Comorbidity

As 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.

For her work in establishing the Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT) model for use with chronically suicidal individuals suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD), Marsha M. Linehan, Ph.D., is this year's recipient of the annual research award given by the New York City-based American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

Psychogenic excoriation (also called neurotic excoriation, pathologic or compulsive skin picking, and dermatotillomania) is not yet recognized as a symptom of a distinct DSM-IV disorder.

Given that passion, opinion, opportunism and inertia have shaped much of managed care's evolution, there is an increasing need for the systematic gathering and rational application of facts. Outcome evaluations and insights into what facilitates and what impedes efficient and effective care are now avidly sought, not only for improving care delivery and treatment effectiveness but also for regulatory functions and commercial promotion.

The future is both bright and dark for consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry. It is a paradox created by a still-evolving health care system that affords unique opportunities for innovation, while simultaneously placing seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the way of access to quality care. Striving to navigate these systemic contradictions, C-L psychiatry can be seen as on the verge of either a breakthrough or a breakdown-only time will tell how things will work out for this as yet uncertified subspecialty.

When Sigmund Freud gave his epochal lectures at Worcester's Clark University in the early 20th century, a young Harvard student named Alan Gregg was in the audience. Upon completion of his medical education and training as an internist, he would become a great visionary of psychiatry's role in the practice of medicine.

Because of the very prominent physical symptoms of panic disorder, many see their primary care doctor or a specialist, such as a pulmonologist, first.

Women and their special needs regarding addiction was the topic of a recent two-day conference held at New York University (NYU).

Differences between the sexes regarding the prevalence, psychopathology and natural history of psychiatric disorders have become the focus of an increasingly large number of epidemiological, biological and psychological studies. A fundamental understanding of sex differences may lead to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of diseases, as well as their expression and risks.

Reducing the mandatory weekly monitoring of white blood cell (WBC) count during clozapine (Clozaril) treatment to a biweekly schedule after six months of treatment could result in twice the incidence of agranulocytosis and one death annually from blood dyscrasia in the approximately 67,000 patients using clozapine, according to testimony by Clozaril manufacturer, Novartis.

After a teenager's suicide attempt, her desperate and bewildered parents dragged her to a mental health clinic. The 16-year-old admitted to drinking nearly every day and using an assortment of other illicit drugs. Only after a month in treatment did the clinician learn that the teenager had been molested when she was 8 years old by an uncle and threatened with death if she ever told her parents.

Detoxification from alcohol and drugs can be safely accomplished in outpatient settings. Careful selection of appropriate patients and frequent monitoring are key elements of successful detoxification. The success of outpatients withdrawing from alcohol without serious medical complications and continuing in recovery programs is comparable to success rates of inpatients when there is careful selection of patients, a good triage process and good nursing and medical assessments.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has received an extraordinary amount of attention in the popular media over the past eight months. Stories concerning the disorder, and especially its treatment with stimulant medication, have appeared in many major newspapers, news magazines and television news, entertainment and talk show programs.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults is a common-and, frequently undiagnosed-psychiatric disorder. This article will focus on the symptoms, associated features, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, prevalence, etiology and treatment of this illness.

Paraphilias as defined by DSM-IV, are sexual impulse disorders characterized by intensely arousing, recurrent sexual fantasies, urges and behaviors (of at least six months' duration) that are considered deviant with respect to cultural norms and that produce clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of psychosocial functioning.