Tuesday, January 27, 2004
A Guide for Consumer Organization Leadership: Principles for PracticeAdobe Acrobat version of a report from the National Empowerment Center, made available at the
Open Minds web site - " The purpose of this guidebook is to provide information about leading your organization toward that future. It summarizes those key leadership issues that are likely to be most relevant to the situations you face as consumer leaders. It provides information that will augment and enrich your current leadership practices and assist you in building new skills. The guide is broad-scoped, but with a premium on brevity. While it hopefully covers the more important leadership topics, it also leaves out others of necessity. Those we address, albeit briefly, contain references other resources where further information can be found...." See also the
National Empowerment Center web site.
Mood Disorder Signaling Pathway Implicated in SchizophreniaReuters Health story at
Medscape - "A signaling pathway linked to mood disorders may also play a role in schizophrenia, according to a report published in the January 25th online issue of
Nature Genetics. Because it is a target for lithium, AKT1-GSK3beta signaling has been implicated in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder. However, it was unclear if alterations in such pathways were also involved in other psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia." "med"
Medscape Psychiatry Journal Scan, December 2003"Journal Scan 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].
FDA Weighs Anti-Depressant Risk to KidsAP story at
PsycPORT - "Parents of children with depression must sort through an emotionally charged controversy in deciding on treatment: Do popular adult antidepressants sometimes increase the risk of suicide when they're given to kids? British authorities last month declared a list of common antidepressants unsuitable for children, citing that possibility. Next week, U.S. health authorities open public hearings on the issue, at which parents who blame the drugs for children's deaths are expected to face families who credit the same pills for saving lives."
Caution Urged on Anti-Psychotic DrugsAP story reprinted at
PsycPORT - "People taking certain drugs for schizophrenia, manic-depression, autism, dementia or several other psychiatric disorders should be carefully watched for signs they are developing diabetes, obesity or high cholesterol, four medical societies say. The recommendation follows recent studies that link those potential side effects to certain anti-psychotic drugs. The statement deals with six now available in the United States: Abilify, Clozaril, Geodon, Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa. The recommendation, released Tuesday, comes from the American Diabetes Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. It appears in the February issue of the journal Diabetes Care."
Local substance-abuse program for youths to get $5-million grantPortsmouth Herald story - "In an effort to curb underage alcohol consumption and drug abuse, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation announced a $5 million grant to New Futures, a nonpartisan advocacy organization working to reduce underage alcohol problems and increase access to treatment in New Hampshire. New Futures will receive $1 million each year from NHCF over the next five years."
CMHA plans temporary shutdown of local branch (Canada)Story in the
Melfort Journal - "Services offered by Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in the city will come to an abrupt end next week because of a funding shortfall at the provincial level. The Melfort branch is one of two in the province slated for a complete shutdown for a seven-week period beginning Feb. 6 unless the provincial government or Kelsey Trail Health Region comes through with emergency funding. Lori Parsons, a member of the mental health support group in Melfort, said even a temporary loss of the services provided by the branch co-ordinator will have a major impact on those who use the CMHA's services in the city."
Statement by Michael Mathes, President of NAMI Florida On Governor Bush's FY 2005 BudgetPR Newswire press release at
Yahoo - "There are more than 600,000 Floridians living with a serious mental illness. For them, Governor Bush's budget proposals take away the hope of recovery and a productive life. By seeking to overturn a person's right to effective depression and anti-psychotic medications, he closes the door on the ability of thousands of Floridians to live with their illness."
Housing studied for Nevada's mentally illLas Vegas Sun story - "Members of a legislative committee have agreed to push for more housing and services for the mentally ill in Nevada. The committee, headed by Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, also called for increased training of police and correctional officers who deal with the mentally ill. Carlos Brandenburg, administrator of the state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services, told the committee Monday that housing for Nevada's mentally ill is 'woefully inadequate'..."
14-month mental health delays for children in panel system (UK)Story in
The Herald - "Chrildren with mental health problems are being forced to wait up to 14 months for vital consultations with psychiatrists and psychologists, hampering the work of the hearing system. Experts warned that, without treatment, mental health problems could affect children's offending behaviour or they could harm themselves..."
