Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Is the expression “mental illness” merely a metaphor? If so, does that tell us something about the persons we identify as having a mental illness? To clinicians who deal with devastating psychiatric disorders every day-and to those afflicted with these conditions-these questions may seem like a lot of semantic nonsense.

Do not be surprised if you hear more about hybrid models of psychiatric diagnoses included in DSM-5. The categorical and dimensional model approaches are 2 sides of the same coin as you look at the same patient from 2 different angles.

In this review, we discuss the established medications as well as experimental therapeutic options that may emerge as future medications for alcohol intoxication, withdrawal, and/or long-term abstinence maintenance or harm-reduced drinking.

Four studies sprang from the TORDIA trial on treatment-resistant depression in children and adolescents and showed that several factors influence treatment efficacy following treatment resistance.

Has any progress been made in our ability to manage negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

In schizophrenia therapy, the question arises whether a patient with hyper-religiosity as a main symptom can be treated with an antipsychotic (like clozapine) that targets that symptom.

In spite of a chronic mental illness (schizophrenia)and a psyche that increasingly blurred the boundaries between fantasy and reality, this lawyer and professor graduated from Vanderbilt with a perfect academic record.

What effect has the new antipsychotic Latuda had in patients with psychosis? Is a mood stabilizer as an adjunctive therapy necessary for schizophrenia or is the use of an antipsychotic alone sufficient?

With the recent tragedy in Colorado and the high likelihood that questions about psychiatry will be inextricably tied into it, guidance for practicing psychiatrists can be gleaned from this coincidence.

Anti-psychiatry proponents forget it is widely recognized that the DSM is a provisional diagnostic system pending progress in better understanding uniquely human disorders of our most complex organ.

The role of subtyping and bipolarity in TRD was discussed in Part 1 of this 2-part article. Here we review a number of the most common confounding factors of TRD but limit our scope to comorbidities that can be directly addressed and treated by psychiatrists.

Ongoing advances in functional brain imaging will permit studies on postulated roles of magnetic fields, biophotons, and macroscopic highly coherent quantum field effects on normal brain functioning and mental illness.

Should we accept the analysis of a journalist who has not treated a patient or implemented a study and reaches conclusions that run counter to well-established practice guidelines?

Our current diagnostic system is based more on subjective clinical judgments and less biological psychiatry. There is not one way to develop symptoms of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder or autistim or OCD.

Weight gain is a known side effect of some medications for schizophrenia. Here: strategies to prevent and manage weight gain.

Importantly for lay and clinician readers alike, the book Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety reads as humor-laced triumph with many lost battles along the way rather than enduring unrelenting tragedy.

In schizophrenia therapy, perphenazine can play in combating symptoms and in preventing relapse, though it can be associated with metabolic side effects.

Evidence suggests that cannabis is associated with an increased risk of psychosis when it is used frequently. Marijuana doesn't count, does it?

Here: nutritional supplements and over-the counter medications in schizophrenia management.

In this video, international expert on schizophrenia, Peter F. Buckley, MD, gives an overview of what's new in schizophrenia and discusses the state-of-the-art of diagnosis and management of this complex and challenging disorder.

In light of our problems and uncertainties about the state of current psychiatry, or perhaps because of them, what might describe good psychiatry? Following are some suggestions for what we, as psychiatrists, can do.

An increasing number of patients are being brought to the emergency room because of bath salts and/or herbal incense toxicity.

It is important for the inpatient psychiatrist to understand the perspective of the newly admitted patient. Many patients will find the experience depersonalizing, threatening, and socially alienating and may perceive it as a personal failure.

The Suicide Risk Screening Alert is a clinical tool that assists the psychiatrist and nonpsychiatric physician in identifying patients at risk for suicide during brief medication management appointments.

Ongoing shortages of several psychotropic medications have wreaked havoc among patients and their families, caused frustration and reluctant prescription switches among physicians, and prompted investigations by Congress.

Staying empathic and keeping the conflict within the patient instead of between the patient and health care provider, is a key to successful management.

The trouble with answering this question is that I couldn’t – and still can’t – recall the “best” memory. What much more readily came to mind are some of the worst memories.

The paradigm for modern psychiatry is evidence-based medicine (EBM)-it represents proven treatments for defined diagnoses. But there are major problems with this position, starting with the fact that while they are superior to placebo, evidence-based treatments too often are ineffective.

In a recent interview on 60 Minutes, Harvard psychologist Irving Kirsch, PhD, commented, “the difference between the effect of a placebo and the effect of an antidepressant is minimal for most people.”

Much could be gained if an agreed minimum set of appropriate and important outcomes was measured and reported in all clinical trials in a particular area.