(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Schizophrenia appears to be a disorder of development that results from a series of neurological insults from fetal life onward (Rapoport et al., 2005). Whether or not schizophrenia manifests appears to be the result of a conglomeration of these factors, both genetic and environmental in origin (Sullivan et al., 2003), as shown in the Figure.
No one factor appears to be most significant in the genesis of schizophrenia. This is evident despite the very…
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Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 11:00pm —
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Nassir Ghaemi S, Miller CJ. Berv DA, et al. Sensitivity and specificity of a new bipolar spectrum diagnostic scale. J Affect Disord. 2005;84: 273-277.
Summary
Following their study findings that the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)1 was more sensitive for bipolar I than bipolar II or not otherwise specified bipolar disorder,2 one of the authors (Pies) developed a self-report questionnaire, the Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS). Two of the authors…
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Since the 1970s, lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid) has been a mainstay of treatment for bipolar disorder (BD) and an effective augmentation strategy for treatment-resistant unipolar depression. Lithium, long before lamotrigine (Lamictal), olanzapine (Zyprexa) and aripiprazole (Abilify), received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval for the maintenance treatment of BD. Despite lithium's efficacy, many psychiatrists find regular monitoring of lithium blood levels to…
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Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 5:30am —
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Over 50% of U.S. women and 60% of men report having experienced a traumatic event at some point in their lives. However, only a minority (approximately 10% of women and 5% of men) report having ever developed posttraumatic stress disorder, the most prominent psychiatric disorder associated with traumatic events (Kessler et al., 1995). This disparity between the prevalence of exposure to traumatic events and the development of PTSD has driven research to determine the…
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Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 5:30am —
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Nassir Ghaemi S, Miller CJ. Berv DA, et al. Sensitivity and specificity of a new bipolar spectrum diagnostic scale. J Affect Disord. 2005;84: 273-277.
Summary
Following their study findings that the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)1 was more sensitive for bipolar I than bipolar II or not otherwise specified bipolar disorder,2 one of the authors (Pies) developed a self-report questionnaire, the Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale (BSDS). Two of the authors…
Continue
Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 5:30am —
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Since the 1970s, lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid) has been a mainstay of treatment for bipolar disorder (BD) and an effective augmentation strategy for treatment-resistant unipolar depression. Lithium, long before lamotrigine (Lamictal), olanzapine (Zyprexa) and aripiprazole (Abilify), received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval for the maintenance treatment of BD. Despite lithium's efficacy, many psychiatrists find regular monitoring of lithium blood levels to…
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Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 5:00am —
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Two studies presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in June attempted to explain the mechanisms behind two inversely related disorders: bulimia nervosa and obesity.
Dr. Angela S. Guarda, director of the eating disorders program at Johns Hopkins University, and her radiology colleagues used carbon-11 carfentanil PET to image women with bulimia nervosa before and after a 10-week behavioral treatment program. Compared with healthy controls, women with…
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Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 4:00am —
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Although attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is frequently misunderstood as caused by normal childhood energy, boring classrooms, or overstressed parents and teachers, several decades of research show ADHD to be a valid disorder with a neurobiological basis (Faraone, in press). Genetic studies have played a leading role in clarifying the biological basis of the disorder. Family studies have documented familial transmission; adoption studies show this transmission…
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Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 3:00am —
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - For 30 years, Alan F. Schatzberg, M.D., chairperson of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, has sought to identify and provide effective treatments for patients with major depression. His efforts have ranged from co-founding one of the first comprehensive treatment programs for affective disorders to investigating the efficacy of the abortifacient mifepristone (RU-486) as a potential lifesaver for patients…
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Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 2:00am —
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - The dialogue:
Primary care doctor: How can I best determine—and address—the cause of this patient's worsening headaches?
Headache specialist: The importance of a thorough headache history cannot be overestimated. In particular, I would ask about the circumstances that surround the onset of a headache.
Primary care doctor: My patient believes that her headaches worsened after a prolonged argument with her husband...
The…
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Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 2:00am —
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(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Suicide persists as a major public health problem in all industrialized countries. More than 90% of people who commit suicide suffered from a psychiatric disorder, mostly a mood disorder (Mann, 2003). Nevertheless, even in psychiatric groups with the highest risk, most individuals never attempt suicide. It has been suggested that stress factors may trigger a suicidal act only in vulnerable individuals (Mann et al., 1999). Clinical vulnerability factors include impulsive…
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Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2005 at 2:00am —
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