Clinical Psychiatry News back issues from January 2007:
Protocol targets frontal cortex.(News)
Jan 01, 2007; ... NEW YORK -- Researchers at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute are using the tools of neuroimaging to modernize electro-convulsive therapy for severe depression and other psychiatric disorders. By applying principles similar to those used in rational ...
Congress delays physician pay cuts in last-minute fix: Medicare fees could drop 5%-10% in 2008.(News)
Jan 01, 2007; ... In one of its last actions, the 109th Congress approved a sweeping tax and health bill that included a 1-year delay in the scheduled cut in physician fees under the federal Medicare program. In 2007, physicians were due to see a 5% reduction in pay, thanks to targets set by a ...
Panel backs expanding label on antidepressants.(News)
Jan 01, 2007; ... SILVER SPRING, MD. -- Psychiatrists remain concerned about any additions to the black box warning on antidepressants but hail recommendations made by a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel calling for labeling highlighting the risks and benefits of antidepressant therapy. ...
FDA issues advisory on methadone.(News)(Food and Drug Administration)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Reports of deaths, cardiac arrhythmias, respiratory depression, and other serious adverse events in people treated with methadone for pain prompted the Food and Drug Administration to issue a public health advisory and revise its prescribing information for methadone hydrochloride. ...
Citalopram bests placebo in depressed CAD patients.(News)(coronary artery disease)(Clinical report)
Jan 01, 2007; ... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- A randomized, multicenter Canadian trial testing interpersonal psychotherapy and citalopram in 284 depressed patients with stable coronary artery disease produced mixed results, investigators reported at the annual meeting of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. ...
Can the treatment of depression prevent deaths from heart disease?(News)
Jan 01, 2007 ... Without firm evidence that treating depression can improve survival in cardiac patients, Dr. Nancy Frasure-Smith, a CREATE investigator, described the current status of depression as a cardiac risk factor as "very reminiscent of the pre-statin status of cholesterol." "Statins ...
FDA approves extended-release drug for schizophrenia.(News)(Food and Drug Administration)
Jan 01, 2007; ... NEW YORK -- A new agent for the treatment of schizophrenia, paliperidone extended release, effectively controlled symptoms and improved function among severely ill patients in a post-hoc analysis of data from three double-blind studies. Paliperidone, the principal active ...
Group wants Medicare to help reduce disparities.(News)
Jan 01, 2007; ... WASHINGTON -- As one of the biggest and most influential payers in medicine, Medicare should use its clout to help reduce and eliminate the disparities in care for racial and ethnic minorities, according to a report from an independent panel of the National Academy of Social Insurance. ...
Teens' illicit drug use down, 2006 data show.(News)(Survey)
Jan 01, 2007; ... More U.S. teens are saying no to illicit drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol, but they are abusing prescription drugs at about the same rate they did last year, the 2006 Monitoring the Future Survey shows. The annual assessment of adolescent substance use habits, sponsored by the ...
Universal HIV screening may overload system: one expert says that the current CDC budget for HIV prevention is already short by $350 million.(News)(Human Immunovirus)(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Jan 01, 2007; ... WASHINGTON -- New recommendations to test routinely for HIV in all patients aged 13-64 years would overburden the U.S. health care system with newly diagnosed patients unless additional funding is provided, experts said at a press briefing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ....
Youngest recruits have more psych evacuations: those with service in Iraq, Afghanistan 'with not much time in theater' may need special attention.(News)
Jan 01, 2007; ... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- A records review of 1,264 consecutive psychiatric evacuees from Iraq and Afghanistan found the youngest members of the armed forces to be at greatest risk of removal for psychiatric causes. Female, Hispanic, and African American soldiers also made up a ...
Psychiatric disorders common in Royal Australian Navy.(News)
Jan 01, 2007; ... HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. -- A large study of military recruits has determined that almost half developed a psychiatric disorder after joining military service. In addition, the study suggests that if the serviceman receives mental health and social support during the first year after the onset of ...
Primary care role key in postwar mental illness.(News)
Jan 01, 2007; ... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- Primary care physicians have a key role to play in screening soldiers and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, Col. Charles C. Engel, MC, USA, said at the annual meeting of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. ...
ECT may beat rTMS for severe depression.(News)(electroconvulsive therapy)(Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is not as effective a treatment for severe depression as is electroconvulsive therapy, a new study shows. Previous studies have suggested that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) might be as effective as ...
Unipolar depression may require different tack.(News)
Jan 01, 2007; ... MENDOZA, ARGENTINA -- The use of antidepressants may not be effective for long-term treatment of unipolar depression, and may actually be harmful, Dr. Ulrik Malt reported at the 6th World Congress of Depressive Disorders. "There are no good arguments for treating all unipolar ...
Prevention is the future.(ADVISER'S VIEWPOINT)(Editorial)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Editors' Note: In our continuing effort to serve readers by discussing ideas that will help move the specialty forward, the Editorial Advisory Board members of CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY NEWS will offer their perspectives over the next year on what might lie ahead for the practice of psychiatry. ...
Child psychiatry 'left behind'.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2007; ... In the era when integration, continuity, and collaboration spell out effective evidence-based medicine, child psychiatry has been left behind. The medical home model, for example, conspicuously excludes the profession. While the rest of medicine is working toward ...
Talking with patients about CFS.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2007; ... The article "CDC Campaign Targets Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" (December 2006, p. 52) summarized the most effective medical approaches to treatment. I find that a long conversation reviewing the physiologic changes involved in CFS is effective. I have spent much of my professional ...
Medicine must take responsibility.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2007; ... It was with dismay that I read "IOM Asks Congress to Rescue Emergency Care" (August 2006, p. 78). Organized medicine cannot turn to Congress to solve its problems in the emergency department and then complain about the regulations it imposes and the schedule of fees that will be ...
More on combination units.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Dr. Michael J. Serby provided a valuable reminder of the need for more inpatient units of this kind ("A Case for Medical-Psychiatric Units" (Inpatient Practice, October 2006, p. 71). One highly regarded service not cited in Dr. Serby's article is the Brown University Program in ...
Schizophrenia, substance use need integrated Tx: take into account the possible synergistic effects between antipsychotics and drugs of abuse.(PRACTICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY)
Jan 01, 2007; ... People with schizophrenia are highly likely to have a substance use disorder as well: The lifetime prevalence of nearly 50% is three times the rate in the general population (J. Clin. Psychiatry 2006;67[suppl. 7]:31-5). "It tends to be more abuse than dependence," said Dr. ...
Genetic testing spots risk for antipsychotic adverse events.(PRACTICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY)
Jan 01, 2007; ... NEW YORK--Pharmacogeetic testing for deficiencies in he cytochrome P450-2D6 enyme may be useful in predicting which patients are at increased risk for the development of adverse events during treatment with aripiprazole, according to Dr. Anton A. Subuh Surja of the department of ...
The art of Anthony Ballard.(VISIONARY ART)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Long before computer graphics became the norm, many designers, illustrators, and draftsmen used Rapidograph pens to draw solid, flowing lines of specified widths. Rapidograph pens are extremely versatile, demand very little hand pressure, and work on a variety of surfaces with ...
Who's treating depression?(THE PSYCHIATRIST'S TOOLBOX)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Depression screening is becoming a mainstay in general medical evaluations, and this is a positive development, considering its prevalence and power. Depression is one of the four leading causes of disabilities and disease throughout the world, and it is associated with serious medical ...
Depression screening program saves money for employers.(THE PSYCHIATRIST'S TOOLBOX)
Jan 01, 2007; ... For employers, the savings generated by a low-intensity depression screening and management program for workers more than offset the costs, according to Dr. Philip S. Wang of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and his associates. The researchers examined the economic costs ...
Panic affects diabetes outcomes.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... Panic episodes are strongly associated with worsened disease status and poorer functioning in patients with diabetes, said Evette Ludman, Ph.D. Dr. Ludman and colleagues surveyed patients included in their population-based diabetic registry. Panic episodes were defined by ...
English initiative for greater choice.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... English mental health patients will be able to choose a wider variety of settings to access treatment and may be able to receive direct payments so they can purchase the care that they need, under a new initiative announced in November by the Department of Health. The initiative ...
Lose the cigarettes, gain diabetes.(CLINICAL CAPSULES)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007 ... Older men and women who were once heavy smokers have a significantly higher risk of diabetes and obesity than do nonsmokers or current light smokers, according to Tommi Sulander of Finland's National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, and colleagues. The investigators examined ...
Health concerns common in anxiety disorders.(Adult Psychiatry)
Jan 01, 2007; ... CHICAGO -- Health anxiety is a prominent feature of all types of anxiety disorders, Jonathan S. Abramowitz, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. "Health concerns are present across the anxiety disorders," said Dr ....
Polymorphism and Depression in HCV patients.(Adult Psychiatry)(hepatitis C virus )(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- Preliminary results from a genomic study of patients infected by the hepatitis C virus suggest that a polymorphism in the interferon receptor promoter region could be a biomarker for predicting who will develop depression when treated with interferon-based therapies and ...
Caring for the involuntarily hospitalized patient: what is the best way to approach the delivery of psychiatric services to acutely ill patients who are under involuntary commitment?(FINK! STILL AT LARGE)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Our readers share their approaches: Richard G. Pugliese, M.D., of Middletown, Conn., emphasizes the importance of frank exchange of information with his patient to avoid the need for a hearing. My experiences with involuntary commitment have occurred in the state ...
Autonomy is critical for teens with ADHD: make adolescents partners in terms of deciding whether, or when, they will take their medications.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)
Jan 01, 2007; ... ATLANTA -- Adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder need to be listened to by their physicians and given a sense of being in control of their lives and their therapy, Dr. Howard Schubiner said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics. This ...
Comorbidities affect preschoolers' response to ADHD therapy.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)(Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders)(Clinical report)
Jan 01, 2007; ... SAN DIEGO -- Preschool children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder who had three or more co-morbid disorders responded less favorably to 5 weeks of methylphenidate treatment, compared with children who had fewer comorbid disorders, according to the results of a randomized study ....
Childhood apnea may exact cognitive loss.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
Jan 01, 2007; ... MONTREAL -- Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea may have lifelong physiologic and cognitive consequences even after it is successfully treated, according to Dr. David Gozal, professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville (Ky.). "Children have a plastic system, and as ...
Hyperbaric oxygen benefits children with brain injury.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)(Medical condition overview)
Jan 01, 2007; ... FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves cognitive and social function in children with chronic brain injury, according to a study presented at a symposium on hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Daily living, socialization, communication, and motor skills ...
HBOT may lead to improved cognition in cerebral palsy.(Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)(hyperbaric oxygen therapy)
Jan 01, 2007; ... FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen therapy significantly improves cognition for children with cerebral palsy, compared with standard therapy alone, according to an open, ongoing, observational study. All participants significantly improved their physical, ...
Narcissism affects many impaired physicians.(Addiction Psychiatry)
Jan 01, 2007; ... MENDOZA, ARGENTINA -- Physicians with addictions to alcohol, drugs, or gambling--or those charged with sexual misconduct--generally do well in overcoming their problems with good treatment, Dr. Gregory Collins reported at the Sixth World Congress on Depressive Disorders. But ...
Harm reduction proves popular with crack users.(Addiction Psychiatry)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... TORONTO -- Harm-reduction programs that use clean needle exchanges and other measures to limit the spread of HIV infection among injection heroin users also can educate crack users about safer crack-smoking materials, according to a Canadian public health study presented at the 16th ...
Tenfold increase seen in abuse of OTC cold drug.(Addiction Psychiatry)(over the counter)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Cases of dextromethorphan abuse reported to the California Poison Control System increased 10-fold in all age groups--and increased 15-fold in adolescents--between 1999 and 2004, said Jodi K. Bryner, Pharm.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and her associates. ...
Perspective.(Community Psychiatry)(neuroleptic medication for psychosis)
Jan 01, 2007; ... In the old days, "neuroleptic" medication was prescribed not only for psychosis, but also for other conditions that required a major tranquilizer, such as delirium and other behavioral disturbances, including affective disorders. Today, we certainly have a better understanding ...
Adopting person-centered care in nursing homes.(PREVENTION IN ACTION)
Jan 01, 2007 ... Too often, nursing home residents with dementia are inappropriately medicated with antipsychotic drugs, several recent reports have shown. One large study of Medicare beneficiaries showed that more than one-quarter of nursing home residents nationally received antipsychotics ...
Absence of precedent may limit use of SPECT.(Forensic Psychiatry)(Single-photon emission computed tomography)
Jan 01, 2007; ... CHICAGO -- Single-photon emission computed tomography may be considered useful in evaluating suspected sequelae from minor traumatic brain injury, but numerous issues must be considered before ordering a SPECT scan in the forensic setting, Dr. Timothy Houchin said at the annual meeting of ...
State laws deficient in dealing with predators.(Forensic Psychiatry)
Jan 01, 2007; ... CHICAGO -- The confinement of sex offenders using general commitment statutes is eroding the distinction between those who need treatment for mental illness and those needing treatment for sex-offending risk, Dr. Roger M. Harris reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of ...
Substance use by female sex offenders: a peek at reality.(Forensic Psychiatry)
Jan 01, 2007 ... CHICAGO -- Female sex offenders should be evaluated for substance abuse no less rigorously than are male sex offenders, Dr. R. Gregg Dwyer said at a poster session of the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. "Our search of what little data there are ...
Women in jail receptive to substance abuse treatment.(Forensic Psychiatry)
Jan 01, 2007 ... CHICAGO -- Incarcerated women with substance abuse or dependence disorders are highly receptive to treatment while in jail, according to a poster study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. "We were a little surprised to find the ...
Pramipexole approved for restless legs syndrome: dopamine agonists were already considered first-line treatment.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)(drug approvals)
Jan 01, 2007; ... While misdiagnosis of restless legs syndrome remains common, the Food and Drug Administration has increased the agents available to treat this movement disorder by approving the dopamine agonist pramipexole for moderate to severe cases. Pramipexole is the second drug and the ...
Violent video games alter brain functioning in imaging study.(Neuropsychiatric Medicine)
Jan 01, 2007; ... CHICAGO -- Adolescents who play violent video games demonstrate distinct alterations in brain activation on functional magnetic resonance imaging, investigators have shown for the first time. In a study of 44 healthy adolescents, the teenagers who played violent video games ...
Develop strategy to halt overuse of pain Meds.(Pain Medicine)
Jan 01, 2007; ... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Withdrawing patients from overused headache medications is long, hard work for them, but it can be accomplished with strong physician support, Dr. Todd D. Rozen told clinicians at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache Society. Dr. Rozen, a ...
Pharmacists have misconceptions about chronic pain management.(Pain Medicine)(Survey)
Jan 01, 2007; ... ORLANDO -- Pharmacists who dispense in the community tend to be skeptical about patients who require chronic medication with controlled substances, according to a survey of pharmacists practicing in both urban and rural areas of Alabama. The survey revealed that many pharmacists ...
Behavioral therapies address factors underlying migraine.(Pain Medicine)
Jan 01, 2007; ... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Misconceptions and other barriers to behavioral therapy limit headache patients' access to potentially beneficial nonpharmacologic treatments, Donald B. Penzien, Ph.D., said at a symposium sponsored by the American Headache Society. Standard behavioral ...
Sildenafil eases diabetic neuropathy in small study.(Pain Medicine)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... WASHINGTON -- Sildenafil may be useful in treating the pain of diabetic neuropathy, Dr. Thomas Brannagan reported in a poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. Dr. Brannagan, a neurologist at Cornell ...
Methadone used for pain linked to sleep apnea: the sleep-disordered breathing seen in baby boomers being treated for chronic pain is severe.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Dr. Amanda A. Beck and her colleagues were puzzled by some of their patients at the University of New Mexico's Sleep Disorders Center in Albuquerque. The patients took methadone, but they did not have histories of drug abuse. They were middle-class baby boomers under treatment for chronic ...
Caffeine associated with improved cognition in apnea patients.(Psychosomatic Medicine)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
Jan 01, 2007; ... SALT LAKE CITY -- Increased caffeine intake was associated with better cognitive functioning in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, according to the results of a small study. In 42 patients with untreated obstructive sleep apnea, a statistically significant inverse ...
Perfectionism predicts eating disorder risk.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
Jan 01, 2007; ... CHICAGO -- Self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism in female college students who also have body dissatisfaction are important factors putting these women at risk for eating disorders, Christina A. Downey said at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and ...
Rage linked to arrhythmias and shocks from defibrillators.(Psychosomatic Medicine)(Clinical report)
Jan 01, 2007; ... CHICAGO -- Episodes of extreme anger were linked to ventricular arrhythmias and shocks from implantable cardioverter defibrillators in a study with more than 1,000 patients. Although the findings do not prove that severe anger triggers arrhythmias, the results are suggestive ...
Sleep maintenance problems predominate in elderly insomniacs.(Psychosomatic Medicine)
Jan 01, 2007; ... PARIS -- Pooled data from two clinical trials of eszopiclone suggest that elderly insomniacs have more difficulty staying asleep than falling asleep, Judy Caron, Ph.D., reported at the annual congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Before treatment, time to ...
Medical schools just say no to drug reps' gifts.(Practice Trends)
Jan 01, 2007; ... SACRAMENTO -- Another medical school has joined what could be a growing movement to ban faculty and residents from accepting gifts from drug company representatives. The University of California, Davis, Health System decided in late November to forbid its medical staff to accept ...
VA underspent on mental health.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Veterans Affairs)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs failed to spend all of the funds planned for expanding mental health services to veterans in 2005 and 2006, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. In the report, GAO officials call on VA leadership to improve how it ...
Underage drinking legislation.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Congress has passed legislation aimed at curbing teen drinking and better coordinating the efforts of federal agencies in this area. The legislation, the Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act (H.R. 864), was expected to be signed by the President at press time. The bill ...
Support for the drug czar.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Members of Congress signaled their support for the White House Office of National Drug Policy by voting to authorize the office for another 5 years. The legislation, H.R. 6344, also reauthorizes the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign and authorizes increased funding for a program to ...
Mental health research grants.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... A mental health research funding organization awarded a total of $19 million to support studies on the causes, treatment, and prevention of severe mental illnesses in 2006. NARSAD: The Mental Health Research Association awarded grants to 273 scientists from around the world last year. The ...
Von Eschenbach confirmed for FDA.(POLICY & PRACTICE)(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Almost 9 months after he was first nominated to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach was finally confirmed by the Senate by an 80-11 vote in the wee hours of the 109th Congress. Confirmation came after an 89-6 vote to limit debate on his ...
My new year's ethical resolutions.(THE ETHICAL WAY)(Editorial)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Editors' Note: Ethical issues are paramount in all medical specialties, but they seem to take on added significance in psychiatry. That's why CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY NEWS is starting a new monthly column, The Ethical Way, which will be written by Dr. H. Steven Moffic. Dr. Moffic has ...
Opinions vary widely on financial disclosures.(Practice Trends)(Survey)
Jan 01, 2007; ... Officials in charge of disclosing financial interests in research agree that disclosure is important, but are confused about how to do so effectively and appropriately, Kevin P. Weinfurt, Ph.D., and his colleagues reported. Their survey of 42 such officials revealed widely ...
New JCAHO safety goal: identify suicide risks.(Practice Trends)(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)
Jan 01, 2007; ... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- As of this month, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has made the identification of patients who are at risk for suicide one of its patient safety goals for behavioral health care. Yet little is known about hospital-based suicide ...