Monday, May 19, 2003
Antipsychotics and Bipolar Disorder The most recent "Bipolar Disorders Expert Column Series" in
Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health - "New generation, or atypical, antipsychotics -- medications that were initially developed for the treatment of psychosis in general and schizophrenia in particular -- are being used increasingly in the treatment of bipolar disease. Medications such as olanzapine, which has a formal indication for bipolar disease from the US Food and Drug Administration, clozapine, quetiapine, and risperidone have become important tools for the clinician in helping to stabilize acutely ill bipolar patients and preventing them from becoming ill again. These medications may have efficacy beyond being simply antimanic agents, but may have utility as true mood stabilizers; they may actually help prevent mood fluctuations that interfere with social and occupational functioning...." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Researchers Identify New Variety of Dementia NewsRx story at
PsycPORT on research presented at the annual American Academy of Neurology meeting by researchers at the University of Florida who "believe they have identified a new form of dementia, a disease that develops mostly in elderly people and is characterized by a progressive, generally irreversible loss of mental capabilities."
HHS expands online health information for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders May 13 HHS press release on "two new online health resources of special interest to Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. The new Web sites expand on the department's Steps to a HealthierUS initiative, which underscores the President's call to action for healthy lifestyles through public awareness of disease prevention efforts." See the
Just For You page at the Healthfinder web site, which now includes a new section devoted to Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations, and
Asian American Health, a companion Web site launched by the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine.
Some success seen with depression treatment by phone Health Behavior News Service story - "Phone calls can help primary care doctors and nurses deliver follow-up care to patients who are depressed, a new study suggests. Three months after enrolling in a disease management program offered by telephone, patients with acute depression were six times more likely to have their symptoms reduced to a low level than those who received the standard care of diagnosis and education about their condition."
Lawmakers OK Bill to Stop Rx Coercion in Schools Reuters Health story at
Yahoo - "A House committee approved a bill Thursday directing states to bar public schools from requiring children with behavior problems to take medication before they can attend classes. Specifically, the bill directs states to come up with policies banning the practice as a precondition for receiving federal education dollars."
Survey: Manic Depressives Not Getting New Drugs (UK) Reuters story at
Yahoo - "More than half the manic depressives in Britain are not receiving available new drugs that have fewer side effects, medical experts said.... In a survey of 841 people with bipolar disorder, only 12 percent of patients were taking the newer treatments. Ninety percent of people on older, typical antipsychotics described the drugs as 'the worst they had ever taken.' "
Task force to investigate mental health funds (Maryland) Baltimore Business Journal story on a bill that "will create a task force to investigate funding of state mental health programs, find out if mental health has been regarded as secondary in importance come budget time and, presumably, try to prevent underfunding from occurring in the future."
Officials plan to close center for severely disabled in St. Louis St. Louis Post-Dispatch story - "The Missouri Department of Mental Health plans to close a center for the severely disabled in St. Louis and move its residents to a facility in south St. Louis County - a decision that has rankled parents of residents at the South County center."
North Carolina nears start of reforming mental health treatment system AP feature at the
Raleigh News-Observer - "Starting this summer, North Carolina will start tearing down and rebuilding its system of providing mental health care for people who need it. Eventually, the state will cut the number of beds at psychiatric hospitals in half. The goal is offering each patient a personalized care plan in the community where he or she lives. Treatment plans will be tailored to each person's needs, and the patient will be part of the planning process. Nearly everyone involved in mental health care agrees that the system needs change, but there are many doubters...."
