Connecting Psychiatry - Expert community for all mental health professionals

PsychiatryRounds Psychiatry News's Blog – August 2008 Archive (9)

Treatment-Resistant Depression: Advances in Assessment

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - The management of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a vexing clinical problem for a large population of patients and their clinicians. An estimated 32 to 35 million adults in the United States experience an episode of major depression during their lifetime.1 When depressed patients present for treatment, the results are often less than satisfactory. Even under the relatively ideal treatment conditions of the recent NIMH-funded Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to… Continue

Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 31, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Beta-amyloid plaques predict cognitive disease advance

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Results from a preliminary PET imaging study suggest that 80% of elderly people with mild cognitive impairment and evidence of beta-amyloid plaque in their brains will develop Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. Victor Villemagne, a dementia researcher from the Center for PET at Austin Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, drew this conclusion from a two-year study of 85 MCI subjects, Alzheimer's patients, and normal volunteers. His results were presented in June at the 2008… Continue

Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 26, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

MRI spots early biological markers of Alzheimer’s

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - The era of postautopsy confirmation of Alzheimer's disease may be coming to an end. MR imaging could spot signs of brain deterioration predictive of cognitive decline months, even years, before the onset of dementia, according to recent studies performed in Canada, Europe, and the U.S.

Clinical studies have found significant links between mild cognitive impairment and AD. Patients with MCI do not always progress to Alzheimer's disease, however. Many go on to… Continue

Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 14, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Depression and Cardiovascular Disease

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - CHECK POINTS

* Depression is associated with a 3- to 4-fold increase in the risk of recurrent cardiac events and death in patients with coronary artery disease.

* Increased platelet reactivity that causes increased platelet aggregation and thrombus formation may play a strong role in linking depression and coronary heart disease.

* Inflammatory markers that are increased in patients with depression have also been linked to congestive heart failure,… Continue

Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Polypharmacy to Optimize Depression Outcomes

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - CHECK POINTS

* Polypharmacy is the standard of care in many refractory medical disorders, and its use for depression is common and increasing.

* Even unvalidated combinations can be used rationally by means of on-off trials in a particular patient.

* Compliance should be monitored carefully before moving to polypharmacy.

* If a patient has partial response to a maximum approved dosage, consider increasing dosage before adding another… Continue

Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

The Use of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Treatment of Depression

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) -

Psychiatric Times - Category 1 Credit

To earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™:

Read the article "Late-Life Depression" from the Novemeber 2008 issue of Psychiatric Times, complete the posttest and the evaluation. (Note: A score of at least 80% must be achieved in order to be awarded credit.)

The posttest will be scored instantly and results will be shown onscreen. Please make a copy of your test results for your continuing education records. After… Continue

Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Dynamic Psychotherapy for Cancer Patients and Their Partners

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - CHECK POINTS

* Flexibility and the ability to advocate for the patient are essential.

* Each phase of terminal cancer illness presents new psychiatric challenges.

* The psychic pain of a partner is often far greater than that of the terminally ill patient.

* Both family and therapist must recognize survivor guilt.

The estimated number of patients with cancer in this country is 10.5 million. Close to a million and a half are… Continue

Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Beta-amyloid plaques predict cognitive disease advance

Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

SPECT zooms in on causes of social anxiety disorder

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) - Using brain SPECT, Dutch researchers found abnormalities in the brains of individuals with symptoms of social anxiety disorder, a condition that affects an estimated 15 million adults in the U.S.

Dr. Nic J.A. van der Wee and colleagues at Leiden University used a binding radioactive compound as a tracer to visualize dopamine and serotonin transporters in the brain.

Twelve patients diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and 12 healthy controls… Continue

Added by psychiatryRounds Psychiatry News on August 1, 2008 at 4:30am — No Comments