News

Hundreds of uniquely adapted venomous marine cone snail species inhabit the coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Researchers posit that each may be a virtual neurologic pharmacopoeia with potential value for the treatment of everything from diabetic neuropathy to schizophrenia. The venoms, known as conotoxins, selectively inhibit a wide range of ion channels involved in neuromuscular signaling.

A possible link between diabetes and cognitive dysfunction, specifically Alzheimer disease (AD), is becoming increasingly apparent. Indeed, compared with AD risk in healthy persons, the risk of AD development is 65% to 100% greater in persons with diabetes.

Persons who are occupationally or otherwise regularly exposed to pesticides are at a 70% higher risk for Parkinson disease (PD) than is the general population. The findings were drawn from a subpopulation of 7864 persons who reported pesticide exposure in 1982.

When it comes to disease risk, not all of us are created equal. Genetics, culture, diet, education, occupation, income, environment, or a combination of these factors can predispose some persons and ethnic groups to certain illnesses.

First described more than 500 years ago, phantom limb pain (PLP) is a common disorder today; as many as 50% to 80% of patients who undergo amputation report experiencing pain in the missing appendage.

Although the prospect of disability is very real, help is available; the National Multiple Sclerosis Society provides a vast array of information and support services for patients, their families, and for health care professionals.

Intrathecal baclofen therapy (IBT; Lioresal) may be underused in stroke patients with spasticity, according to a new survey by the National Stroke Association. Of patients responding to the survey, 58% experienced spasticity. Of these, only half (51%) received any type of treatment for their condition.

The direct and indirect costs of ischemic stroke may exceed $2.2 trillion from 2005 to 2050 in the United States, according to research by Devin L. Brown, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues.

The editors of Pediatric Neuropsychiatry must have drawn on their experiences and the feedback they received on their first book, Textbook of Pediatric Neuropsychiatry (American Psychiatric Press, 1998), for this text.

Poetry of the Times.

Wayne S. Fenton, MD, died in Washington, DC, on September 3, 2006.

The need for better tools, as well as better use of existing tools, to measure treatment response in clinical trials was a principle focus of the 46th annual NIMH-sponsored NCDEU (New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit) meeting, held June 12-15 in Boca Raton, Fla. Improved clinical research techniques are needed to better separate treatment effect from placebo response, to distinguish between active comparators, and to facilitate development of novel treatments, according to several presenters at the conference.

Effective treatment of drug abuse and addiction in the criminal justice system saves the community money and reduces crime, the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reported in a recently released booklet, Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations.

In its latest report on medication errors, a committee assembled by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) included some sidebars on psychiatric drugs. The report, issued in July, said that there is too little data on misadministration of psychiatric drugs and that clinical trials with psychiatric drugs have been small and incapable of providing pragmatic, comparative information.

A new edition of an established text is an opportunity for its authors and editors to review new information and prune what is no longer useful. The 4th edition of Principles and Practice of Psychopharmacotherapy is more successful at the former than it is at the latter.

Chances appear good that Congress will once again veto a threatened cut in Medicare physician payments for calendar 2007--cuts that would cost psychiatrists an average of 7% in their billings.

Ahmed Abdullai often wandered aimlessly and slept in a graveyard in Tamale, northern Ghana. Now, with the help of BasicNeeds--an international development charity--Abdullai takes medications to stabilize his mental illness, learns gardening skills, lives at home, contributes to the family farm, and feels like a "human being once again."

In the era of Google and PubMed, a medical reference book finds itself in a precarious position. Is there a role for a bundled, unchangeable hard copy of data that may become outdated in the near (and more easily accessed) future?

Studies showing that more and more children are using psychiatric medications have generated reactions--some would say overreactions--with ritualistic sameness.

The increase in youth violence and aggression in the past 50 years has been called an "epidemic." This epidemic has had a tremendous impact on society. From an economic and public health perspective, primary prevention of youth violence is obviously desirable.

Typically, delirium worsens at night ("sundowning"), with lucid intervals often present in the morning. It is important to realize that delirium may appear before any abnormal laboratory values are detected and may persist after the resolution of these abnormalities.

Despite the progressive increase in the number of available antidepressants, many patients with depression continue to be symptomatic.

If done properly, the assessment of alcohol and substance use disorders in the emergency department (ED) or psychiatric emergency service can be the first step toward recovery.

The degree to which season changes affect mood, energy, sleep, appetite, food preference, or desire to socialize with others has been called "seasonality." Identification of a seasonal pattern can only be made if both the patient and physician actively look for it.

Since children are a vulnerable population, ethical issues in the conduct of medication studies involving them are extremely important. We recently reported the results of a study that examined youths' and parents' attitudes about, and experiences with, participation in psychopharmacology treatment research.

In a presentation given at the midyear meeting of the American Epilepsy Society, Andres Kanner, MD cited studies from the literature showing that the rates of depression, anxiety, psychosis, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are significantly higher among persons with epilepsy than among the general population

Most physicians make at least some use of the placebo effect to enhance treatments, whether they realize it or not. This article examines the extent of the placebo effect in patients with psychiatric illness, and reviews what is known about how placebos work.

Alcohol is the drug of choice for adolescents, with cigarettes and marijuana being second and third. Contrary to widespread belief, alcohol dependence is most common in 18- to 20-year-olds, with progressively decreasing rates of alcohol dependence in older age groups.

Depressive disorders and symptoms are common in cancer patients (up to 58% have depressive symptoms and up to 38% have major depression), worsen over the course of cancer treatment, persist long after cancer therapy, recur with the recurrence of cancer, and significantly impact quality of life.

The longitudinal course of bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by a low rate of recovery, a high rate of recurrence, and poor interepisodic functioning. There is a need to invoke a chronic disease management model (CDMM) when treating individuals with BD.