Tuesday, August 26, 2003
A Scientist's Lifetime of Study Into the Mysteries of Addiction New York Times interview with Dr. Nora Volkow, the new director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who, the story notes, "intends to continue pursuing her own research into brain chemistry and addiction." [Viewing
New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
Most Drugs Prescribed for Children Are Primarily Studied on Adults Boston Globe story reprinted at
PsycPORT - "Pediatricians are forced to engage in risky "trial-and-error" medicine when they give drugs to children because two-thirds of all drugs they routinely prescribe have never been adequately studied on kids, according to a study by Food and Drug Administration researchers to be published today in the
Journal of the American Medical Association. What's more, when certain drugs developed for adults were methodically tested in children, researchers found previously unknown safety risks, including higher incidences of death, seizures, and suicidal thoughts, according to new data contained in the study..."
Depression Weighs Heaviest on the Elderly August 24
Health Day News story at
Yahoo - "As crippling as depression can be for young and middle-age adults, it's truly severe in the elderly, and more often fatal. And while depression and related illnesses afflict 20 percent of America's elderly, only a fraction are getting the treatment they need."
Severe Attention Disorder Linked with Drug Abuse August 17
Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder are more likely to smoke, drink and use illegal drugs, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday. It could be because children with the disorder -- called ADHD -- have trouble paying attention, have problems at school and difficulty with relationships with friends and family. This, in turn, could make them susceptible to abusing drugs and alcohol, the researchers said. It also shows it is important to diagnose and treat ADHD early, the researchers write in the August issue of the
Journal of Abnormal Psychology."
3 Schizophrenia Drugs May Raise Diabetes Risk, Study Says Front page
New York Times story - "hree drugs commonly prescribed for schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses increased patients' risk of developing diabetes when compared with older antipsychotic medications, researchers said yesterday, presenting the results from a long-awaited study of patients treated at veterans hospitals and clinics across the country. The drugs — Zyprexa, made by Eli Lilly, Risperdal, made by Jannsen Pharmaceutica, and Seroquel, made by AstraZeneca — were associated with higher rates of diabetes than older generation drugs for schizophrenia like Haldol, the study found. But the increased risk was statistically significant only for Zyprexa and Risperdal, the researchers said, possibly because of the smaller number of subjects who took Seroquel." [Viewing
New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
Depression in Teens Likelier to Recur Later Health Day Reporter story - "Teens who suffer a major depressive episode are more likely to have adjustment problems in early adulthood. Less satisfaction with their lives, a smaller social network, and poorer relationships with family are some of the ways this group differs from those who were free from depression as teens, according to a study from the Oregon Research Institute, a nonprofit behavioral research center in Eugene. The results of the study appear in the August issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology."
Study: Stereotypes prevail in media coverage of depression University of Michigan Health System press release at
EurekAlert - "A new analysis of the media's coverage of depression, anti-depressant drugs and related issues over the past 15 years shows a significant shift in how newspapers and magazines portray mental health problems. Instead of describing depressive illnesses in terms of specific symptoms and medical terms, as they did when the era of Prozac began in the late 1980s, the printed news media are now far more likely to depict women's mental issues in relation to gender-stereotyped roles, such as marriage, motherhood, and menopause. But during the same time, descriptions of depression in men have not shifted in the same way. The new findings, made by researchers at the University of Michigan Depression Center and just published online by the journal
Social Science & Medicine, show that gender stereotypes increasingly pervade popular media discussions of mental illness."
Toll-free social services number called a success (Wisconsin) Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story - "Encouraged by results midway through a state experiment, proponents of 211 emergency telephone service are preparing to submit plans for extending the social services clearinghouse statewide. The proposal expected to be submitted within two weeks to the state Public Service Commission follows strong results reported during the first year of 211 service in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Dane counties. Operators of the toll-free networks - which link callers to suicide prevention agencies, drug treatment clinics and other services - have said call volumes are running 10% to more than 100% higher than the previous year under conventional hotline numbers."
Disabled avoid jail time (Michigan) Detroit News story - "A program designed to route mentally ill or disabled nonviolent offenders away from jail and into treatment has proved successful for juveniles, according to Oakland County's Community Mental Health Authority. The 2-year-old program has directed 21 juveniles accused of nonviolent misdemeanors into treatment instead of incarceration..."
Things looking up for troubled agency (Oklahoma) News-Star story - "A recent review of Project Safe Inc., Shawnee's domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center, was completed with favorable results that could cancel the process to revoke the agency's state certification..."
Money and time run out for distinctive counseling agency (Washington) Seattle Post-Intelligencer story - "Shepherd's Counseling Services, which for 16 years has provided low-cost individual and group therapy to adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, will stop seeing clients at the end of the month. ... The loss of Shepherd's would tear a hole in the already-scant net of low-cost therapy available to adults grappling with sexual abuse in their past. The Crisis Clinic, a non-profit agency that maintains one of the most thorough databases of human services programs in King County, lists just three other organizations that offer low-cost or sliding-scale therapy for such adults."
Students 'need more counselling' (UK) BBC story - "Going to university might not be the life-enriching experience those glossy student recruitment brochures portray, especially if you have mental health problem..."
Duplin-Sampson mental health joins with other agencies to form Eastpointe (North Carolina) Story in
The Sampson Independent - "Mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse patients in Sampson and Duplin counties may have noticed a new name surfacing around their services as Duplin-Sampson-Lenoir Mental Health joins forces with Wayne Mental Health to form Eastpointe. Directors from each of the areas gathered at Goldsboro Country Club yesterday to talk about the consolidation and its effects and to introduce Dr. Jack St. Clair as the new area director of Eastpointe."
