ADHD

This article examines the risks involved in prescribing psychotropic medication and offers suggestions for managing those risks to ensure the best possibility for a favorable outcome.

There are important distortions in the article "Substance Abuse in Women: Does Gender Matter?" (Psychiatric Times, January 2007, page 48). My concerns regard the political assumptions made (rather than those based on science) that put a spin on data rather than letting the data stand alone.

The traumatic events surrounding the recent school shootings at Virginia Tech remind us that a disturbing aspect of our current culture is the rate at which America's youth are exposed to violence. Whether it is graphic episodes of violence on television, violent music, aggressive video games, hearing about or witnessing violence in the home or neighborhood, or being the direct victim of violence--violence is a pervasive part of society that disproportionately affects youth.

Delirium is characterized by an altered level of consciousness, decreased attention span, acute onset, and fluctuating course. Approximately 15% of elderly patients admitted to the hospital have delirium as a presenting or associated symptom. Delirium will develop in another 15% of elderly patients during hospitalization.

The Science of Sleep. A quirky Indy motion picture by that title was in theaters last year. The plot concerned an odd but wildly creative and endearing fellow who ran into problems in his interpersonal relationships, in part, because he often couldn't distinguish between being awake and asleep. Wake and dream episodes mirrored each other, creating a penchant for the surreal and a personal narrative for the protagonist that wasn't quite in sync with that of the characters around him.

Psychiatrists know that it takes longer to interview children and adolescents than adults. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are universally struck by how comparatively easy it is to interview an adult patient, whereas general psychiatrists face the evaluation of a child or adolescent with apprehension.

Making the Connection: A Parent's Guide to Medication in AD/HD is a concise, user-friendly book intended for parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

There were only 3 Jewish students in my high school, and I was one of them. In the small, western New York town where I grew up, most people were tolerant. But a small clique of anti-Semites made life tough for us Jewish kids. Most of the time, we just shrugged off the jokes and insults or came right back at these louts with a snappy retort. Sometimes, the bigotry grew more menacing.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Given the high prevalence of substance abuse in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), psychiatrists need to consider comorbidity in assessment of both conditions.

Few phenomena in medicine aremore confounding than the diagnosesinvolving deception:malingering, Munchausen syndrome,Munchausen by proxy (MBP), and factitiousdisorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often underappreciated and inadequately treated in adults. Long thought to be a disorder of childhood, ADHD is now believed to persist into adulthood in approximately half of all cases.

Despite the increased use of methylphenidate in preschoolers with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), few data are available regarding the efficacy and safety of methylphenidate in this population. Methylphenidate has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of ADHD in children aged 6 years or older. A recent large-scale, controlled trial of methylphenidate for the treatment of preschoolers with ADHD provides clinically relevant and greatly needed information for clinicians who treat these children.

Delirium is a disorder that lies at the interface of psychiatry and medicine. It is an acute organic syndrome caused by an underlying medical condition and is defined clinically by disturbances in cognitive function, attention, and level of consciousness.1 Delirium is considered a syndrome because of the constellation of signs and symptoms associated with the disorder, coupled with a wide variety of potential etiologies.

In this issue, Drs Heinrich and Sponagle present a thorough overview of the challenges of detecting and treating delirium in the emergency care setting. They also address the high risks involved when the diagnosis is missed. The difficulties of identifying and appropriately managing delirium are not new. However, the importance of doing so is taking on a greater significance because of certain current and forecasted realities that will affect the nation's emergency departments (EDs).

Ronald Fieve and his colleagues were among the first to document milder versions of manic symptoms-hypomania-in the 1970s, observations that did not make it into DSM until 1994.This book appears mainly to be intended for families and patients; clinicians might find some parts simplistic and other parts informative.

From Our Readers

Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is not yet on the radar screens of many psychiatrists, but it is more prevalent than panic disorder and warrants extensive research and attention, 2 experts on IED said recently.

Predicting extent of neurologic recovery is crucial. The most accurate and standardized method is clinical neurologic examination using the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury.

In a recent article on genetic counseling in psychiatry, Christine Finn, MD, and Jordan W. Smoller, MD, ScD, noted that family and twin studies have documented the familiality and heritability of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety disorders, autism, attention-deficit/hyper- activity disorder (ADHD), and Tourette syndrome, among others, and that molecular genetic studies have begun to identify possible susceptibility loci for several of these disorders, most notably schizophrenia.

Last May, the Church of Scientology's Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) distributed 50,000 copies of a new booklet entitled Psychiatry--Education's Ruin, complete with a cover photo of drugged-looking school kids at desks. The CCHR logo on the cover resembles a federal government seal, with a hand holding up scales of justice. Beneath the logo are the words: "Published as a public service by the Citizens Commission on Human RightsTM."

Investigational drugs and novel applications of established agents for psychiatric illness were described in a number of reports at the 46th annual NIMH-sponsored New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit (NCDEU) meeting in Boca Raton, Fla, June 12-15, 2006.

Office management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differs in many important ways from ADHD management conducted in a research environment. In clinical trials, treatments and eligible patients are selected in advance by committees, patients are randomized to different management strategies, and both clinicians and pa tients are blinded to the treatments.

The setting of a fast-paced emergency department (ED) or psychiatric emergency service makes it especially difficult to sensitively elicit and address an individual patient's needs and concerns. When considering the myriad differences in culture that come into play between a patient and a psychiatrist or other mental health care clinician, optimal diagnosis and treatment can be even more challenging, as the cases described here illustrate. The important influence of culture cannot be stressed enough. Taking the time to understand "where the patient is coming from" can prevent an already stressful, highly emotionally charged situation from becoming even more convoluted.

Delirium is characterized by an altered level of consciousness, decreased attention span, acute onset, and fluctuating course. About 15% of elderly patients admitted to the hospital have delirium as a presenting or associated symptom. Delirium will develop in another 15% of elderly patients during hospitalization.

The increase in youth violence and aggression in the past 50 years has been called an "epidemic." This epidemic has had a tremendous impact on society. From an economic and public health perspective, primary prevention of youth violence is obviously desirable.