Psychiatrists who are concerned with the perils of misdiagnosing a psychiatric presentation as primary mental illness will find Susannah Cahalan’s Brain on Fire of great interest.
This book draws together the entire spectrum of the relevant psychosocial dimensions and data necessary to adequately assist in the evaluation and treatment of patients who may be candidates for bariatric surgery.
Periprocedural advancements, including liberalization of concomitant and pre-treatment medications, add to the comfort and tolerability of ECT, but adverse effects do exist. More in this quiz.
Psychiatric Times presents exclusive coverage of the American Psychiatric Association Conference. Here we will report the latest news, resources, and updates from the 2013 APA Conference, the 166th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, May 18-22, 2013, in San Francisco, CA. Read More
Test your diagnostic skills and knowledge by quickly identifying and assessing various mental health disorders. The Psychiatric Times Diagnostic Champions' Challenge is meant to educate and entertain. Test your clinical acumen in this activity that is sure to make you think.… Read More
We've put many of the clinical scales online, hoping healthcare professionals—whether in specialty practices, primary-care settings, or emergency services—will find this format convenient. … Read More
Venlafaxine (Effexor) is a novel antidepressant recently released to the American market. Its entry into the antidepressant market has been much heralded. The lay press has described the drug as "Prozac with a punch," and many patients were asking for it long before it was available. As the hoopla settles down, we are learning that venlafaxine is a potentially important drug with both advantages and disadvantages over other available antidepressants, including the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Sleep apnea, a medical disorder with significant health and behavioral
effects, is of particular interest to psychiatrists for its capacity
to mimic or exacerbate symptoms of psychiatric disturbances such
as depression, anxiety and panic disorder.
Insomnia, the subjective sense of having inadequate quantity or
quality of sleep, may result from a variety of causes. In its
chronic form, such etiologies may include psychiatric disorders
such as depression or anxiety, medical illnesses, medications,
substance abuse, circadian dysrhythmias and pathophysiologies
intrinsic to sleep such as sleep apnea or periodic movement disorder.
When these conditions have been ruled out, however, there remain
two very interesting groups that at this time are best understood
in psychophysiological terms.
Sleep disorders and substance abuse disorders are widespread across
the United States, researchers have found. According to the National
Commission on Sleep Disorders Research, more than 80 million Americans
complain of sleep difficulties, while Schuckit and Irwin reported
the lifetime prevalence of alcohol abuse or dependence to be 13
percent and nonalcohol drug abuse, 5.9 percent.
Dopamine plays an important role in controlling movement, emotion
and cognition. Dopaminergic dysfunction has been implicated in
the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, mood disorders, attention-deficit
disorder, Tourette's syndrome, substance dependency, tardive dyskinesia,
Parkinson's disease and other disorders.
The gloom of winter, more often a literary theme than a medical
topic, is a biological reality for an estimated 10 million Americans
who suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). For some, however,
the depression ushered in by the dark days of winter can be treated
simply and with rapid results with 30 minutes to two hours of
bright-light therapy per day for a few weeks.
Comments from your peers on our website and across our social media sites:
DSM-5: If You Don't Like the Effects, Look at the Causes •“‘Post-modern’” outlook on psychiatric diagnosis often leads to cynicism and nihilism—as if to say, ‘Nobody really knows anything about anything, and we shouldn’t trust anybody!’ Actually, there is a good deal of secure and well-founded scientific knowledge in psychiatry. ” Add your response...
Migraine and Psychiatric Comorbidity •“Sleep-related bruxism is high among those with fibromyalgia, anxiety, and migraines—but it is often overlooked as a dental problem. A long-acting benzodiazepine at night can make a big difference in patients with migraines who clinch or grind their teeth.” Add your response...
Can a Suicide Scale Predict the Unpredictable? •“The multifaceted nature of suicide requires both formal tools indicated in this article, as well as an awareness of changes in the patient (eg, outlook, behavior, attitude)—these and other factors may indicate suicide risk.” Add your response...
When it comes to aging, is there anything to look forward to from a neurocognitive perspective? What can we do to protect our brains from cognitive and functional decline? In this podcast, geriatric psychiatrist Helen Lavretksy outlines strategies to stimluate and revitalize an aging brain.
Primary Care Can't Thrive Without Nurse Practitioners Courtney H. Lyder, ND, May 17, 2013 With a projected shortfall of primary-care physicians, it's time for alternate solutions to patient care. Nurse practitioners are one logical remedy.
ADHD can persist into adulthood and have a significant impact on a person's relationships, careers, and even safety. The ASRS (Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale) is a checklist of 18 questions about symptoms that are based on the diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV. The patient answers the questions and a positive score suggests the need for a thorough clinical evaluation with a healthcare professional.
The Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS) was developed by Ronald Pies, MD and was later refined and tested by S. Nassir Ghaemi, MD, MPH and colleagues. The BSDS arose from Pies’s experience as a psychopharmacology consultant, where he was frequently called on to manage cases of “treatment-resistant depression.” In Pies’s experience, most of these cases eventually proved to be undiagnosed bipolar spectrum disorder.
This book draws together the entire spectrum of the relevant psychosocial dimensions and data necessary to adequately assist in the evaluation and treatment of patients who may be candidates for bariatric surgery.
Major depression is a common chronic illness within the general US population. What is the approximate prevalence for MDD in the US population?
DSM-5: If You Don't Like the Effects, Look at the Causes
