The Week in Review: April 24-28

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This week, Psychiatric Times® covered a wide variety of psychiatric issues and industry updates, from connections between bvFTD and primary psychiatric disorders to the impact of posttraumatic neuroendocrine dysfunction on recovery. Here are some highlights from the week.

NDA Approved for Long-Acting Injectable for Schizophrenia and Bipolar I

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the New Drug Application (NDA) for aripiprazole (Abilify Asimtufii) 2-month, ready-to-use, extended-release injectable for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults or for maintenance monotherapy treatment of bipolar I disorder in adults.

This is the first 2-month LAI antipsychotic indicated for both the treatment of schizophrenia and the maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder in the United States. Continue Reading

Posttraumatic Neuroendocrine Dysfunction: Impact on Recovery

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of disability, with an estimated 5.3 million individuals living with disabilities secondary to a TBI in the United States alone. While many TBI survivors may seem to make a full physical recovery, a substantial proportion continue to suffer from more subtle disabilities, which are likely to impact daily functioning.

Such invisible disabilities may include long-lasting symptoms of cognitive deficits (memory, attention/concentration, executive functioning, etc), disturbed affect, hypervigilance, fatigue, and autonomic dysregulation. These chronic symptoms are often linked to TBI-induced dysregulation of the neuroendocrine system and may contribute to the exacerbation of posttraumatic morbidity. Continue Reading

The Border Zone Between bvFTD and Primary Psychiatric Disorders

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Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a clinicopathological term that encompasses a spectrum of several overlapping syndromes associated with a specific set of non–Alzheimer disease (AD) neurodegenerative histopathologies that includes the tau, TDP-43, and FET proteins. These pathological processes differently affect the frontotemporal neural networks and their subcortical connections in the thalamus, basal ganglia, and brainstem, which might explain the heterogenous clinical characteristics of FTLD spectrum disorders.

The clinical syndromes associated with these neuropathologies involve behavior, language, and movement. However, prediction of the precise underlying pathology associated with these clinical syndromes is imperfect, and better biomarkers are needed. Continue Reading

The Bad News: More Mental Health Care Needs. The Good News: Innovation in Resources.

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A recent column concerned the need for more resources to help autism in girls when indicated and legally possible. The same need is occurring across the board in mental health, as another New York Times article on April 11th conveyed: “As Mental Health Crisis Grows, More Doors Open to Care.”

On the negative hand, the rise in undo psychological symptoms has been going on for years, and escalated even more during the pandemic. Of particular concern is the continual rise in suicidality in teenage girls. On the positive hand, stigma has lessened. So, as the “crisis” in the article title suggests, this is both a dangerous time and an opportunity for new solutions. Continue Reading

See more recent coverage from Psychiatric Times here. And be sure to stay up-to-date by subscribing to the Psychiatric Times E-newsletter.

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