Psychiatry

The results of the largest study of its kind to date indicate that new antipsychotic medications-including quetiapine, olanzapine, and risperidone-do not appear to put women at additional risk of developing gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, or major blood clots that obstruct circulation, all conditions that often develop during pregnancy or with the use of older antipsychotic medications.

Fatal drownings happen even in strong, healthy swimmers in lifeguarded pools. A New York City health department investigation points to an under-reported cause: deliberate breath-holding as part of informal contests or self-imposed training regimens.

Implanting an electrical stimulating device to help patients with gastroparesis is less successful when patients also suffer from depression, anxiety, or other mental health problems, a Texas team reports.

The US Food and Drug Administration today approved 3-month paliperidone palmitate (Invega Trinza/Janssen) a longer-lasting version of Janssen's paliperidone palmitate product marketed as Invega Sustenna, a treatment that works for only 1 month per injection.

Antony Loebel, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. provided invaluable insight on the first placebo-controlled trial for patients with Major Depressive Disorder with mixed features.

Henry Nasrallah, MD, Sydney W. Souers Endowed Chair, Professor & Chairman, Department of Neurology & Psychiatry, Saint Louis University School of Medicine introduced his research surrounding Parkinson's Disease Psychosis, often considered a new battle field for many psychiatrists.

Excessive daytime sleepiness related to severe obstructive sleep apnea is also linked to depression in men, reported a team of researchers from Australia.

The lack of biomarkers for some life-changing conditions makes diagnoses and treatments more challenging. A new study identified possible biological factors for certain painful diseases.

Teen girls in rural areas more often have undiagnosed asthma than their male counterparts, and are at an additional higher risk for depression.

Patients with joint disease often screen positive for depressive symptoms, according to research from Switzerland.

Researchers from Germany reported mouse models of schizophrenia experience both cognitive and emotional effects of schizophrenia.

For more than a decade, it has been an annual ritual to read headlines about a crisis brewing in Congress as it struggled to avert a looming Medicare disaster stemming from the imminent pay cut to Medicare physicians mandated by the "SGR". Like a broken record each time, spurred by warnings of physician groups of the dire consequences the slash in Medicare fees would have on medical practices and Medicare patients, Congress scrambled at the 12th hour to put off the mandated cuts for another year.

In last month's Pain Perspectives, I discussed the importance of assessing patients with chronic pain for depression – as it is extremely prevalent in this population and has been found to interfere with physical treatment. This month, we will begin to look at what the primary care physician can do to ensure that their patients with chronic pain have their depression addressed adequately.

A 38 year old female lab technician is seen for "being nervous all the time". She complains of being unable to relax. She relates to you that he has been a "worry wart" for as long as she can remember, always fearing that something is going to go wrong. Although her doctor has told her she is in excellent health, she relates that she sees him frequently for episodic stomach pains and palpitations.

There have been demonstrated benefits to implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs in medical facilities of all sizes. While they have become more popular, there are several factors that need to be considered before making that move.

When a patient goes to see their primary care physician they often do so with the hopes of getting the care they need with their doctor. Whether they need to be seen by a specialist is often a more subjective decision by their healthcare provider.

Patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease face a wide range of physical ailments with their condition. One of the lesser addressed areas is the psychological aspects they face as well. Therapeutic alternatives are being developed to help treat psychosis in this particular patient group.

Research has shown how important sleep can be for a person's health. For patients with insomnia every little bit helps and medications have been developed for this specific condition with some having more serious side effects than others.

When doctors are considering medications to prescribe to patients there are several factors they need to consider, not the least of which is cost.

Hair loss, whether it's partial or complete, is troubling to many people. By age 50, 35 to 50 percent of American men have significant hair loss, and hair thinning and loss increases with age. Many people associate hair loss with premature aging, making pharmaceuticals that arrest hair loss quite popular. However, they are not without certain side effects.

Yale University researchers used mice models to explain the brain's response to marijuana in respect to appetite and "getting the munchies."

Research indicates that acetaminophen appears to have a general blunting effect on patients' evaluative and emotional processing, regardless of negative or positive valence.

The first large study to compare mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)-a psychological therapy designed to change the way people think and feel about their experiences-with maintenance antidepressant medication suggests that MBCT could offer an alternative to antidepressants for preventing depression relapse.

A group of 6 physicians, psychologists, and ethicists has released a report charging the American Psychological Association (APA) with secretly working with the US government to design the torture techniques used on prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

A lot of work is being put into developing ways to diagnose and treat patients with Alzheimer's Disease now. Even as work for the present is being done researchers are are also looking toward the future and what could be coming down the road.

The understanding of Alzheimer's Disease has shown a lot of progression in recent years. One area that has not found a definitive new direction is diagnosis, which typically can only be done through autopsy. New technology could allow doctors to see the disease before it affects a person's life.

The opioid epidemic began nearly 30 years ago and since that time small steps have been taken to reverse its effects. The question remains whether too much damage has already been done to fix the problems in a timely manner.

For many years the dangers of opioid addiction have been well known. Taking the steps needed to reverse its impact has been slower in taking hold across the country.

For patients with Alzheimer's Disease, as their condition worsens it often falls on other members of their family to make decisions about their course of treatment. What they are expected to do and how they make certain decisions can have long lasting impacts on the care of the people with the disease.

One of the main focus points in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease is screening patients before they even show symptoms of the condition. This is a part of the process that also includes looking to develop new treatments that could be used in the future.