News

A new study is raising important questions about the brain’s ability to remain active and regenerate in later life and whether Web searching can stimulate brain activity in middle-aged and older adults.

A combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and antidepressants to treat anxiety disorders in youngsters has yielded positive results in a government-funded study that was published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.1

Imagine seeing a patient in your office and being able to test for dozens or even hundreds of diseases with just the swipe of a card that contains microscopic samples of the patient’s blood, saliva, or urine. This technology may not be far off.

Although most studies have focused on the risk of metabolic syndrome for patients with schizophrenia exposed to atypical antipsychotics, other psychiatric patients appear to be at risk for metabolic disturbances as well.7-9 Major depressive disorder (MDD) may be of particular interest because it is much more common than schizophrenia and is treated with a broad range of psychotropics.

Psychiatrists will average a 4% fee increase in 2009 from Medicare, which compares very favorably with many other subspecialties.

Identifying and Reducing Professional Liability When Treating Older Adults, by Jacqueline M. Melonas, RN, MS, JD and Charles D. Cash, JD, LLM, ARM

Identifying and Reducing Professional Liability When Treating Older Adults, by Jacqueline M. Melonas, RN, MS, JD and Charles D. Cash, JD, LLM, ARM

She paused for a few moments and then responded, "I don't know when children may begin to think their parents are unhappy with each other except, of course, if there are a lot of arguments and fights. My parents didn't argue or fight, but they were not openly affectionate either.

A recent letter to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) from Sen Chuck Grassley about the APA’s financial relationship with pharmaceutical companies raises concerns about undue industry influence.1 By instituting a disclosure policy for DSM-V, the APA took a halting first step in restoring public trust in the most influential text on psychiatric taxonomy in the world. Unfortunately, the APA’s efforts at creating a conflict of interest (COI) policy have failed to ensure that the process for revising diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines is one that the public can trust. The need for more safeguards was evidenced when the APA reported that of the 27 task force members of DSM-V, only 8 reported no industry relationships.2 The fact that 70% of the task force members have reported direct industry ties-an increase of almost 14% over the percentage of DSM-IV task force members who had industy ties-shows that disclosure policies alone, especially those that rely on an honor system, are not enough and that more specific safeguards are needed.

Good risk management is part of, but also distinct from, good clinical practice. The principles of risk management evolved in the 1960s as a way to defend businesses from loss of financial assets from tort claims

A large percentage of youths use and abuse psychoactive substances. According to the 2007 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey, the percentage of US adolescents who used illicit drugs or drank alcohol continued a decade-long drop, revealing that 19% of 8th grad­ers, more than 36% of 10th graders, and 47% of all 12th graders have taken an illicit drug (other than alcohol) during their lifetime.1 According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the rate was 3.3% for misuse or nonmedical use of prescription drugs.2 The misuse of prescription drugs among adolescents was second only to marijuana use. In fact, prescription drugs increasingly have become a part of the repertoire of drug-using adolescents.

My friend Paul Genova’s protean life is not easy to wrap in the winding sheet of an obituary. Paul-who died on December 13th of complications from multiple myeloma-was a man of many talents and sensibilities.

Depression-not the use of anti­depressants-is associated with increased mortality in patients with heart failure, according to a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.1

Most, if not all, psychiatrists have cared for psychiatric patients with common but sometimes complex medical illnesses.

Identifying and Reducing Professional Liability When Treating Older Adults, by Jacqueline M. Melonas, RN, MS, JD and Charles D. Cash, JD, LLM, ARM

After some members and mental health writers criticized the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for “secrecy” surrounding the development of DSM-V, the Board of Trustees of the APA voted to make public regular DSM-V reports as well as summaries from work group chairs on the Web site at www.dsm5.org.

When sexual abuse is alleged, children may face investigative interviews, family disruptions, a change in their school environment, mental health counseling, and even trial court testimony.

The insanity defense represents a prominent symbol of the relationship between law and psychiatry. Despite the fact that it is infrequently raised and seldom successful, the insanity defense is the subject of intense legal and public scrutiny.

It is an ancient practice to state instructions for distributing one’s property after death. In Genesis 48, Jacob verbally bequeaths his property to Joseph, Joseph’s siblings, and Joseph’s 2 sons. Wills existed in ancient Greece and Rome, with restrictions.

For some couples, the transition to parenthood is not filled with this rich mixture of great perplexity and great joy.

The substantial and often recurrent distress and impairment associated with major depressive disorder (MDD) in youth has prompted increased interest in the identification and dissemination of effective treatment models. Evidence supports the use of several antidepressant medications, specific psychotherapies, and, in the largest treatment study of depressed teenagers, the combination of fluoxetine and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as effective treatments.1-3 CBT is the most extensively tested psychosocial treatment for MDD in youth, with evidence from reviews and meta-analyses that supports its effectiveness in that population.3-5

Even though there was no name attached to the message, I knew instantly who had sent the vague text that left my heart racing. This was the last communication I had with Mr R, a 36-year-old neuroscience researcher with no past psychiatric history.

One minute she's breathing room air and the next you're barking orders at a team wheeling in a crash cart. You review signs and symptoms you missed, the rough rhythm of her heart before she coded. You want to believe your reasoning was as elegant as a glass filled with cabernet, and you want to forget the bottle you imagine resting on a tray table at forty thousand feet, ready to tumble when the captain announces the plane is diving for an unscheduled stop. But I don't need images of air disasters to convince you doctors live somewhere between reason and panic: just flip open your laryngoscope, visualize the vocal chords, and forget you have fifteen seconds to thread the tube before the breathless body on the bed turns blue.

The Medicare bill Congress passed last summer underlines the importance of a move to electronic prescribing by physicians.

A revamped museum in Italy is providing a hands-on and heads-on approach to mental illness. The Museo della Mente (Mind's Museum), which originally opened in 2000, is located on the outskirts of Rome in a former psychiatric hospital that closed in 1978

Persons who live in rural areas in this country often lack access to adequate mental health care. Psychiatrists from Michigan State University (MSU) are tackling their state’s lack of resources by providing counseling via videoconference for patients with psychiatric disorders who live in remote areas.

Since 1990, many states have instituted sexually violent predator (SVP) or sexually dangerous person (SDP) civil commitment stat­utes that seek to identify the small group of extremely dangerous incarcerated sexual offenders who would present a threat to public safety if released from custody.

What role should long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (LTPP) play in the treatment of patients with mental illness, particularly those with complex mental disorders?

The development of new, more effective antipsychotics with fewer adverse effects (eg, extrapyramidal symptoms, tardive dyskin­esia, metabolic syndrome) is paramount.

The prospect of using computers to deliver psychotherapy has been intriguing a number of investigators who have been studying innovative methods of bringing technology into clinical practice.