Clinical Psychiatry News articles from October 2005

Clinical Psychiatry News archives from October 2005

Access 'critical' for Hispanic patients.
October 1, 2005... JoEllen Brainin-Rodriguez, M.D., speaks Spanish fluently, yet even she frequently faces language barriers when trying to help her Spanish-speaking psychiatric patients. One problem is the dearth of Spanish-speaking psychiatrists, nurses,...

Median compensation was highest for child psychiatrists in 2004.(Table)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Median Compensation Was Highest for Child Psychiatrists in 2004 Child Psychiatrists $192k Psychiatrists $177k Neuropsychologists (PhD only) $104k Psychologists (PhD only) $89k Social Workers ...

Katrina survivors' psychiatric needs unpredictable: 'cascade of disasters' magnifies trauma.(Disease/Disorder overview)
October 1, 2005... Forget everything you learned about treating survivors of the Sept. 11,2001, terrorist attacks, and the Oklahoma City bombing. The fallout from Hurricane Katrina will be unique in that the mental health challenges facing survivors will be...

Narrow interpretation of CATIE study discouraged.(Clinical Antipsychotics Trials of Intervention Effectiveness )
October 1, 2005... A landmark study of antipsychotics won't dramatically alter prescribing patterns, but could be used by payers to limit access to more expensive atypical antipsychotics, advocates for the mentally ill predict. State Medicaid programs spend...

Deployed combat medical personnel vulnerable to PTSD.(Post traumatic stress disorder )(Disease/Disorder overview)
October 1, 2005... ATLANTA -- Medical personnel returning from combat deployment experience rates of posttraumatic stress disorder only slightly below those of returning soldiers, a study has shown. Nearly 16% of medical personnel from one U.S. military...

Voices from the storm: emergency docs share their stories.
October 1, 2005... Television and the popular media conveyed Hurricane Katrina's destructive impact on the survivors and on property. But the catastrophe's human toll also emerged powerfully in the voices of emergency physicians. Through the following...

Prescription drug abuse continues to climb.(Drug overview)
October 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The lifetime prevalence of prescription pain reliever abuse by young adults rose from 22% to 24% from 2002 to 2004, a recent survey released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows. Pain...

Health Canada reinstates Adderall XR.(Drug overview)
October 1, 2005... Patients in Canada with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are now able to obtain Adderall XR. Sales of the controlled-release amphetamine mixed with salts, distributed by Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC, had been suspended earlier...

Adult ADHD prescribing way up; many still undiagnosed.(Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)
October 1, 2005... The number of young adults, aged 20-44 years, receiving prescriptions for adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder has more than doubled in just 4 years, according to an analysis by Medco Health Solutions Inc. And the increase in...

More than 4 million children get ADHD diagnosis, half take meds.(Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder )(Drug overview)
October 1, 2005... About 4.4 million children aged 4-17 years in the United States had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in 2003, and more than half of those were taking medication for it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

Films can be helpful teaching tools.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2005... I enjoyed reading Dr. Roland Atkinson's recent review ("Revisiting a Classic: The Snake Pit," Reel Life, August 2005, p. 21). I find the use of movies quite helpful in teaching residents in psychiatry. Does Dr. Atkinson have a...

AMA isn't helping physicians.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2005... The article regarding the American Medical Association policy debate demonstrates the reason why many doctors do not want to be involved with the organization ("AMA Delegates Divided on Pay-for-Performance Details," August 2005, p. 7). The...

Comorbid addiction and chronic pain.
October 1, 2005... Those living with comorbid chronic pain and addictive disorders are a difficult and somewhat neglected population. Little research exists on which to base a standard of care or treatment guidelines. Yet clinical experience indicates that...

The value of 'parking lot therapy'.
October 1, 2005... An impressive amount of knowledge and experience has been gained over the years in adapting clinical practice to the needs of the homeless. But a great deal remains for all of us to learn. It's well known that engagement and treatment...

Setting an exercise example.
October 1, 2005... American medicine has allowed itself to become lost. Our $1.8 trillion annual outlay for health care nets us a 37th place world ranking in composite health outcomes. Other industrialized countries--such as Norway, which ranks first--spend...

Exploring terrorists' motivations.
October 1, 2005... In the book "Perfect Soldiers," author Terry McDermott examines the motivations of the men behind the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Mr. McDermott and others have said that the hijackers saw themselves as soldiers of God. Is the kind of belief...

Agitation in the city of angels.(REEL LIFE)(Crash)(Movie review)
October 1, 2005... Like the torrid Santa Ana winds that often blow west from the desert across the Los Angeles basin, the complex, incendiary film "Crash"--the mother of all web-of-coincidence films and far more intricately constructed than most--sears viewers...

Schizophrenia prodrome therapies show promise: early intervention with antipsychotics and CBT appears to delay or prevent psychotic breaks.(Adult Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... ATLANTA -- Both behavioral and drug therapies during schizophrenia prodrome can delay and possibly prevent a subsequent psychotic break, Scott W. Woods, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Recent...

Droperidol found to be quickest in sedating acutely agitated patients.(Adult Psychiatry)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Droperidol produces a significantly more rapid onset of effective sedation in patients with acute agitation of unclear etiology than does lorazepam or ziprasidone, Todd Gengerke, M.D., reported at the annual meeting of the Society...

Look for rigid thinking in psychotic depression.(Adult Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO -- To make a clinical diagnosis of psychotic depression, take a good history and consider how the condition differs from other depressive or psychotic illnesses, Michael J. Gitlin, M.D., said at a psychopharmacology congress sponsored...

Delaying Huntington's diagnosis may lead to increased risk of suicide.(Adult Psychiatry)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Patients with Huntington's disease are most likely to consider suicide when soft neurologic signs start to develop but before diagnosis, and then again during initial disease progression, Jane Paulsen, Ph.D., and colleagues reported. This...

The art of Amy Koy.(VISIONARY ART)(Biography)
October 1, 2005... Amy Koy started her long, arduous road to a college education with a lie. She answered "no" to a question on her application to Radcliffe College to hide the fact that she had been in therapy for anorexia. That lie only compounded the pain...

Approach can unblock patients' self-compassion: concepts from learning theory can help therapist get patients' feelings of guilt, shame out of the way.(Adult Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Many patients express feelings of worthlessness or self-hate, and part of the therapist's job in short-term dynamic psychotherapy is to instill feelings of self-compassion in the patient, Leigh McCullough, Ph.D., said at a world...

Go beyond mirroring to help patients process intense emotions.(Adult Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES -- Part of the job of a psychotherapist is to help patients learn to process intense emotions, something they may not have learned properly during early development, Ronald J. Frederick, Ph.D., said at a world congress of the...

More than half of patients discussed health information found online with their physician in the past year.(DATA WATCH)(Survey)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... More Than Half of Patients Discussed Health Information Found Online With Their Physician in the Past Year Always 15% Never 43% Sometimes 25% Once or twice 18% Note: Based on a nationwide survey of 1,015...

Placing short-term psychotherapy first.(THE PSYCHIATRIST'S TOOLBOX)(Column)
October 1, 2005... Recently, I read about a survey showing that almost half the patients who begin psychotherapy quit--against their therapists' recommendations. According to the article, some of the reasons for this high dropout rate are patients'...

Pain relievers.(Adult Psychiatry)(Cartoon)
October 1, 2005... "Tell me more about your mother controlling your life."

New data on pregnancy, SSRIs need perspective.(Adult Psychiatry)(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
October 1, 2005... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- Recent research linking use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pregnancy with neonatal withdrawal symptoms heightened concerns about treating depression during pregnancy, but depression in mothers-to-be carries its...

Symptoms may worsen at first with fluoxetine.(Adult Psychiatry)(major depressive disorder)
October 1, 2005... BOCA RATON, FLA. -- Early worsening of symptoms after initiation of fluoxetine for major depressive disorder occurs in approximately 30% of patients and is associated with poorer outcomes and an increased likelihood of discontinuation, Cristina...

Lowered salivary proteins are linked to depression.(Adult Psychiatry)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... CHICAGO -- In a study of saliva samples from 43 adults, epidermal growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor levels were significantly lower among people who had low scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and the UCLA Loneliness...

Study says oral contraceptives ameliorate premenstrual worsening of depression.(Adult Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... ATLANTA -- The use of oral contraceptives appears to decrease the premenstrual worsening of depressive symptoms, Hadine Joffe, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. In preliminary research, the use of...

Genes, environment, and dementia.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Specific genetic and environmental risk factors appear to increase the risk of dementia, reported Timo E. Strandberg of the University of Helsinki and his associates. Of 357 elderly subjects with cardiovascular disease living in the...

Value of phone therapy in depression.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(cognitive-behavioral therapy program)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Patients in a telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral therapy program showed significant improvement in depression and positive affect, reported David C. Mohr, Ph.D., of the Veterans Administration Medical Center, University of California,...

Serious mental illness, diabetes.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Type 2 diabetes patients with serious mental illness have considerable gaps in knowledge about their diabetes and may require specialized interventions, reported Faith B. Dickerson, Ph.D., of the Sheppard Pratt Health System, Baltimore, and her...

Treating Alzheimer's agitation.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Neither rivastigmine nor quetiapine appears effective in treating agitation in Alzheimer's patients, and use of quetiapine was associated with significant cognitive decline in these patients, Clive Ballard, M.D., and colleagues reported. ...

Many options available as treatments for SAD.(Adult Psychiatry)(seasonal affective disorder)
October 1, 2005... ATLANTA -- Physicians have several options when treating patients with seasonal affective disorder, according to experts at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Light therapy, antidepressants, cognitive-behavioral...

Alcohol dependence risk high in bipolar II patients.(Adult Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... PITTSBURGH -- Patients with bipolar II disorder are at high risk for alcohol abuse and dependence, based on findings from a 20-year, longitudinal study with about 600 subjects. The findings also suggest that bipolar II disorder can be more...

Who diagnoses bipolar disorder?(DATA WATCH)(Table)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Who Diagnoses Bipolar Disorder? Psychiatrists, 69.5% General practitioners, family physicians, 21.3% and osteopathic physicians, Internists, 4.4% Neurologists, ...

Anxiety in bipolar disorder: data on cotreatment are lacking, but anecdotally, antimanics and antipsychotics have proven useful.(PRACTICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY)(Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder)
October 1, 2005... Until recently, discussions of bipolar comorbidity centered on substance abuse. It is now recognized, however, that anxiety is at least as prevalent in bipolar patients and has a substantial negative effect on the course of the mood disorder....

Antidepressants better than benzos for GAD long term.(Adult Psychiatry)(drug therapies for generalized anxiety disorder)
October 1, 2005... SANTA FE, N.M. -- Benzodiazepines work faster than antidepressants and are prescribed more often for generalized anxiety disorder, but that doesn't make them the better choice, Alan J. Gelenberg, M.D., said at a psychiatric symposium sponsored...

Brain abnormalities and schizophrenia.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Structural abnormalities in the white matter of the brain might be associated with the development of early-onset schizophrenia, said Sanjiv Kumra, M.D., of the Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, New York, and associates. The researchers...

Multiple substance use and sex.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(predictors of sexual initiation among virgins)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Virgins who used three or more substances, including alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, were three times more likely to become sexually active during the next 9 months, compared with virgins who did not use any substances, reported Jiantong Guo...

CBT, fluoxetine, and depression.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(cognitive behavioral therapy)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Depressed adolescents who received a combination of five to nine sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) plus fluoxetine showed no significant overall improvement, compared with those who received fluoxetine alone, wrote Gregory Clarke,...

Impact of adversity on schizophrenia.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Children with four measures of social adversity were 2.7 times more likely to develop schizophrenia than children with no measurable social adversity, reported Susanne Wicks, B.Sc., of the Stockholm Centre for Public Health, Sweden, and her...

Genetic traits, eating disorders linked.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Six genetic traits--obsessionality, age at menarche, anxiety, lifetime minimum body mass index, concern over mistakes, and food-related obsessions--appear to be linked to genes associated with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, according to...

Heavy prenatal alcohol linked to behavioral ills: in adolescents, skills for academic achievement and social interaction were found to be greatly impaired.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- The psychiatric and behavioral consequences of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure on children are abundantly clear by mid-childhood and adolescence, based on studies presented at the annual meeting of the Research Society...

Sleep-disordered breathing, ADHD are linked in teens.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)(inattention-type attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)
October 1, 2005... DENVER -- Adolescents with symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing had a 2.5-fold increased prevalence of inattention-type attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in the first large, population-based study to examine this relationship, Eric O....

Taking heart history is good idea when prescribing stimulants.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... ORLANDO -- When prescribing stimulants for children, play it safe and screen for heart conditions, said Howard Schubiner, M.D., at a meeting sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Although population-based studies fail to show a...

Family meals offer insight into eating disorders.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... MONTREAL -- Treatment for anorexia nervosa might one day use videotapes of family meals to personalize therapy for patients, according to a pilot study. Family mealtimes play a central role in anorexia nervosa, not only because of their...

Ethnicity seems to play a role in teens' eating disorder risk.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... Culture appears to play a role in disordered eating. Black and Caribbean girls had the lowest rates of disordered eating, probably because African American culture sends teens the message that their physically attractiveness isn't...

Parents of overweight children fail to accurately perceive the problem.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... BOSTON -- Many parents of children who are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight don't perceive their children's weight accurately, Patricia A. Cluss, Ph.D., and colleagues said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the...

Program helps insomniacs quit hypnotics.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... DENVER -- Older adults who have longstanding hypnotic-dependent insomnia and wish to discontinue their sleep medication are largely able to do so successfully--with resultant improvement in sleep--by participating in a program focusing on...

Scans may predict AD before signs appear: technique has potential to fast-forward the search for preventive measures that could stall Alzheimer's.(Disease/Disorder overview)
October 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Hippocampal metabolic reductions seen on PET scans in people with no clinical signs of cognitive impairment may be able to predict who will go on to develop Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment, according to data...

Middle-aged obesity linked to greater risk of dementia.(Geriatric Psychiatry)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... People who are obese or overweight at middle age are at significantly greater risk for dementia in later life than normal-weight people, reported Rachel A. Whitmer, Ph.D., of the division of research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif. The...

Low plasma [beta]-amyloid levels may be a marker for cognitive decline.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Plasma levels of [beta]-amyloid may be low in elderly patients at risk for mild cognitive impairment or even Alzheimer's disease in the near term, according to research presented at an international conference sponsored by the...

Dementia affects patient's view of self-identity roles.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... Persons suffering from dementia rate their distinct self-identity roles in the past and present differently from the way their family or staff caregivers rate those roles, according to Jiska Cohen-Mansfield, Ph.D. Researchers studied 46...

Hypertension control may lower risk of dementia.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... Elderly patients with mild to moderate hypertension and lowered cognitive function show greater cognitive decline, compared with equivalent hypertensive individuals with high cognitive function, a posthoc analysis shows. The first Study on...

Low vitamin E serum levels correlate with dementia risk.(Geriatric Psychiatry)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... High vitamin E plasma levels may be protective against cognitive impairment and dementia, the InChianti study shows. Researchers examined 1,033 participants (56% women) aged 65 and over in two Italian communities in the Chianti region near...

Elderly psychiatric patients often overlooked or misdiagnosed.(Geriatric Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... A common perception, based on relatively few published studies, is that most psychiatric disorders other than depression occur much less frequently among the elderly. Community samples, however, suggest that many older adults who experience...

Women closing gap in risky drinking, driving.(Addiction Psychiatry)(Survey)
October 1, 2005... SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- Longitudinal data from a large national alcohol abuse survey suggests that the gender gap is narrowing with regard to drinking and driving: Women's rates of risky alcohol-related driving behaviors are actually...

Study detects some 'heretics' among AA program faithful.(Addiction Psychiatry)(belief systems at Alcoholics Anonymous)
October 1, 2005... SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- A comprehensive 10-year study of Alcoholics Anonymous participants has unveiled several surprising, sometimes counterintuitive findings about the program's influence over a membership that numbers more than 1.2 million...

Positive thinking may aid mentally ill alcohol abusers.(Addiction Psychiatry)
October 1, 2005... SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- Enhancing positive thinking may be the best way to help severely mentally ill alcohol abusers reduce their dependence on alcohol, a State University of New York at Buffalo study suggests. Clara M. Bradizza, Ph.D.,...

Alcohol exposure in third trimester may affect children's higher order functions.(Disease/Disorder overview)
October 1, 2005... SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- Prenatal alcohol exposure is most likely to affect children's attention problems when it occurs during the third trimester, a prospective study of 492 children determined. There is a high degree of correlation...

Alcohol dependency: any treatment helps.
October 1, 2005... SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- People who receive any form of treatment to help them with alcohol dependency are twice as likely to recover as are those who receive no treatment. However, recovery prompted by treatment is often a slow process,...

Smoking ups neuropsychological toll in drinkers.
October 1, 2005... SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- Smoking appears to heighten neuropsychological deficits found in heavy social drinkers, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism. Specifically, deficits in executive...

Perspective.
October 1, 2005... There is an agreed-upon system of physical first aid in response to disasters in this country, but no such consensus exists for psychiatric first aid. Instead, in the face of large-scale disasters, community mental health providers scurry...

Psychiatric first aid: a necessity.
October 1, 2005... Preventive interventions and disaster mental health seem like contradictory concepts. The term "prevention" suggests some degree of preparedness and control; "disaster" implies the absence of both. Despite the paradox, prevention does have...

Drug improves sleep induction without sedation.(Drug overview)
October 1, 2005... DENVER -- The novel melatonin receptor agonist ramelteon was associated with significant reductions in the time it took to fall asleep in two phase III clinical trials totaling 1,234 adults with primary insomnia, investigators reported at the...

Results mixed on tiagabine for insomnia.(Drug overview)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... DENVER -- The anticonvulsant tiagabine (Gabitril) increased slow wave sleep in dose-dependent fashion in a 30-center randomized trial involving 232 adults with primary insomnia, James K. Walsh, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the...

Therapeutic hypothermia guidelines urged in TBI.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)(severe traumatic brain injury )
October 1, 2005... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- The next revision of 9-year-old guidelines for management of severe traumatic brain injury should endorse patient cooling, Donald Marion, M.D., chair of a committee evaluating the evidence on therapeutic hypothermia, said...

Data back broader indication for sodium oxybate: trial results lead Xyrem maker to seek approval of drug for narcolepsy symptoms beyond cataplexy.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
October 1, 2005... DENVER -- Sodium oxybate (Xyrem) is effective not only for cataplexy--its only approved indication at present--but also for the other primary symptoms of narcolepsy, investigators reported at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional...

FDA clears Keppra for use in pediatric partial-onset seizure.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)(Drug overview)
October 1, 2005... The Food and Drug Administration approved a new pediatric indication for an antiepileptic drug as adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures in patients 4 years of age and older. Levetiracetam (Keppra, UCB Pharma Inc.) effectively...

Oral appliances offer Tx option for sleep apnea.(Disease/Disorder overview)
October 1, 2005... When a patient with obstructive sleep apnea can't tolerate using a continuous positive airway pressure device, what's the next step? "The option people end up thinking about when CPAP fails is typically surgery," said Kent Moore, M.D.,...

A single stroke causes cognitive decline in certain survivors.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
October 1, 2005... BAL HARBOUR, FLA. -- Cognition declines in the years after a single stroke for a substantial minority of patients, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Neuropsychiatric Association. After the initial...

Celecoxib gets new indication, new warning: drug is now approved for ankylosing spondylitis, but black box highlights risk of MI and stroke.(Pain Medicine)
October 1, 2005... Celecoxib, the only cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor left on the U.S. market, has won an additional approval from the Food and Drug Administration--but, as expected, the drug also received a black box warning on the increased risk of cardiovascular...

Methylnaltrexone relieves opioid-induced constipation.(Pain Medicine)
October 1, 2005... ORLANDO -- Single injections of methylnaltrexone relieved opioid-induced constipation in 4 hours for 60% of hospice and palliative care patients in a randomized, placebo-controlled phase III trial. The earliest responses occurred within 5...

Pain relievers.(Pain Medicine)(Cartoon)
October 1, 2005... "As a part of my recovery, I have to apologize for what I did to your crops."

Posterior hypothalamus stimulation reverses aggression in two cases.(Pain Medicine)
October 1, 2005... NEW ORLEANS -- Stimulation of a specific area of the posterior hypothalamus reduced and reversed aggressive behavior, according to a case series of two patients presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological...

Comorbid conditions can guide migraine prophylaxis.(DATA WATCH)(Chart)
October 1, 2005... Comorbid Conditions Can Guide Migraine Prophylaxis Side Drug Efficacy* Effects** Antiepileptics Divalproex 4+ 2+ Gabapentin 2+ ...

Preventive treatment is underused for migraine patients.(Pain Medicine)(Survey)
October 1, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- Millions of U.S. patients who could benefit from migraine prophylaxis are not being offered this treatment by their doctors, Stephen Silberstein, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society. Based on...

For some bulimia patients, try e-mail therapy.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
October 1, 2005... MONTREAL -- Psychotherapy for eating disorders can be delivered effectively by e-mail and can reach a segment of the population that might otherwise decline treatment, Paul Robinson, M.D., said at an international conference sponsored by the...

Vicious circle of comorbidity links medical, mental illness.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
October 1, 2005... NEW YORK -- Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder pose a triple health threat: The conditions themselves are associated with a higher prevalence of serious medical illness, some drugs used to treat them increase disease risk, and affected...

Pain relievers.(Psychosomatic Medicine)(Cartoon)
October 1, 2005... "The IRS hates me!"

Young breast ca patients at higher risk of distress.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
October 1, 2005... BOSTON -- The psychosocial needs of young breast cancer patients should be viewed in a different context than those of older women, said Lidia Schapira, M.D. "Premenopausal women with breast cancer are at greater risk of psychological...