Clinical Psychiatry News

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

New strategies nab suicidality in the ED.(NEWS)
SAN FRANCISCO -- Many new strategies are being tested to improve identification and treatment of people who are suicidal when they come to emergency departments, where most suicidality currently fal . . .

FDA panel deems atypicals safe for children, teens: three antipsychotics also 'effective.'.(NEWS)
ADELPHI, M D. -- The approval of quetiapine and olanzapine for schizophrenia and bipolar mania, and ziprasidone for bipolar mania in pediatric patients is likely--now that most members of a Food and . . .

Health reform may hinge on public plan option.(NEWS)
The chances of passing health reform legislation this year could depend on whether lawmakers can resolve their differences over the public insurance plan option. The decision on whether to include . . .

'Family-focused' model of depression care endorsed.(NEWS)
Physicians and other health professionals who care for adults with depression should identify and seek to prevent potential "spillover" effects on their patients' children, according to a report rel . . .

Risperidone LAI tied to fewer bipolar I relapses.(NEWS)(Clinical report)
SAN FRANCISCO -- Risperidone in a long-acting, injectable form is associated with significantly fewer relapses among patients with bipolar I disorder, according to a placebo-controlled study involvi . . .

Aripiprazole improved social measures in schizophrenia.(NEWS)
SAN FRANCISCO -- Early episode schizophrenia responds better to aripiprazole than to haloperidol on measures of social engagement, a post hoc analysis of 460 patients presented in a poster session a . . .

Panel offers little hope for reform in long-term care.(NEWS)
WASHINGTON -- Long-term care is "the big missing piece in health care reform" Leonard Burman, Ph.D., said during a panel discussion hosted by the Urban Institute. Although Dr. Burman, codirector o . . .

Health disparities support need for broader reform.(NEWS)(Clinical report)
Racial and ethnic minorities have higher rates of disease and reduced access to health care compared with the general population, a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services shows. . . .

FDA fields advice on reducing opioid risks.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
GAITHERSBURG, MD. -- Top officials from the Food and Drug Administration heard both passionate pleas to take immediate action and measured advice to proceed cautiously in implementing Risk Evaluatio . . .

Agency calls for warnings on leukotriene inhibitors.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
The Food and Drug Administration has called on manufacturers of leukotriene inhibitors to include safety precautions on their drugs' labeling, because of reports of neuropsychiatric events in patien . . .

Data on metabolic acidosis prompt alert on zonisamide.(NEWS FROM THE FDA)
Serum bicarbonate levels should be checked in patients before initiating treatment with the antiepileptic drug zonisamide because of an association between the drug and metabolic acidosis, according . . .

Fink! still at large: Robert Johnson, Ph.D., an expert in criminal justice, has described the life of a lifer as a 'repetitive,
This is an interesting question and one that affects me personally. For the last 2 years, I have been a volunteer at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford, Pa., a maximum security prison, . . .

Conflicting biases.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
I read with interest the opposing views of Dr. Steven Miles and Jeff Stier, Esq., on whether pharmaceutical funding biases research ("Does Pharmaceutical Industry Funding Bias Research?" April 2009, . . .

Supplements: clarifying the record.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
The article "Tighter Regulation of Supplements Is Urged" (Clinical Psychiatry News, April 2009, p, 42) repeated an inaccuracy that has been written and spoken so many times that it is accepted as fa . . .

Yellow Ribbon program helps vets reintegrate.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
NEW YORK -- Giving returning service members the time and resources to transition back into civilian life is essential to prevent substance abuse and identify mental health issues, experts say. Fo . . .

Stigma remains barrier to PTSD treatment among vets.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
NEW YORK -- Stigma surrounding mental illness continues to complicate treatment for veterans with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, experts say. The stigma exists not just in the military . . .

Hypnosis: a call for training.(THE PSYCHIATRIST'S TOOLBOX)
Television programs and newspapers promote regularly the use of multiple alternative treatments in medicine, surgery, and dentistry. Amid all the promotions for alternative and complementary medical . . .

Risky behaviors, nonmedical use of stimulants assessed.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
SAN DIEGO -- Attitudes and risky behaviors related to nonmedical use of prescription stimulants and painkillers among college students differ by the number of substances used but not by the type of . . .

Intervention eases stress in asthma.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)
MONTREAL -- Patients with chronic cardiopulmonary diseases are more likely to follow their doctors' recommendations if they leave the office feeling good about their efforts, rather than bad about t . . .

Evidence-based psychiatric medicine: using rTMS for depression.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)(repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation)(
The Problem You have a patient who suffers with depression. He does not want antidepressants and asks about transcranial magnetic stimulation. The Question Is transcranial magnetic stimulation . . .

Treating ADHD when stimulants don't work.(PRACTICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY)
At an estimated prevalence of 3%-7% of U.S. children, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is the most common of all childhood psychiatric disorders. In some cases, the diagnosis is relatively . . .

Cyberspace behaviors keep researchers busy.(CHILD/ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY)
LOS ANGELES -- Today's adolescents are so immersed in technology they multitask in their cyberspace lives, texting while listening to their iPods, talking on cell phones as they scope out each other . . .

Alzheimer's video affects care preferences.(GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY)
CHICACO -- Elderly persons shown a video depiction of advanced Alzheimer's are less likely to opt for life-prolonging care, compared with those who listen to a verbal description. A multicenter. p . . .

New pain guideline takes aim at NSAID use in the elderly.(GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY)
CHICAGO--An updated guideline addressing persistent pain in older people takes a tough stance on the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) guideline re . . .

Age, genetics affect PD risk in pesticide exposure.(NEUROLOGY)
The risk for developing Parkinson's disease that is associated with pesticide exposure appears to be especially high in people who are professionally exposed to the chemicals and those who carry cer . . .

Pilot study shows feasibility of telemedicine for Parkinson's.(NEUROLOGY)(Clinical report)
Using telemedicine to evaluate patients with Parkinson's disease is reliable and feasible, according to data from a small, randomized, controlled pilot study of nursing home and community-dwelling p . . .

Imaging advances boost microbleed detection.(NEUROLOGY)
SAN DIEGO -- Various [T*.sub.2]-weighted MRI techniques are improving the ability to detect microbleeds, which are clear markers of hypertensive vasculopathy, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and other . . .

Migraine with aura in midlife linked to later stroke.(NEUROLOGY)(Clinical report)
Women who have migraine with aura in their middle years are more likely than others to show cerebellar "infarct-like lesions" on brain MRI in late life, according to a report in JAMA. This link be . . .

Morning headache common in sleep disorders.(PSYCHOSOMATIC MEDICINE)(Clinical report)
SAN DIEGO -- The prevalence of headache disorders in patients referred to a sleep lab for sleep-disordered breathing was 70% and consisted primarily of morning headache, a study of more than 200 pat . . .

Investigational device reduces asthma attacks.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)
SAN DIEGO -- The Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System produced significant improvements in quality of life in 79% of patients with severe asthma who underwent treatment, compared with 64% of sham con . . .

GI disorders far more common in children with autism.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)
Children with autism spectrum disorders had a 5.3-fold greater probability of having a gastrointestinal disorder than their nonautistic siblings, in a large study of families enrolled in the Autism . . .

Review favors Bariatric surgery for obesity.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)
Bariatric surgery is more effective than is conventional weight loss management in terms of weight lost, improved quality of life, and decreased comorbidities, according to an updated review by the . . .

Obesity drug beats others in phase II trial: lowest dose of tesofensine produced weight loss similar to that of sibutramine and
Tesofensine, an investigational agent that inhibits the presynaptic uptake of noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin, produced twice the weight loss of currently approved obesity drugs in a 6-month . . .

Any type of diet can work in short term, study shows.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)
Weight-loss diets emphasizing different proportions of fat, protein, and carbohydrate content were found to be equally successful in a population-based study reported in the New England Journal of M . . .

Surviving childhood cancer linked to PTSD.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)(Clinical report)
ORLANDO -- Prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder is significantly higher among adult survivors of childhood cancer, compared with their siblings, according to a cohort analysis of the large, l . . .

Model explored for estimating risk of prostate cancer.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)
DENVER--A man's absolute risk of developing prostate cancer over a 20-year period can be estimated by determining the number of risk alleles present on a simple genetic test and then taking into acc . . .

Hormone therapy raises lung ca death risk.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)
ORLANDO -- Hormone therapy with estrogen plus progestin for more than 5 years increased the risk of death in women diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, based on secondary analyses from the Wom . . .

CDC offers theory on H1N1 and resistance.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)
Results from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study are yielding more concrete clues as to why the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus seems to be striking people aged 5-25 years in greater n . . .

Health workers reminded to follow protocol on H1N1.(ACROSS SPECIALTIES)
None of 26 health care workers infected with the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus fully followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended infection control practices, data from the . . .

Policy & Practice.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
New ADHD Society The American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (AP-SARD) made its debut in June. The Mt. Royal, NJ.-based society says it is the first devoted to ADHD and aims to . . .

Tobacco law gives FDA unprecedented power.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
Public health advocates are applauding a new law that gives the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented authority to regulate the sale, marketing, and ingredients in tobacco products. President . . .

FDA announces transparency task force.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
In one of her first public acts at the Food and Drug Administration, new commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg announced that the agency aims to be more transparent about its daily work and decision mak . . .

Hamburg lists priorities for FDA.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
WASHINGTON -- Regulating overseas drugmakers who export their products to the United States will become a bigger focus of the Food and Drug Administration, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said at . . .

Processing forms takes 3 weeks yearly.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
Physicians and their staffs spend the equivalent of weeks--and $31 billion--each year processing health insurance paperwork, according to a study funded by the Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood . . .

New health IT czar: we are 'counting on peer-to-peer influence'.(PRACTICE TRENDS)(Interview)(Survey)
Dr. David Blumenthal, a Harvard professor and a senior health adviser to President Obama's campaign, was appointed in March to the position of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology . . .

Caring for criminals, Part II.(THE ETHICAL WAY)
"Into the tape recorder I read my evaluation of this man: 7 saw in him the potential for being a substantial citizen, one whose head was very much "together."' As I spoke into the microphone, I thou . . .

Humana is fastest payer in annual survey.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
Humana pays physicians more quickly and denies fewer claims than other insurers, according to the fourth annual survey of payer practices by AthenaHealth Inc. The survey ranks payers based on a se . . .

Film, fame, and the fashioning of an illness.(REEL LIFE)
Can films help influence the form of a psychiatric illness? Can they affect the frequency of its occurrence? An affirmative answer to both questions is suggested by the "back stories" of two classic . . .

PhRMA, Senate panel reach deal on Part D.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
Major pharmaceutical firms have agreed to offer drug discounts to Medicare beneficiaries trapped in the Part D "doughnut hole," President Obama has announced. The president endorsed an agreement r . . .

Senate oks bill limiting pseudoephedrine access.(PRACTICE TRENDS)
The Senate has again sent a bill to the House that would require retailers selling pseudoephedrine-containing over-the-counter products to train employees to comply with the Combat Methamphetamine A . . .