Thursday, December 18, 2003

On the Hunt for Breakthrough TherapiesArticle in Psychiatric Times - "There may be exciting new treatments for psychiatric disorders in the coming years due to advances in genetic testing. However, the increased cost of drug development and the current regulatory climate has had a chilling effect on taking risks and pursuing novel strategies."  
  

Journal Scan: Psychiatry, November 2003This Journal Scan at Medscape "is the clinician's guide to the latest clinical research findings in the American Journal of Psychiatry, The Lancet, Archives of General Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, and Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Short summaries of feature articles include links to the article abstracts and full text, when available." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Journal Scan: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, November 2003A selection of articles at Medscape from Pediatrics, the American Journal of Psychiatry, the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric Services and Child Psychiatry and Human Development. [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Insurer pressure cited as psychiatric stays shortenedBoston Globe story reprinted at the NAMI web site - "... Once considered treatment, hospitalization for psychiatric patients now is viewed more as an emergency stopover, a chance to stabilize suicidal or violent patients so they can be discharged to less-expensive outpatient treatment. The shorter hospital stays are due partly to more effective antidepressant and anti psychotic drugs that allow patients to work and live on their own, a positive development for 54 million Americans with mental illness. But pressure to shorten hospital stays also has come from managed care insurers, which have refused to pay for extensive hospital care. They have helped force down the average stay for psychiatric patients from 25.6 days in 1990 to 9.3 days in 2001, according to the most recent data from the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems...."  
  

New technology helps diagnose mental illnessScripps Howard news service story reprinted at the NAMI web site - "...Some doctors and researchers are looking toward new brain imaging technologies that may lead to quicker and more accurate diagnoses of mental illnesses and may aid in finding the best treatments. The Health Sciences Center recently received $2 million from the National Institute of Health to buy a whole head MEG (magnetoencephalography) system, a machine that lets researchers track brain activity of the entire head simultaneously. They're using it to study mental illnesses..."  
  

British Ignite Debate in U.S. on Drugs and SuicideNew York Times story - "Many American psychiatrists were taken by surprise last week when British drug regulators told doctors to stop writing prescriptions for all but one of a newer generation of antidepressant drugs to treat depressed children under 18. Now the psychiatrists are trying to figure out how to advise the parents of the young patients who come to them for help. Some parents, the doctors say, are calling to ask if the drugs their children are taking are really safe." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Depressed Children Show Altered Stress ResponseReuters Health story at Yahoo based on research published in the Archives of General Psychiatry - "Preschoolers with clinical depression show a different pattern of stress hormone activity than other children their age, according to a new study. The hormone pattern is are similar to those seen in depressed adults, which suggests that abnormal stress responses in depressive disorders occur 'across the lifespan.' Researchers found that, unlike other preschoolers in their study, depressed children showed no dip in levels of the stress hormone cortisol while in the research setting. Instead, their cortisol levels continued to climb while those of the other children declined once they got comfortable with the unfamiliar environment..."  
  

Lawsuit Targets Maker of Paxil ; 65 Coloradans Say They Weren't Told of Withdrawal RiskRocky Mountain News story reprinted at PsycPORT - "Sixty-five Coloradans sued the maker of the antidepressant Paxil in federal court Friday, claiming the company failed to warn them that the drug can produce dependency, addiction and painful withdrawal symptoms. ... The Colorado lawsuit, filed in Denver U.S. District Court as a proposed class action, said the company's advertisements state falsely that Paxil is not habit-forming. "  
  

WHO says healthcare inequalities are growingFinancial Times story - " Life expectancy is falling and child mortality is rising in the world's poorest countries as the global gap in healthcare widens, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday. " The story also notes that " Building up national health systems and capacities was also an integral part of recent WHO initiatives such as the '3 by 5' programme to provide anti-Aids drugs to 3 million people by 2005, a renewed drive to cut maternal mortality and work on mental health." See also the full report (Adobe Acrobat format) at the WHO web site.  
  

States Try to Limit Drugs in Medicaid, but Makers Resist Tuscaloosa News story - "Kentucky's Medicaid program was $230 million in the red last year, and drastic cuts were on the table. A state panel proposed excluding Zyprexa, an antipsychotic medication that is the state's single biggest drug expense, from the Medicaid list of preferred medications. That was when the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Kentucky Consumer Advocate Network swung into action. The two groups, which are nonprofit, bused scores of protesters to a hearing in Frankfort, the state capital; placed full-page ads in Kentucky newspapers attacking the proposal; and sent angry faxes to state officials. What the advocacy groups did not say at the time was that the buses, ads and faxes were paid for by Eli Lilly & Company, Zyprexa's manufacturer..."  
  

Mental health merger considered (Indiana)Palladium-Item story - "A decision to explore whether Preble County should merge its mental health and recovery services with three other counties has some officials concerned. Preble County Commissioners are gathering information on a possible merger with the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services that serves Darke, Miami and Shelby counties. Preble County Mental Health and Recovery Board Chairman Jim Locker fears such a move would lessen the county's services. He also expects the county to have only one or two representatives on the board, which now numbers 18. "  
  

Granholm names mental health commission (Michigan)AP story at the Holland Sentinel - "Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm has appointed 33 members to the Michigan Mental Health Commission, established to study mental health in Michigan and recommend changes to improve care. The commission is a temporary body appointed by an executive order issued last week. Granholm said the state's public health system should provide adequate mental health care for people with serious mental illnesses and involve families in decision-making...."  
  

Community mental health advocates seek more funding (Vermont)Rutland Herald story - "Warning of severe service cuts and possible bankruptcy for some of Vermont's community mental health agencies, advocates said Wednesday they would ask lawmakers for more money. Vermont's 10 community mental health centers have 'entered a period of financial crisis which is beginning to erode the vigor and stability of a system that treats more than 40,000 Vermonters' a year, said Ken Libertoff, director of the Vermont Association for Mental Health."  
  

Government criticised over mental health services (UK)epxNews story - "Issues such as staff shortages and under-investment have hindered improvements in mental health services, a report has found. According to the Commission for Health Improvement, NHS units are relying upon agency staff due to a national shortage of inpatient nurses and psychiatrists. It also warns that staff and service users operate in unsuitable and unacceptable buildings. The report warned of pressure placed upon inpatient beds due to high demands, and a lack of priority given to services for older people and children. ..."