Clinical Psychiatry News articles from March 2009

Clinical Psychiatry News archives from March 2009

Pharmacogenomics: clinical utility closer.
March 1, 2009... NEW YORK -- The unlocking of the human genome's secrets in recent years has begun to provide new insights into the contributions of genetics to certain psychiatric disorders--with future implications for diagnosis and treatment. One of the...

Economic stimulus law will encourage move to health IT; Details on privacy protections unclear.
March 1, 2009... The newly enacted economic stimulus law will infuse tens of billions of dollars into the health care sector, providing incentives for using health information technology. President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and...

Hispanic elders are more likely to use psych drugs.
March 1, 2009... NATIONAL HARBOR, MD.--Use of psychotropic medication was more common in older Hispanics than in older adults in any other racial/ethnic group in a survey of 1,862 community-dwelling adults aged 65-98 years. The finding is based on data...

IOM report on youth mental health highlights prevention.
March 1, 2009... Community-based partnerships between physicians and educators are needed to screen young people for mental, emotional, and behavioral problems, according to a new report from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine. The...

Health status differences affect Medicaid expenditures.(VITAL SIGNS)
March 1, 2009... Health Status Differences Affect Medicaid Expenditures Aged Blind/Disabled Adults Children Estimated enrollment as 10.4% 17.7% 23.1% 48.9% share of total Actual expenditures as 24.1%...

Long-term antipsychotics boost mortality in AD: limited use of the drugs is still recommended, but only after the risks have been carefully weighed.
March 1, 2009... Antipsychotic appear to increase the risk of death in patients with Alzherimer's disease, especially if they were taken for more than 12 months, according to data from a randomized controlled trail. Nursing home patients with Alzheimer's...

Newer antipsychotics have same cardiac risks as older ones.
March 1, 2009... Atypical antipsychotics, for many years thought to be safer than older, conventional antipsychotics, confer a similar risk of sudden cardiac death, according to data from a large retrospective study. "Current users of the atypical...

Mental health advocates hail parity provisions in SCHIP.
March 1, 2009... Enactment of the new State Children's Health Insurance Program is an important step forward for mental health parity for children, advocates say. Under SCHIP, recently signed into law by President Barack Obama, the states are required to...

Guidelines focus on opioids for chronic pain.(NEWS)
March 1, 2009... New guidelines on opioid treatment of chronic noncancer pain address the burgeoning use of opioids for this indication and provide evidence-based recommendations geared toward subspecialists and primary care. Released by the American Pain...

Fink! Still at large: a recent study of psychiatric outpatients showed a link between failure to complete treatment and narcissism. What strategies have you used with these patients?(OPINION)
March 1, 2009... The study, published online in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, describes how difficult it is to treat patients with narcissistic character disorder, or NCD. I agree. Like many other words in the psychiatric lexicon, narcissism is...

The brain and temperament.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... I was interested to see Dr. Paul J. Fink's reaction to the study showing that, based on fMRI data, structural differences exist in the brains of adolescent males with aggressive conduct disorder (Clinical Psychiatry News, December 2008, p. 6)....

Altering brain chemistry.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... I disagree with some of Dr. Paul J. Fink's conclusions about the study on adolescents and fMRI data (CLINICAL PSYCHITRY NEWS, December 2008, p. 6). Helen E. Fisher, Ph.D., and her colleagues wrote of specific changes in the brain chemistry...

Investing in a psychiatrist.(THE ETHICAL WAY)
March 1, 2009... Were it not for our ethical constraints, psychiatrists might have a field day with Bernard L. Madoff. Who could resist trying to analyze someone who allegedly set up scheme to make it look like he was the best investor in the world and who...

Sex abuse: revictimization must stop.(EDITORIAL)
March 1, 2009... I've been called on many times to work with victims of sexual abuse, and I vividly remember the case of an 11-year-old girl named Marcia. When I asked is she knew why she was seeing a psychiatrist, she hesitated then said: "I have to talk...

Benzodiazepines not helpful for delirium.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
March 1, 2009... Benzodiazepines are not the best choice for the treatment of delirium in mechanically ventilated inpatients, according to findings in a Cochrane review. "Increased sedation and prolonged coma in lorazepamtreated patients suggest that such...

Evidence-based psychiatric medicine: quetiapine for borderline personality disorder.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
March 1, 2009... The Problem You have a patient with severe borderline personality disorder. He has received most antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics, short of quetiapine (Seroquel) and clozapine (Clozaril). Before initiating a clozapine...

fMRI shows trauma affects neural circuitry.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
March 1, 2009... CHICAGO -- Functional MRI studies of 39 patients with a range of stress-related psychiatric disorders have added new neurobiologic weight to theories about the complementary roles of the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus in managing memory...

Tailor outreach to elderly disaster survivors.(GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY)
March 1, 2009... CHICAGO -- Even when they were offered disaster mental health services free of charge, some elderly survivors of the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes in Florida refused. Some of their reasons surprised researchers, but also serve to highlight the...

Entacapone blunts cravings in marijuana users.(ADDICITION PSYCHIATRY)
March 1, 2009... BOCA RATON, FLA.--In an open-label pilot study of 36 marijuana-dependent individuals, 12 weeks of treatment with the catechol O-methyltransferase inhibitor entacapone significantly decreased craving for marijuana in 19 (53%) of the study...

Vouchers can help pregnant smokers abstain.(ADDICTION PSYCHIATRY)
March 1, 2009... BOCA RATON, FLA.-Contingency management was effective as a strategy in helping pregnant women to stop smoking. In a pilot study of pregnant women who continued to smoke cigarettes, 11 (37%) of 30 women who received contingency management...

Access to heroin a boon to refractory addicts.(ADDICTION PSYCHIATRY)
March 1, 2009... BOCA RATION, FLA.--Supervised access to heroin improved the physical and mental well-being of chronic heroin addicts who were refractory to methadone maintenance treatment in Dutch and Candian studies. In the Dutch studies, heroin-assisted...

Internet-based interventions can help youth.(PREVENTION IN ACTION)
March 1, 2009... The National Research Council's and Institute of Medicine's recent challenge encouraging the federal government to make the prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral problems among young people a priority seems daunting. But the challenge...

Meth psychosis presents medical, legal challenges.(FORENSIC MEDICINE)
March 1, 2009... SEATTLE -- Methamphetamine-induced psychosis is a challenging condition from both a medical and legal perspective, according to a panel of addiction specialists at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Its...

Brain activity may drive impulsivity in bulimia.(PSYCHOSOMATIC MEDICINE)
March 1, 2009... Women with bulimia nervosa appear to have deficient activity in frontostriatal regulatory circuits of the anterior cingulate cortext, as assessed on functional MRI. This subnormal activation likely contributes to their greater than normal...

Anxiety disorders: a proposal.(THE PSYCHIATRIST'S TOOLBOX)
March 1, 2009... While reviewing various iterations of the DSM and thinking about my experiences in treating many types of anxiety disorders, something occurred to me. Clinicians who treat these disorders--some of whom still refer to them as...

Substance abuse council grows.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has appointed three new members to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) National Advisory Council. The council advises the secretary of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA's...

Rx Label Magnifiers.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... The Dignity Prescription Label Magnifier is a circular magnifying lens that is strapped on to prescription pill bottles for easy reading. The cost is $19.95 for four clip-on magnifiers. They are manufactured by Dignified Products LLC. For more...

AMA claim advice.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... The American Medical Association offers educational materials to help clinicians process claims more efficiently. Tools include template appeal letters and claim management checklists. For more information, contact the AMA by visiting...

SAMHSA tribal grants.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... The Substance and Mental Health Services Administration announces fiscal year 2008 grants that will likely provide more than $74 million to fund a range of programs run by federally recognized tribes or groups that provide mental health and...

E-prescribing incentive guide.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... A new guide from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services explains the e-prescribing incentive program, how eligible professionals can participate, and how to choose a qualified e-prescribing system. By adopting e-prescribing,...

Substance use trends in youths.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... A report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration examines trends in substance use, dependence, or abuse, and treatment in youths aged 12-17. The report shows that rates of past-month use generally declined between...

CMS initiative to assist caregivers.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has launched a Web site, called "Ask Medicare," to help family caregivers access and use valuable health care information, services, and resources. The site will provide links to key partner...

Changes in Medicare enrollment.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has posted three fact sheets on the kinds of changes that need to be reported to Medicare by enrolled physicians, nonphysician practitioners, and group practices. Reportable changes include legal...

Polysomnogram system.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... The Alice LE Sleep System is available for performing routine polysomnogram studies at an affordable price. The device has 31 channels and runs on the Sleepware software program, which monitors, displays, processes, and downloads...

Yoga for fibromyalgia.(FYI)
March 1, 2009... A new book is available on managing the symptoms of fibromyalgia. "Yoga for Fibromyalgia" includes illustrated yoga poses, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques that can be practiced regardless of age or experience. The poses are...