Psychiatry

Sometimes, chronic pain patients intentionally magnify or downplay their physical and mental symptoms during office visits. Despite that fact, little attention in the clinical setting is paid to underlying motives for positively or negatively biased self-reports.

Even if a chronic pain patient had been taking opioid medications exactly as prescribed, it would still be possible for the patient to experience negative cognitive and emotional responses to dose tapering that could amplify sensory pain and lead to opioid addiction.

The implementation of DSM-5 criteria will result in a decrease of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses, according to a meta-analysis published in the February issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

When encouraging and supporting patients to quit smoking, varenicline is unlikely to increase the risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events such as suicide, depression, and aggression, even in patients with pre-existing psychiatric illness.

Although fibromyalgia lacks an effective standardized treatment, one part of the problem is the condition's diverse constellation of symptoms that include chronic widespread pain, fatigue, and even depression.

Scientists have identified and blocked the trigger for autism and other mental illnesses in stem cells that test positive for fragile X syndrome.

Family physicians should screen all patients for domestic violence, counsel those at risk on safe havens and the dangers of living in a home with a handgun, and encourage safe gun ownership practices.

A 40-member coalition partly comprised of physician experts on opioid addiction treatment and overdose prevention is asking the US Food and Drug Administration to rescind its approval of extended-release Zohydro (hydrocodone bitratrate), given the drug's perceived dangers to the public.

Examining evidence from epidemiologic, clinical, and animal studies, a team of researchers discussed the connection between neural dysfunction and metabolic disorders related to type 2 diabetes in the February 2014 issue of Current Diabetes Reports.

While it is often best to wait until children's bodies have stopped growing before performing plastic surgery on them, one procedure that can be done as early as age 5 is otoplasty.

In a recent clinical trial, Celexa (citalopram) reduced agitation in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to placebo, but the drug also produced severe cognitive and cardiac adverse events that prescribers must consider.

For patients who emerge from epilepsy surgery seizure-free, the complex relationship between depression, anxiety, and seizure control does not guarantee better quality of life.

Since obesity increases inflammation and changes metabolism, it has been strongly linked to many lifelong medical conditions.

Patients who are free of dementia but have 2 parents with late-onset Alzheimer's disease may show signs of the disease in brain scans several years, if not decades, before they display clinical symptoms.

Researchers from Finland find high depressive burden is associated with greater disability from the time of lumbar spinal stenosis surgery, including the 5-year point.

Frequency phone calls were a predictor of future visits to the emergency department or hospitalization for patients with inflammatory bowel disease, according to a new study.

A 2,000 mg dose of high-quality American ginseng is effective as a treatment for cancer-related fatigue, though it may be better at preventing the condition.

Although the available methods for identifying autism are improving, a "multipronged approach" is needed to diagnose the developmental disorder earlier.

This review looks at the important problem of depression in patients with cardiovascular disease and presents useful information for all physicians.

Polyethylene glycol in conjunction with fiber supplementation is an effective treatment for occasional constipation in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Although only one in 10 Americans with eating disorders pursue care, US endocrinologists see many patients who suffer the long-term consequences of the conditions.

Functional impairment captured in two brain regions during a simple memory task may serve as a biomarker for schizophrenia.

There has been much speculation about whether the implementation of complex mental health parity rules will actually yield equal coverage of care.

A recent study published online in the Journal of the American Heart Association discovered an association between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cognitive decline in postmenopausal women between the ages of 65 and 79 years old.

While numerous patients require psychiatric interventions before and immediately after surgery, a new report addresses a different psychological process that can occur months or even years later: major quality-of-life (QOL) perception changes related to dramatic weight loss.

Patients treated for chronic hepatitis C have increased levels of impulsiveness that is associated with other mental disorders.

Several factors should be considered when choosing a medication and dosing schedule for this depressed adult male who reports being "very sensitive" to medication and expresses particular concern about being either sedated or "revved up" from an antidepressant.

Revisit the articles from each medical specialty that attracted the most eyeballs in 2013.

Although boosted self-esteem and increased confidence are added benefits to fixing an embarrassing physical flaw, they can also lead both the patient and surgeon down a slippery slope.

Two studies raise questions about identity change from deep brain stimulation (DBS) that many clinicians have not considered.