Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Community Surveys of Mental Disorders: Recent Achievements and Works in Progress Current Opinion in Psychiatry article at
Medscape which asks to what extent the recommendations of Lee N. Robins - one of the pioneers of psychiatric epidemiology and author of an important review 25 years ago in the
Archives of General Psychiatry - have been fulfilled. [Viewing
Medscape resources requiresregistration, which is free].
Safety of Antidepressant Drugs in the Patient With Cardiac Disease: A Review of the Literature
Pharmacotherapy article at
Medscape - "Patients with cardiac disease, specifically ischemic heart disease and heart failure, have a higher frequency of major depressive disorder than patients without cardiac disease. The pathophysiologic reason for this is not completely understood. Previous depression, other debilitating illnesses, and type A personality are risk factors for the development of depression in cardiac patients. Depression has been shown to lower the threshold for ventricular arrhythmias. Therefore, treatment of depression potentially may prolong life in these patients. Antidepressant options that have been evaluated include several of the tricyclic antidepressants, trazodone, bupropion, and several of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Individual antidepressant drugs vary in their pharmacologic activity and side-effect profiles. Although clinical data are limited, it is important to individualize therapy in order to minimize cardiac adverse effects. Clinicians are encouraged to evaluate patients with cardiac disease for major depressive disorder and to consider antidepressant drug therapy for these patients when appropriate." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Psychiatrists for children in short supply Cleveland Plain Dealer story reprinted at the NAMI web site - "A severe national shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists has heightened urgency to plug a gaping hole in mental health care for kids in Greater Cleveland. The crisis has put in motion plans to use public money to attract the specialists to the area and to spur pediatricians to take a bigger role in treating mental illness."
Structured Care Key in Treating Depression in Minority Women Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story reprinted at
PsycPORT - "Providing transportation and child care and taking extra time to establish trust are key components in improving the treatment of depression in low-income minority women, a new study says. The study is one of the first involving primarily blacks and Hispanics -- who traditionally have been underrepresented in such studies -- and suggests that these extra steps, coupled with anti- depressant medication or psychotherapy, are the most effective way to improve their depression symptoms. The study is published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association."
50 rally to protest mental-health changes (Texas) Brownsville Herald story - "Proposed mental health cuts by the legislature could have drastic repercussions on Rio Grande Valley children, the mentally ill, counseling services and criminal courts, mental health experts said Sunday. About 50 people gathered in Edinburg to encourage lawmakers to reconsider cuts proposed earlier in the session that would prohibit people on Medicaid and children on CHIPS, the statewide insurance program for low-income children, from receiving counseling services."
SAMHSA Takes First Step Toward Reshaping Addiction Block Grant Feature story at
Join Together - "For years, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has been talking about pushing states to be more accountable for how they spend federal block-grant funds. In late December, absent much fanfare, SAMHSA finally unveiled its proposal for transforming the addiction and mental-health block grants into more demanding -- yet more flexible -- Performance Partnership grants." See also the
page indexing related resources at SAMHSA.
Rowland signs third executive order, budget talks continue (Connecticut) Story in the
Westerly Sun - "Just hours after Gov. John G. Rowland signed his third executive order to keep the state running without a budget, the top Senate Democrat warned budget negotiations could languish for months. ... Rowland is still holding up certain grants to private mental health and substance abuse agencies. Those organizations, mostly not for profit, receive about $95 million annually from the state. Many are worried about their ability to provide services and cover their payroll costs during the budget impasse. Some agencies are relying on lines of credit to pay the bills."
N.C. court upholds lower court in funding case Raleigh News Observer story - "A lower court ruling that said the state arbitrarily withheld Medicaid payments from a regional mental health and substance abuse agency was upheld Tuesday by the state Court of Appeals. The decision came after the state Department of Health and Human Services appealed the lower court ruling in favor of the Albemarle Mental HealthCenter Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services."
'Record' suicides among women prisoners (UK) BBC story - "In the first six months of 2003, 10 female inmates of prisons in England killed themselves - more than in the whole of 2002 - the Prison Reform Trust (PRT) says. And there have been nearly 3,000 incidents of self-harm. ... Previous research by the Office for National Statistics has indicated two out of every three women in prison suffer from at least one mental disorder."
County convention aims to aid those with substance, mental health problems (Ohio) Mourning Journal News story - "There are many people in local communities battling addictions or mental illness feeling they are alone in their fight. But the fight doesnt have to be lonesome with the help available from a group at the Columbiana County Counseling Center. The program, Double Trouble, was the first program in the state. It was started in 1994 at the Columbiana Counseling Center. The group is run by consumers and is considered a self-help group for those recovering from substance abuse and mental health problems."
