Monday, October 20, 2003
Child and Adolescent Bipolar Disorder: An Expert Interview With Robert Kowatch, MD
Interview published in
Medscape Medical News - "Bipolar disorder is an emerging diagnosis in child and adolescent psychiatry. To examine the important issues in bipolar disorder in this population, Medscape's Robert Kennedy talked with Robert Kowatch, MD, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati and director of the Pediatric Mood Disorders Center at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, both in Ohio." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Scientists Create 'Pharmacy in a Chip' UPI story at PsycPORT - "Scientists have developed a tiny implantable microchip that can be loaded with several doses of multiple drugs to be released at specified intervals over a period of months. The chip -- about the length and thickness of a fingernail -- could be useful for delivering drugs that must be taken continuously, such as pain relievers or antidepressants, and has the potential to change how the pharmaceutical industry approaches drug delivery, a $54 billion market in the United States. Robert Langer, a biomedical engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and principal investigator of the study, called the device 'a pharmacy in a chip' and said the ability to load multiple drugs on a chip makes it an attractive method for delivering medications to patients who have to take several per day, such as the elderly or AIDS patients."
Genetic Difference Discovered in People with Depression and Completed Suicide
Canada NewsWire story at
PsycPORT - "After a pioneering seven-year study, Canadian scientists have discovered a new genetic difference in people suffering from severe depression and in those who have committed suicide. The findings by collaborative researchers at the University of Ottawa and the Institute of Mental Health Research, and McGill University's Douglas Hospital, Montreal -- represent a significant step forward in identifying individuals at risk for debilitating depression or even death."
New drug-and-psychotherapy program for bipolar disorder in children University of Illinois at Chicago press release at
EurekAlert - "A psychiatrist at the University of Illinois at Chicago has devised a promising drug regimen for children with bipolar disorder. In preliminary studies, the regimen, coupled with a psychotherapy program called RAINBOW, shows considerable success in alleviating the worst symptoms of the disease and enabling victims and families to cope."
Adult Alcoholism And Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Are Connected Press release from the journal
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research reprinted at
InteliHealth - "Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms include inattention, motor hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Roughly half of the adults who report ADHD symptoms also report a co-existing substance-abuse disorder. New findings published in the October issue of
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research have identified a distinct phenotype or "profile" of individuals with co-existing ADHD and alcoholism. Although prior studies have suggested a genetic commonality of ADHD and alcoholism, the study found no significant contribution of two specific candidate genes, the promoter polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) and the 5-HT2c receptor Cys23Ser polymorphism. "
Improve mental health care, access (Michigan) Opinion column in the
Detroit Free Press - "Six months after receiving failing marks across the board in a national mental health study, Michigan still has room for improvement. In April, the National Mental Health Association assigned grades to each state on three critical issues relating to care and treatment of persons experiencing mental illness. And Michigan was the only state to fail in all three measures -- mental health insurance parity (or equality), consumer managed care protections and access to medications."
The other side: Abusing prescriptions (Ohio)
Story in the
Morning Journal - "While most people live in a world where the local pharmacists prescribe the drugs needed to make them well, others dwell in an underworld where those same drugs are bought, sold and stolen. ... Law enforcement departments from across the country are finding themselves on the frontlines of these 'script' skirmishes in the larger war on drugs. Because of these drugs' medicinal origin, these battles are often fought under the radar, while illegal drug battles and raids receive most of the press. Nevertheless, officials try to take as many chunks out of the line of distribution as possible while on the job."
Mental breakdown: Embracing change, Vermont neglected its state hospital Boston Globe story - "When federal inspectors emerged from Vermont's tiny state mental hospital this summer, they described conditions that can best be called archaic. ... During the review, the situation got worse: Within a span of six weeks, two patients committed suicide in their rooms. ... The revelations, shocking anywhere, came as a particular surprise in Vermont, a state much admired for its progressive mental health policies. Among New England states which embraced the idea of removing mentally ill people from institutions, Vermont emptied its state hospital more quickly and more completely. Vermont boasts one of the nation's most sweeping mental health parity laws, which requires insurance companies to cover mental illness and substance abuse as fully as physical illness. Most remarkably, doctors and consumers seem to agree on the thorniest civil rights question in mental health: Patients in Vermont always have the right to refuse medication, even when they're committed to the hospital..."
Ethnic mental health care boost (UK) BBC story - "An initiative to improve mental health services for ethnic minority patients is being launched by the government. Black people are six times more likely to be sectioned than others, while Asian women are 40% more likely to commit suicide than white people. Over the next three months the Department of Health will seek opinion on how best to tackle the problem. The aim is not only to improve services, but to also to ensure local people know about them."
My Turn: The right attitude with mental health (Arkansas) Opinion piece in the
Juneau Empire by Alan Munro, past boar member of the Juneau Alliance for Mental Health - "National Mental Health Awareness Week was observed last week in Juneau as local mental health agencies held community open houses at the Juneau Alliance for Mental Health, Green House, the Glory Hole and a candle light vigil at Polaris House. Health professionals say many Americans (as great as one in five) are burdened with conditions that affect their mental health, yet relative few acknowledge or seek help. There is a perceived societal stigma that is firmly attached to mental health. Therefore, bringing greater public acceptance to this pressing health issue is of great local and national concern. It is important that it be both frequently and frankly discussed to permanently erase this unwarranted stigma..."
Wanted: Mental health system (Colorado) Denver Post editorial - "Colorado's mental health system isn't just broken. It's not just under-funded. It pretty much doesn't exist. That's one of the conclusions of a massive, privately funded study of mental health care in Colorado. According to the study, presented by The Mental Health Funders Collaborative, which includes several prominent foundations, 'There is no single mental health system in Colorado.' The 'mental health system' is actually many systems."
