May 13th 2025
Brigitte Robertson, MD, shares information on innovative, genetically targeted treatments for alcohol use disorder, aiming to personalize care and improve patient outcomes.
Examining the Factors That Influence Antipsychotic Prescribing Decisions
May 1st 2001In examining the demographics of a state Medicaid population, we found that members of ethnic minorities, rural residents, women, and patients aged 45 years and older were more likely to receive first-generation antipsychotic medications than the newer, second-generation agents, which have a more favorable side-effect profile.
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Decreasing Suicide in Schizophrenia
May 1st 2001Patients with schizophrenia have a high risk of committing suicide. Between 25% and 50% attempt suicide at least once, resulting in approximately 3,600 successful attempts each year in the United States. What are the risk factors for suicide one should look for in treating patients with schizophrenia? Herbert Y. Meltzer, M.D., discusses the issue and offers warning signs.
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Clinical Reflections: Making Difficult Choices
April 1st 2001Psychiatrists can play a vital role in determining whether or not a patient will be a good candidate for an organ transplant. Using a case vignette, Dr. Garton explains how she helps a transplant team make the best possible decision.
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Delirium: Improving Diagnosis and Treatment
April 1st 2001The 89-year-old woman had undergone hip replacement surgery two days before, had tubes in her arms and couldn't walk. But she blithely announced to her daughter that she was leaving the hospital immediately and started to get out of bed. Astounded, the daughter sought out her mother's physician and asked, "What's going on?"
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Traumatic Stress and Human Behavior
April 1st 2001In this overview of research into the biopsychosocial changes caused by traumatic events, Dr. Novac discusses psychopathology, brain development and the effect a traumatic event can have on the victim's family-even long after the event occurred.
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California's recent passage of Proposition 36 mandates treatment instead of incarceration for illegal drug offenses. Proponents believe the measure will save the state millions of dollars in the long run and will be more effective in curbing drug abuse than the war on drugs. Critics argue it is hamstrung, cannot achieve its goals and will only negatively impact successful drug court programs.
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New Products, Applications Assessed at NCDEU
March 1st 2001Evaluations of new drugs, new dosage formulations and new applications for currently approved drugs were a substantial portion of the scientific program at the 40th annual NCDEU meeting, which is sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health.
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APA Annual Meeting Highlights New Research
March 1st 2001(The following are highlights of new research presented at the 2000 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting. Additional highlights can be found in "APA Meeting Highlights New Research," in the February issue of Psychiatric Times, p23-Ed.)
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Gender Bias in Psychiatric Textbooks
March 1st 2001There is a history of gender bias in medical education and practice. Research has shown that this bias extends to the psychiatric field as well. Through material presented to medical trainees-in classes, textbooks, research reviews and the like-subsequent thoughts and actions may be negatively biased against women. A review of the ways in which biases are conveyed is explored, as well as suggestions for reducing, eliminating and preventing these biases in medical education.
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America's policy regarding illegal drugs has been accused of being a failure and being racially biased against blacks and other minorities. The author asserts that while drugs and crime exist in all parts of the society, problem-generating drug use and serious crime are indeed concentrated among the urban poor, some of whom are black. He further explores what this disproportionate drug-related suffering means when it comes to the provision of addiction treatment, law enforcement resources and other responses to the problems spawned by addiction.
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Trying To Solve the Prescription Drug Abuse Equation
February 1st 2001Results from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse show significant increases in rates of prescription drug abuse. Other surveys show similar findings. An overview of the most commonly abused drugs and suggestions for preventing abuse are reviewed.
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Addiction and the Eating Disorders
February 1st 2001Although comprehensive theories of addiction recognize the etiological importance of environmental and cognitive factors, it has been widely accepted for many years that addiction is also a brain disease and that individuals differ in their susceptibility to this condition.
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Is ECT Appropriate in Old-Old Patients?
January 1st 2001More patients are reaching the old-old demographic-those age 75 and above-with psychiatric conditions such as treatment-resistant depression. Research has shown that with some careful screening and precautions, ECT is a safe, effective treatment option for these patients.
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Overview of Elder Maltreatment
January 1st 2001As the population ages, psychiatrists will need to take a more proactive role in preventing, diagnosing and treating elder abuse. This article looks at the definition of elder abuse and the history of reporting it, research findings on the effects of abuse on mortality, and needs for the future.
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The Once-Forgotten Factor in Psychiatry: Research Findings on Religious Commitment and Mental Health
October 2nd 2000As previously discussed, new research has made us look much more closely at the influence of religion and spirituality on overall health. Now more than 30 psychiatric residencies including Harvard, Baylor, and Georgetown provide focused training on addressing patients' religious/spiritual beliefs.
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NCDEU Report Part II: Research Methods Considered at NCDEU
November 2nd 1999The methodology of clinical trials was as much of interest as the trial results for investigators gathered at the 39th annual NCDEU (New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit) Program meeting. This meeting was conducted in June by the National Institute of Mental Health in Boca Raton, Fla.
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NCDEU Report Part II: Research Methods Considered at NCDEU
November 1st 1999The methodology of clinical trials was as much of interest as the trial results for investigators gathered at the 39th annual NCDEU (New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit) Program meeting. This meeting was conducted in June by the National Institute of Mental Health in Boca Raton, Fla.
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Obtaining Medical Research Grants
November 1st 1999The fiscal year (FY) 1999 budget for National Institutes of Health funding totals more than $15 billion. This figure reflects an increase of 15% over the FY 1998 budget and is $320 million less than President Clinton's requested budget for FY 2000 (Varmus, 1999). The Foundation Center reports the funding from U.S. grant-making foundations in 1998 as $15.4 billion from independent foundations, $2.37 billion from corporate foundations and $1.48 billion from community foundations (Foundation Center, 1999). Additional funds are available from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which has a $3.95 billion budget request for FY 2000, up almost 6% from FY 1999 (NSF, 1999). With all of this available funding, how can medical clinicians and researchers increase their chances of obtaining a medical grant?
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A Patient With Panic Disorder Abetted by a Dependent Personality
November 1st 1999By the time I interviewed Robyn in the emergency room, her panic attack had all but passed. But this 21-year-old woman was still shaken and tearful. This was her first panic attack, and she did not know what hit her. She thought she was having a heart attack. She had a tight feeling in her chest, she was hyperventilating. Her fingers and feet were numb and tingling. She experienced what she called a "closing in feeling." Robyn thought she was going to die.
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Neurobehavioral Consequences of Sleep Dysfunction
October 1st 1999As chief of the division of sleep and chronobiology in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, David F. Dinges, Ph.D., focuses on ways sleep and the endogenous circadian pacemaker interact to control wakefulness and waking neurobehavioral functions such as physiological alertness, attention, cognitive performance, fatigue, mood, neuroendocrine profiles, immune responses and health. In an interview with Psychiatric Times, Dinges discussed neurobehavioral consequences of sleep loss, factors that impair sleeping, the pervasiveness of sleepiness and new ways to manage sleepiness.
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