Wednesday, October 08, 2003

Understanding Clinical Trials in Context
Article in Medscape Psychopharmacology Today - "Recently, there has been a great deal of attention paid in the lay press to randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials. ... Clinicians need to be conversant and understand what randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials do and do not tell us. This is important not only to assist in clinical decision-making but also to be able to answer the inevitable questions from patients and their families. While I by no means intend to have the following be a comprehensive discussion of how to evaluate the quality of a clinical trial, here are a few things to think about when you look at data and try to decide how seriously to take them...." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Long-term Management of Bipolar Disorder
A new CME from Medscape. The Introduction notes, "Bipolar disorder is a chronic, recurrent illness associated with tremendous societal costs -- increased healthcare costs, loss of productivity, lower quality of life, and suicide. The illness is also characterized by increased risk of recurrence with age. However, maintenance treatment, in general, has been short-term and episode-focused. Maintenance treatment, in bipolar disorder, is achieved by using medications that, alone or in combinations, prevent the occurrence of new episodes, optimize socio-occupational functioning by keeping the severity of interepisode symptoms to a minimal level, and are tolerable to facilitate long-term compliance with the medication regimen. Remission and 'functional recovery,' the primary goals of treatment, are possible despite the complex nature of bipolar disorder." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Nursing kids on Prozac
US News & World Report story, based on a study published earlier this year in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry - "Babies with depressed moms tend to weigh less after six months than babies with happy moms; less weight often means more illness. But the same study that uncovered this disturbing fact has also turned up hope: Breast-fed babies grow better if depressed moms take drugs that alleviate depression. This challenges a popular belief that the traces of Prozac, Paxil, and similar drugs that seep into breast milk can harm a nursing infant..."  
  

SAMHSA Announces $16 Million to Treat Adolescents Substance Abuse
SAMHSA press release - "Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Charles G. Curie today announced 22 awards totaling $16.2 million over three years to increase the effectiveness of alcohol and drug abuse treatment for adolescents. The programs receiving these grants will adopt or expand their use of a treatment protocol that combines two types of therapy, Motivational Enhancement Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. This Motivational Enhancement Therapy/Cognitive Behavior Therapy, a five-session protocol, was previously proved to be effective with substance abusing youth."  
  

Race and Mental Heath Disparity
Article in Psychology Today - "African Americans are overlooked in the psychological field. It is a sad fact of life that disparities in insurance coverage and stigma collaborate to keep access to mental health care lagging behind physical health care for everyone. Overall, only one third of Americans with a mental health problem get care. Still, the percentage of African Americans receiving needed care is half that of whites..."  
  

Many addicts have more than one addiction
Story in the Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise (Massachusetts) - "Nearly half of the 1.1 million people receiving treatment for addictions are treated for both drug and alcohol abuse, according to the 2002 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Centers. 'The day of the single addiction is almost a dinosaur. Most people are addicted to more than one substance these days,' said Wayne Rushlow, a licensed mental health therapist and substance abuse counselor in Leominster and the surrounding area. ... The survey, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, showed there were 1,136,287 people receiving substance abuse treatment on a typical day in 2002. Of those people, 48 percent were being treated for both drug and alcohol abuse."  
  

Advocates: Law will benefit mental health (Maryland)
Gazette.net story - "A new state law will make it easier for families and friends to get help for people suffering from severe mental illness, mental health advocates said. The law, which went into effect Oct. 1, sets a broader standard for assessing the danger that the mentally ill pose to themselves or others. Judges use the criteria to decide whether to order a psychiatric evaluation against a person's will. The new law allows such an evaluation if the person 'presents a danger to the life or safety of [him or herself] or of others.'"  
  

Castle introduces mental health bill
Story in the News Journal (Delaware) - "Several congressmen, including Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., have introduced a bill that would provide $55 million to help states improve mental health support systems so families do not have to relinquish custody of their ill children to get them help. The Keeping Families Together Act is a response to a federal government report in April that estimated families have turned over custody of about 12,700 children to 19 states so their children can get mental health services. "  
  

Study: TennCare now gives kids less mental health care (Tennessee)
Story in The Tennesean - "Children on TennCare with emotional and behavioral problems are getting less and cheaper care than when the program started nine years ago, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University. The study said TennCare has 'made great strides' in serving more children, but that each child got less care so that more could be helped,"