Psychiatry / Psychology
Report Identifies Schizophrenia Patients Likely to Receive Depot Medication
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A report in the April 2007 issue of Psychiatric Services has identified a unique subgroup of schizophrenia patients in the United States who tend to receive depot antipsychotic medications.
The study, “Characteristics and Use Patterns of Patients Taking First-Generation Depot Antipsychotic or Oral Antipsychotic for Schizophrenia,” led by Lizheng Shi, professor of health systems management at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, examined data from a large randomized study on the treatment of 2,327 schizophrenia patients in the United States between July 1997 and Sept. 2003.
Young Children with Epilepsy Seizures Could Benefit from Animal Model of Disease
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Researchers have developed an animal model of infantile spasms, improving the likelihood of finding new treatments for the thousands of young children who suffer from these catastrophic epilepsy seizures, according to research to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28 – May 5, 2007.
Infantile spasms are a specific type of epilepsy seizure seen in infancy and early childhood. The disorder involves a sudden bending forward and stiffening of the body, arms, and legs. The seizures typically last one to five seconds and occur in clusters, ranging from two to 100 spasms at a time. There are few available treatments.
Mother-child therapy best after domestic violence
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Therapy to help children recover from domestic violence is more likely to be successful if the mothers get help as well, new research suggests.
In a study of 181 children between the ages of 6 and 12 who were exposed to domestic violence in the previous year, researchers found that group therapy was effective at improving the children’s behavioral and emotional difficulties. It was more effective, however, when their mothers also received help with their parenting skills.
Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Poor Physical Performance
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Older adults who don’t get enough vitamin D – either from their diets or exposure to the sun – may be at increased risk for poor physical performance and disability, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.
“With a growing older population, we need to identify better ways to reduce the risk of disability,” said lead author Denise Houston, Ph.D. “Our study showed a significant relationship between low vitamin D levels in older adults and poorer physical performance.”
Shooting shows gaps in mental health safety net
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Mental health professionals complain their hands are tied in two ways when they try to help people like Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui—a lack of funding for mental health services in general and laws that make it tough to treat people against their will.
They say the 23-year-old student’s shooting rampage sheds new light on flaws in the U.S. mental health system.
Violent video games “exhilarating escapism: survey
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Players of violent video games believe they are just “exhilarating” escapism that does not desensitise them to real-life mayhem, according to a new survey of one of the entertainment industry’s fastest growing sectors.
However gamers do concede that people “who are already unhinged in some way” may be pushed over the edge if they play violent games obsessively.
Raise drinking age to 21, says think tank
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Young people should be banned from drinking until they reach 21 or be forced to carry a card that records their alcohol intake, a think tank columnist claims yesterday.
Binge drinking has become such an “overwhelming” problem, argues journal of the left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research, that policy makers need to practice “tough love” and put drink out of the reach of youngsters.
Intensive psychotherapy benefits bipolar patients
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Patients treated with drugs for bipolar disorder benefit greatly from the addition of intensive psychotherapy, according to findings published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
“Bipolar disorder is an extremely debilitating illness, in large part because of the difficulty in treating bipolar depressive disorders,” Dr. David J. Miklowitz, of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and colleagues write. Clinical trials support the effectiveness of adding psychotherapy to drug treatment for preventing the recurrence of depressive and manic episodes. However, the effectiveness of various strategies has been unclear.
Brain Structure Changes Years Before Memory Loss Begins
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People who develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease experience brain structure changes years before any signs of memory loss begin, according to a study published in the April 17, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers say these findings may help identify people at risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which leads to Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers performed brain scans and cognitive tests on 136 people over the age of 65 who were considered cognitively normal at the beginning of the five-year study. Participants were then followed annually with neurologic examination and extensive mental status testing. By the end of the study, 23 people had developed MCI, and nine of the 23 went on to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The brain scans of the 23 people with memory loss were then compared to the 113 people who remained cognitively normal.
Prenatal smoke exposure tied to attention problems
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Teens whose mothers smoked while pregnant with them and are themselves smokers have a harder time paying attention and focusing than their non-smoking peers who were not exposed to smoke in the womb, a new study shows.
The researchers also found gender differences in the effect of nicotine exposure, with exposed girls showing both visual and auditory attention deficits, while the boys only had difficulties in listening.
Stroke a risk for cocaine, amphetamine users
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Young people who abuse cocaine and amphetamines are at heightened risk for suffering a stroke, a study published Monday confirms.
Cocaine, amphetamines, and other stimulants may boost the risk of stroke by raising blood pressure or by triggering spasms in blood vessel walls.
Cannabis debate: ‘I let my son have skunk. It ruined his life’
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Anne Waterman has followed the debate about the health hazards of cannabis with close interest. Academics and doctors say potent skunk is the cause of soaring psychiatric problems in the young; pro-drug campaigners sniff anti-cannabis conspiracies and claim there is no proof of a link.
Two weeks after The Independent on Sunday reversed its landmark campaign for the decriminalisation of cannabis, saying new evidence meant it could no longer be regarded as a “safe” drug, Mrs Waterman has watched both sides in a highly charged debate. And she has wondered about the sense of it all.
Treating low iron boosts women’s mental abilities
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Iron deficiency, even to a moderate degree, can hinder women’s memory and learning—but iron supplements can turn those problems around, a study has found.
Iron is essential for delivering oxygen to cells throughout the body, and iron deficiency is known to impair brain development and learning in babies and children. But women of childbearing age are also at elevated risk of low iron stores, and less is known about the possible cognitive effects in them.
Schizophrenia may be linked to inflammation: study
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The key to schizophrenia may be found in a gene region thought to play a role in inflammation and autoimmune disorders, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
If confirmed, the finding could lead to a test and possibly new treatments for the mental disorder that affects about 1 percent of the world’s population, researchers said.
Tamiflu not linked with psychiatric symptoms:Roche
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Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said on Tuesday new data from the United States and Japan showed there was no established causal link between neuropsychiatric symptoms and its Tamiflu influenza treatment.
Clinical studies have shown similar rates of neurologic and psychiatric events in pediatric patients being treated with Tamiflu compared to those not taking the drug.
