Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Funding Bibliography (Canada)This bibliography from CMHA/Ontario is in MS Word format and includes "...a list of over 100 media stories from the past year, both print and online, which have made the case for more mental health funding in Ontario."
Lilly Drug for Bipolar Disorder ApprovedDecember 29
AP story reprinted at
PsycPORT - "Eli Lilly and Co. on Monday said it has won regulatory approval to sell its new drug Symbyax to treat the depressive phase of bipolar disorder. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, which is a combination of the active ingredients in two other drugs - the anti-depressant Prozac and the anti-psychotic Zyprexa, which is used for treating manic stages of bipolar disorder. Symbyax treats the depression stages of the illness without triggering mania, said Marni Lemons, a spokeswoman for the Indianapolis-based drug company. "
$4.3 Million Available to Support Statewide Family Network and Consumer Network GrantsDecember 18 SAMHSA press release - " The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting grant applications for fiscal year 2004 to provide funding for family and consumer networks that support effective substance abuse and mental health service delivery to address the needs of children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances, and their families. SAMHSA anticipates that there will be $2.8million available in 2004 for 43 Statewide Family Network grants, with a limit of one award per state, of up to $60,000 per year. In addition, there will be $1.5 million available in 2004 for 20-22 statewide Consumer Network Grants of up to $70,000 per year, with a limit of one award per state." The application deadline is February 25.
Depressed Mind Responds Differently to Different Therapies Health Central story - "Patients who engage in cognitive or 'talk; therapy to recover from depression show brain changes that differ from what occurs with drug therapy, new research finds. The study shows for the first time with imaging evidence that the depressed brain responds differently to different treatments -- and the results may help doctors understand why one treatment works for one patient but not another, says study author Dr. Helen Mayberg. Her report appears in the January issue of the
Archives of General Psychiatry."
A devastating scourge: suicides outnumber car fatalities (Canada)Winnipeg Sun story - "More Manitobans killed themselves in 2002 than died in car accidents -- a statistic that holds true across Canada and that must change, says the president of the Canada Safety Council. ... More than 4,000 Canadians killed themselves in 1999, 37% more than died from car accidents, Therien said. Another 23,000 were hospitalized after attempting suicide, he said."
Arkansas executes mentally ill inmateCNN story - "A mentally ill Arkansas man whose lawyers had argued the state couldn't legally execute him was put to death Tuesday night, while another death row inmate in the state won a last-minute stay of execution. ... Singleton's case had attracted the attention of mental health organizations and death penalty opponents, who point to a 1986 Supreme Court decision barring executing the insane. A 1990 Supreme Court decision allows the forced medication of inmates in certain cases. In February 2003, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that states may forcibly administer anti-psychotic medication to control a prisoner's behavior, even if doing so renders the prisoner eligible for execution. "
