as "factitious disorder by proxy, not otherwise specified." She had no idea what it meant, but needed me to establish whether this was a legitimate...

CBT increases rates of remission in persistent insomnia.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... Cognitive-behavioral therapy, with or without the addition of zolpidem, is effective against persistent insomnia, a report by Canadian researchers shows. After 6 weeks of treatment, 60% of patients showed a response to the therapy,...

Black professional women at risk of anxiety disorders.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. -- Living up to their self-image as strong black women puts African American professional women at risk of panic attacks and other anxiety disorders, Angela M. Neal-Barnett, Ph.D., told people attending the annual...

Lurasidone looks effective for acute schizophrenia.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... SAN FRANCISCO -- Lurasidone, a novel antipsychotic agent, appears to be safe and effective in acute schizophrenia and at least as good as ziprasidone in stable outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, according to conclusions...

Central sleep apnea tied to anxiety--not depression, OSA.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... SAN FRANCISCO -- Patients exhibiting central sleep apnea are three times more likely to have an anxiety disorder than are those with no evidence of central apnea, a study of 314 adults referred to a sleep clinic shows. There was no...

Psychological factors contribute to dermatitis.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... LAS VEGAS -- The psychoanalytic theory of atopic eczema characterized in 1940 by Dr. Franz Alexander as an outgrowth of a child's emotional angst at being unable to express anger and hostility arising from maternal rejection was dismissed long...

Help couples confront tough sexual issues.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... PENTAGON CITY, VA. -- Finding the right sexual style can help couples integrate intimacy and eroticism into their relationship. "The clinician's role isn't to talk people out of their style," said Barry W. McCarthy, Ph.D., a psychologist at...

Use cardio risk guidelines along with antipsychotics.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... CHICAGO -- Psychiatrists need to understand that the operational details of monitoring cardiometabolic status in patients on antipsychotics--a task they are now expected to perform--are already spelled out in national guidelines, including the...

Augmentation with aripiprazole.(EVIDENCE-BASED PSYCHIATRIC MEDICINE)(Clinical report)
June 1, 2009... The Problem A patient suffers with depression. He has experienced partial response with an antidepressant. At his next appointment, he asks about Abilify (aripiprazole), having seen an advertisement touting Abilify as augmentation of...

Alcohol branding may fuel drinking, bingeing.(CHILD PSYCHIATRY)
June 1, 2009... Adolescents who own alcohol-branded merchandise appear more likely to begin drinking and to progress to binge drinking than those who do not, according to a study of more than 6,000 youth. The researchers described their study as "the first...

MST: fighting a war within a war.(PREVENTION IN ACTION)
June 1, 2009... Military sexual trauma, which encompasses sexual harassment, sexual assault, or rape, occurs across all branches of the military among women. This type of trauma is comparable to civilian sexual assault in some respects, but there are...

Opioid titration in dying confounds nurses.(PAIN)
June 1, 2009... AUSTIN, TEX, -- A survey of nurses suggests that they might have a knowledge gap regarding the use of opioids at the end of their patients' lives. Among 181 nurses surveyed at three urban Midwestern medical centers, 65% reported being...

VNS improves quality of life after heart failure.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)
June 1, 2009... ORLANDO -- Chronic vagus nerve stimulation delivered by an implantable device resulted in significant functional and quality of life improvements in patients with advanced heart failure in a first-in-man study. The 32-patient trial...

Is prison in my future? Part I.(THE ETHICAL WAY)
June 1, 2009... "It is our choices... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Professor Dumbledore, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," 1999 Recently, I was asked to consider part-time work in our state's prison system....

Analog scale measures stress in ED trauma patients.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
June 1, 2009... CHICAGO -- Israeli investigators have developed a visual analog scale to measure the intensity of acute stress reaction symptoms in the emergency department. The scale is similar in design to the widely used Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating...

Consider medication costs in treatment plan.(PRACTICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY)
June 1, 2009... Even before the current economic downturn, a third of Americans were without health care coverage, at least for part of the year. Now, with unemployment approaching 9%, employers cutting back on health care benefits, and rising premiums and...

Health Coalition backs cuts of up to $2 trillion.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
June 1, 2009... Leaders of several health care and labor organizations who met with President Obama proposed ideas aimed at reducing the growth in health care costs by as much as $2 trillion over the next decade. In a letter to the president, the six...

Recession drives private health spending down, while public costs continue to rise.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
June 1, 2009... WASHINGTON -- Even as the economic downturn causes private health spending to slow, public sector health spending is rising, according to a federal analysis. An estimated 3.4 million people may lose private health insurance coverage in...

Medicaid limits curb Rx access.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
June 1, 2009... Medicaid limits on prescription drugs for mental illness often have adverse consequences for patients, according to a survey of 600 psychiatrists and 1,600 patients (Psychiatr. Serv. 2009;60:601-10). Researchers found medication access was a...

Insurance dictates teens' care.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
June 1, 2009... Health insurance is a major determinant as to whether adolescents with major depressive episodes receive treatment, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The data are based on SAMHSAs...

Mental illness costly for kids.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
June 1, 2009... The most expensive condition to treat in children in 2008 was mental illness, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Treating mental disorders in noninstitutionalized children 17 years or younger cost $8.9 billion in 2008,...

PhRMA revises trial standards.(POLICY & PRACTICE)
June 1, 2009... The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has revised its voluntary standards for how drug manufacturers run clinical trials and communicate trial results. The new standards call on drug makers to register on a public Web site...

Medicare contractor program is back on track.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
June 1, 2009... The controversial Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program is continuing as planned after federal officials cleared up some contracting disputes. The rollout of the permanent, national Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program is...

EHR financial incentives tied to 'meaningful use'.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
June 1, 2009... WASHINGTON -- Just what exactly does "meaningful use" mean? It sounds like a simple question, but there's a lot of money riding on the answer. The Recovery Act, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, stipulates that...

Booklet explains Alzheimer's.(FYI)
June 1, 2009... The National Institute on Aging has released a new booklet that describes the main areas of Alzheimer's disease research and new approaches for helping families and friends care for people with AD. 'Alzheimer's Disease: Unraveling the Mystery"...

On-site messaging software.(FYI)
June 1, 2009... The newest version of Enterprise 101 paging software allows users to create and send a custom priority, predefined, or emergency alert message to a defined group using a new Alert Button feature. This message can be delivered to on-site pagers,...

Communicating with older patients.(FYI)
June 1, 2009... The National Institute on Aging has released a new booklet about communicating with older patients. "Talking with Your Older Patient: A Clinician's Handbook" offers practical techniques for diagnosis and promoting treatment adherence. To...

Poison prevention resources.(FYI)
June 1, 2009... The Health Resources and Services Administration offers online resources aimed at raising awareness of how to prevent accidental poisonings. Resources include information about poison control centers, a map of U.S. poison centers, and a new...

HHS finalizes plans for transition to expanded ICD-10.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
June 1, 2009... In less than 5 years, physicians and other health care providers will be required to begin using a new system of code sets to report health care diagnoses and procedures. Under a final rule published in the Federal Register, the Health and...