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Introduction: Schizophrenia Spectrum DisordersClinicians have long recognized that many of the psychiatric disorders lack clear boundaries, and that there is a substantial overlap in phenomenology and etiopathophysiology of various disorders.
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A New Class of Antipsychotic DrugsThe development of new, more effective antipsychotics with fewer adverse effects (eg, extrapyramidal symptoms, tardive dyskinesia, metabolic syndrome) is paramount.
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What Is the Role of Vitamin D in Depression?Vitamin D has been hailed as the “sunshine” vitamin with many therapeutic attributes. The authors explore the association between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of depression.
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Psychiatric Care of Patients With Hepatitis C: A Clinical UpdateThe prevalence of chronic hepatitis C virus infection is among the highest in patients with severe underlying mental illness. Here: clinical information on the interface of HCV infection and psychiatric disorders.
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DSM-5: What It Will Mean to Your PracticeUndoubtedly there will be problems with some of the additions to DSM-5, with some of the combinations, with some of the new nomenclature, and with some of the new criteria sets. But practitioners will find most of DSM-5 to be well considered and well written. It is unfortunate, however, that much of its nomenclature is out of sync with the rest of medicine.
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“Switching” of Mood From Depression to Mania With AntidepressantsMood switching is not uncommon and it is much more prevalent in depressed juveniles than in depressed adults, and there is a large apparent excess of antidepressant-associated switching over reported spontaneous diagnostic changes to bipolar disorder. Details here.
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7 Components of Depression EvaluationThe co-occurrence of depression and cognitive impairment doubles every 5 years after the age of 70. Here we present a list of elements in a comprehensive and extended evaluation of depression in the elderly.
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Hemicraniectomy for Massive Basal Ganglia Hemorrhageintracerebral hemorrhage, hemicraniectomy, stroke, neurosurgery, traumatic brain injury
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Reducing Risk Associated With Seclusion and RestraintThis article briefly reviews the federal standards regarding S/R and methods of reducing the risk associated with their use. CMS standards that went into effect February 6, 2007, will be emphasized; however, some of these standards vary from JCAHO standards.
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Using the Internet to Increase Access to Evidence-Based Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive DisorderInternet-based CBT has shown promise to improve access to therapy for patients with OCD, which is associated with a profoundly diminished quality of life and social isolation.
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Options for Management of Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor-Induced Sexual DysfunctionAmong 25 to 30 million Americans in whom depression is diagnosed annually, 18 to 25 million are treated with antidepressants, of which 90% are SSRI or non-selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressants, the most frequently prescribed medications for all outpatients aged 18 to 65 years.
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Involuntary Treatment and the Use of Jails to Treat the Mentally IllAll physicians need to be aware of the medicolegal aspects of practicing medicine, but because emergency psychiatrists must sometimes treat patients against their will or act as consultants to determine capacity, they must be especially vigilant when dealing with the overlap between law and medicine.
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Our Humanitarian Award One Year LaterH. Steven Moffic, MD, explores the intersection of humanitarian needs and mental health, advocating for compassion amidst global crises and personal challenges.
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Malingering: Key Points in AssessmentThe assessment of malingering presents a significant challenge for mental health clinicians.
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Pet Technology Sheds Light On Tobacco DependenceTypical smokers need to have brain nicotine receptors almost completely saturated throughout the day. This need creates an almost uncontrollable urge to keep smoking, commented Nora D. Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), addressing a study by NIDA researchers on nicotine addiction.
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Violence in Bipolar DisorderWhat is the association between bipolar disorder, trauma, and violence? Here: a guide to assessing violence potential in bipolar patients.
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Biomarkers for Mental Disorders: A Field Whose Time Has ComeBiomarkers for mental disorders is a field whose time has come. Optimists will say within a few years, pessimists might say a decade or beyond.
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Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: An Update on Diagnosis and TreatmentPremenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a distinct cyclical disorder in which women experience distressed mood and behavioral symptoms in the late luteal or premenstrual phase of their menstrual cycle. PMDD is the most extreme or severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
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Neoplasm or Demyelinating Lesion?A 32-year-old left-handed woman presented with a 4-week history of progressive left hand numbness, tingling, and clumsiness. Symptoms worsened until she found it difficult to write and perform fine motor tasks. She reported having no transient neurological symptoms in the past. Her medical history was significant only for Dengue fever acquired several years ago while on a visit to Southeast Asia. She was taking no medications, and a review of systems was noncontributory.
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Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Should We Be Worried?The term “CTE” was introduced recently to describe progressive neuropathological changes and diffuse neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with a history of TBI. Here, a clinical overview of TBI and CTE.
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Mini Quiz: Suicide Risk StratificationWhat are the core components of a therapeutic risk management framework for a suicidal patient? Find out in this quiz.
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Psychiatric Epigenetics: A Key to the Molecular Basis of and Therapy for Psychiatric DisordersThe major challenges for epigenetic therapies are target specificity of the drugs-an issue that is also true for most of the currently used drugs in medicine, especially in psychiatry.
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The Rise and Fall of the Biopsychosocial ModelUltimately, Dr Ghaemi endorses a pluralistic approach and a “method-based psychiatry” in contrast to the eclecticism of the BPS. This method-based approach recognizes that one method may be more correct than others on the basis of empirical data and conceptual soundness (the “less is more” view), versus the BPS model, in which all methods can be equally correct (the “more is better” view).
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Essential Issues in Pediatric Psychosomatic MedicinePediatric psychosomatic research shows that emotional, behavioral, and psychiatric symptoms are found more often in children and adolescents with chronic illnesses than in healthy children.
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Treating Mental Illness Before it StrikesPsychotic episodes are devastating for the individuals who have them, their friends, and families. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if individuals could receive treatment before the first psychotic episode strikes, so that it could be avoided altogether?
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New Approaches to Juvenile Delinquency: Psychopathology, Development, and NeuroscienceNew findings in epidemiology, developmental psychiatry, and neuroscience offer the opportunity for a new perspective on the problems of juvenile delinquency and bring to bear the insights of modern psychiatry in the treatment and successful rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.
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Defending a Malpractice Suit: Lessons LearnedAfter being sued for psychiatric malpractice and enduringa 4-year roller-coaster ride of fear, hope, hard work, anxiety, and detachment, the author passes along lessons learned.
