News

In July, panels sponsored jointly by the National Institute of Aging and the Alzheimer's Association presented controversial proposed guidelines for diagnosing Alzheimer's at three different stages of its progression.

Screening for Depression in Clinical Practice, which reviews the current body of knowledge on mental health screening in the medical setting, is a reference text written primarily for the consultation-liaison specialist, but it will be of use to the general psychiatrist and the interested primary care physician or medical specialist.

The discipline of evolutionary psychology views modern human behaviors as products of natural selection that acted on the psychological traits of our ancestors. A subdiscipline, evolutionary psychiatry, tries to find evolutionary explanations for mental disorders.

While I sit in the third row of my synagogue on Saturday morning, reciting the traditional portions of the Sabbath service, I have running through my mind an additional and more intensely felt prayer-that none of my fellow congregants will approach me later to discuss their personal psychiatric care.

The goal of palliative care is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing a serious, complex illness.

An Overview of Antipsychotic Use in Older Adults

Who should care about aging? This question is particularly germane in mental health. The articles in this Special Report remind us of the importance of understanding and focusing on the stresses, problems, and treatment-related issues in this population.

The contents of this volume are, as the cover emphasizes, “real stories from real people.” Clinicians who practice in a setting that allows time to really listen to patients have already heard these stories. These would be clinicians who have learned that listening to small details in a patient’s history helps one recognize patterns not described in the DSM.

Opioid Dependence and XR Naltrexone

Psychiatric Times bids a very fond farewell to our long-time board member Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, who was the originator of the Psychiatric Times “Brain and Behavior” column, which he penned for several years.

The moon comes up like a melody . . .

Consider the predicament of Mrs M, a 38-year-old premenopausal mother of two. Mrs M tells her primary care physician, “I just don’t have a strong desire for sex. It’s been about 10 years now, and I hardly ever have sexual thoughts or fantasies.

In an earlier posting, I considered the merits and flaws of the DSM-5 online website. For this posting, I consider the significance and implications of a cyber-DSM.

A brief report recently published in Science confirms the key role of dopamine (DA) in impulsive behavior. The researchers found that impulse control directly correlated with the amount of DA released in the striatum.

Houston, we have a problem. There is a critical shortage of psychiatrists. And the problem is not in Houston alone-it includes the entire state of Texas, and every other state in the union (Mid-town Manhattan, Boston’s Beacon Hill, and Sacramento Street in San Francisco might be exceptions).

The authors are affiliated with the section of General Internal Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, in New Haven, CT. Dr. Tetrault is an assistant professor of medicine, Dr. Fiellin is an associate professor of medicine, and Dr. Sullivan is an assistant professor of medicine.

Recent findings indicate that social interaction is a key to living longer. Theoretical models have suggested that social relationships influence health through stress reduction and by more direct protective effects that promote healthy behavior.

It is easy to claim the presumed high ethical ground when one is not involved in the real life situation at hand. It is also easy to project and proclaim strong positions in order to cover our own inadequacies and anxiety.

Adolescents with ADHD, conduct disorder, or who smoke cigarettes are less likely to finish high school on time and more likely to drop out altogether, researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine have found.

Is the mortality from smoking-related diseases higher in patients with schizophrenia? What decade did the concept of the quality of life with antipsychotics come into being? These questions and more in this week's quiz.

The varied proponents of models for the regulation of CME programs for physicians would all agree that the primary charge of these programs is to provide physicians with scientifically unbiased information on issues or knowledge that affects medical practice.

Previously, I have been quite critical of the DSM-5 suggestion to introduce a new diagnosis-- Minor Neurocognitive Disorder--on the grounds that it would create a large false positive problem and would lead to unnecessary worry and cost with no useful intervention.

Treating the Whole Patient dialogue explores the relationship between mental health and physical conditions. The discussion is moderated by Drs Jon W. Draud, Rakesh Jain, Vladimir Maletic and Charles Raison.

ADHD may be more prevalent than we know, and it may be taking a toll on marriage. Findings suggest that many adults with the disorder never received a diagnosis as children.

A recent story in the Atlantic magazine, The End of Men, explores gender issues in the 21st century. Women now make up the majority of the workforce, and women outnumber men 3 to 2 in getting a college degree. Is postindustrial society more suited to women?