Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Effective for Medication-Resistant Major DepressionMedscape Medical News story - "Both high-frequency left-sided transcranial magnetic stimulation (HFL-TMS) and low-frequency stimulation to the right prefrontal cortex (LFR-TMS) are effective in the treatment of refractory major depression, according to the results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in the October issue of the
Archives of General Psychiatry." "med"
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Useful for Bipolar Disorder in Children Medscape Medical News story - "Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is useful for the treatment of bipolar disorder in children, according to a presentation at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry annual meeting in Miami, Florida. Findings from this study and an accompanying manual also will be published in a forthcoming issue of the
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry." "med"
The Wellstone Fellowship for Social Justice
"Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers, will launch the Wellstone Fellowship for Social Justice in 2004 to honor the late Senator Paul D. Wellstone from Minnesota. Elected to the United States Senate in 1990, Paul D. Wellstone became a strong and vocal proponent of high-quality, affordable health care for all. Throughout his service in the Senate, he built a reputation as an advocate for social justice and an outspoken champion for those who lacked a voice in the national arena. The Wellstone Fellowship provides a unique opportunity to honor the memory of the late Senator Wellstone by promoting equity in health care. More specifically, the fellow will work with communities of color for the advancement of social justice through participation in health care advocacy work. Each year, Families USA will select one individual to fill this 12-month fellowship." See also the pages on the fellowship's
description, qualifications, and selection process, and on
application procedures.
The need for mental health parity Editorial from the
St. Louis Post Dispatch reprinted at the NAMI web site - "With little fanfare, a presidential commission on mental health told President George W. Bush this summer that the country must dramatically reform the public mental health system because it is 'fragmented and in disarray . . . lead[ing] to unnecessary and costly disability, homelessness, school failure and incarceration.' The commission is right. But such sweeping reform could take time. What about people who need mental health care now? Too often, they fall through the cracks or face closed doors. ..."
A Vast Unregulated Shadow Market: U.S. Prescription Drug System Under Attack
A Sunday, October 19 story in the
Washington Post, the first of a five part series, "Pharmaceutical Roulette" - "For half a century Americans could boast of the world's safest, most tightly regulated system for distributing prescription drugs. But now that system is undercut by a growing illegal trade in pharmaceuticals, fed by criminal profiteers, unscrupulous wholesalers, rogue Internet sites and foreign pharmacies. In the past few years, middlemen have siphoned off growing numbers of popular and lifesaving drugs and diverted them into a multibillion-dollar shadow market. Crooks have introduced counterfeit pharmaceuticals into the mainstream drug chain. Fast-moving operators have hawked millions of doses of narcotics over the Internet. The result too often is pharmaceutical roulette for millions of unsuspecting Americans..." See also the related stories
Drugs in short supply: higher prices, more compromises,
Internet Trafficking in Narcotics Has Surged (part 2 of the series) and
Doctors medicate strangers on web (part 3). You can locate other related stories to be published later this week through
a page indexing the entire special report.
Proposal hard to handle, shelters say (Canada)
Edmonton Journal story - "A shortage of decent, low-income housing is driving people to shelters, not their failure to come up with damage deposits as the government claims, say advocates for the poor, homeless and mentally ill. Those connected with shelters say collecting a nightly fee from their clients would be a nightmare to administer. ... Austin Mardon, assistant program manager of the Alberta Mental Health Self-Help Network, said the government would be going after the most vulnerable group with this proposal -- the mentally ill. Up to 60 per cent of the people in shelters have either a mental illness or a substance abuse problem."
Sexual Abuse Huge Problem for Women in Treatment Feature story at
Join Together - "More than a third of women in addiction treatment have been physically forced to have sex, according to experts looking at the relationship between addiction, HIV, and sexual abuse among female addicts and alcoholics. ... Most treatment providers believe that domestic violence should be addressed in treatment, according to the survey. But few feel they have adequate training to address domestic violence...and some providers said that tackling such issues could distract from their focus on addiction and recovery. ... The SIG's Women's Wellness Project developed a model intervention program for abused women, and is testing it with a study group of 38 female treatment participants. The study will not only look at the model's impact on addiction but also related outcomes pertaining to HIV and unprotected sex."
State moves to increase CHIP mental health benefits (Texas)
AP story in the
Fort Worth Star Telegram - "Only weeks after Children's Health Insurance Program benefits were reduced, the state plans to restore some coverage for mental health and substance abuse services, Gov. Rick Perry announced Monday. Texas legislators reduced mental health benefits available under CHIP when they balanced the state's budget this year. Perry signed the budget bill, and the mental health services were cut effective Sept. 1."
