Psychiatric Times Vol 14 No 6

Is the rising use of psychotropic medication to treat anxiety and mood disorders incompatible with the psychoanalytic approach? As a psychopharmacologist and psychoanalyst who frequently provides consultation to analysts regarding medication for their patients, Steven P. Roose, M.D., has studied this question and presented his findings and opinions in various scientific papers, books and meetings.

During a career that has spanned four decades and taken him around the globe, Ari Kiev, M.D., J.D., has studied everything from folk psychiatry in Haiti to community psychiatry in England.

The guidance answers the most commonly asked questions about how ADA affects persons with psychiatric disabilities, said EEOC chairman Gilbert F. Casellas. "It provides practical instruction to employers and persons with psychiatric disabilities on their respective rights and responsibilities."

As a result of today's competitive and rapidly changing economic arena, an increasing number of physicians outside academic centers are getting into the business of establishing investigator sites in which to conduct clinical trials for new drugs.

Although recent news portrays general violence as on the decline, the Centers for Disease Control still rank health care providers only one notch below convenience store clerks and taxi drivers at risk for homicide. Mental health personnel are exposed to these ultimate threats in emergency rooms, on home visits, walking through lonely hospital corridors or hotel corridors during conventions, as well as on the street and at home.

We believe that TMAP [The Texas Medication Algorithm Project] is the first large-scale use of medication algorithms, Rush said, "certainly in a community mental health setting. A project like this may help to lay the groundwork for improved public mental health treatment here and in other states as well." Medication algorithms, according to the project directors, consist of "a series of treatment steps, each of which is defined in turn by the clinical response of the patient to the preceding step."

While pharmaceutical research in the United States provides for unparalleled high quality of treatment, many drugs already proven effective in other countries may never become available here due to a combination of obstacles.

This two-year study of 341 patients is the largest controlled trial conducted in a population with moderately severe Alzheimer's. The primary end points, assessed quarterly, were the onset of severe dementia (clinical dementia rating of 3); death; institutionalization; and loss of ability to perform at least two of three basic daily activities (eating, grooming and toileting).

One type of investment that psychiatrists might find especially intriguing are health care mutual funds-specialized portfolios that invest in medical companies ranging from pharmaceutical manufacturers to biotechnology firms to health maintenance organizations. Although these industry-specific funds should not be held in isolation, they can provide solid long-term growth potential to a well-diversified portfolio. Here's key information on five top funds: