Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Mental health reform agreement reached in Nebraska
Health & Medicine Week story, reprinted at the NAMI web site - "After adoption of a mental health reform compromise, leaders in Hastings and Norfolk Nebraska said they will back the plan that could lead to regional centers being closed in their communities. ... The agreement reached with the cities, senators and Governor Mike Johanns calls for keeping the mental health centers open until they drop to at least 20% of capacity and community-based services are operating. The Legislature's Executive Board, a committee made up of nine voting senators, also would have to agree to closing a center before it could happen."  
  

Managing Crisis: The Role of Primary Care for People with Serious Mental Illness
Article, in Adobe Acrobat format, in the January 2004 Family Medicine, called to our attention by CMHA-Ontario's Mental Health Notes newsletter - "Focus groups of people with serious mental illness, general practitioners and nurses in primary care found common concerns over access to, and continuity between, primary and specialist psychiatric care during mental health crises. However, there was no consensus on how to overcome those barriers, according to a study in Family Medicine. Researchers in England held focus groups to better understand the experiences of both consumers and professionals in treating mental health crises in the primary care sector..."  
  

Newer Drugs Appear to Stem Violent Behavior
Duke University Medical School press release - "Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found that a new generation of medications called 'atypical antipsychotics' can significantly lower the risk of violent behavior in people with schizophrenia who are being treated in community-based centers. In a two-year study, the researchers found that patients who consistently took one of the newer medications had less than one-third the incidence of getting into fights or engaging in violent actions toward others, compared to subjects who consistently took one of the older antipsychotic medications. This study is the first to examine the long-term impact of treatment with the newer class of drugs on violent behavior measured directly in the community, under 'real world' conditions, the researchers said. Examples of drugs in this newer class include clozapine, risperidone and olanzapine..."  
  

Surprises found in gene variation associated with schizophrenia
University of Iowa press release - "Approximately 2 percent of Caucasians have a gene segment variation that can cause a certain form of schizophrenia. Most people with the variation, known as a polymorphism, do not have the disease. A University of Iowa Health Care study reveals a good prognosis for people who do have this form of schizophrenia. The team also found that this polymorphism is associated with overall benefits for human survival, and the initial mutation occurred in a single common ancestor about 100,000 years ago. The findings have implications for finding better ways to treat this particular type of schizophrenia and possibly augmenting the positive influences of the polymorphism on human survival. The findings also point the way for studying other gene defects. The UI Research Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) share a patent for this X-chromosome gene polymorphism, known as HOPA12pb. The study results appeared in the February 11 online issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics."  
  

Cannabis Use Linked to Early-Onset Schizophrenia
Reuters Health story - "Among men suffering from schizophrenia, those who had used cannabis were much more likely to experience their first psychotic episode at an early age at, Dutch investigators report. Dr. Natalie D. Veen, from University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, and colleagues looked at gender and cannabis use in 133 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Seventy patients were cannabis users and 97 patients were male. Male patients were significantly younger than female patients when they first became impaired socially or occupationally, when they first exhibited psychosis, and when they first experienced negative symptoms of schizophrenia, the team reports in the American Journal of Psychiatry."  
  

Anxiety Symptoms and Treating Depression
An "Expert Column in Depression" from Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health - "Over the past 10-15 years, the pharmacologic treatment of depression has been greatly advanced, with the introduction of many new medications that have achieved much wider use. However, a variety of problems continue to exist. Many patients do not respond to first-choice treatments, which are usually selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and there are no clear guidelines as to what to do next for such patients. Further, substantial portions of the patients who do benefit from the SSRIs do not achieve full remission, and here also guidelines are lacking as to what to do next. Finally, many depressed patients manifest substantial anxiety symptoms as well; here again, guidelines are lacking as to how these anxiety features should influence treatment selection..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Revised USPSTF Guidelines Support Screening for Alcohol Use in Adults
A new CME unit from Medscape - "Guidelines on screening for alcohol use in adults were revised by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and published in the April 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. These recommendations are in keeping with those of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other professional groups..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

American Psychiatric Foundation Presents First-Ever Minority Mental Health Awards
PR Newswire press release - "The Project for Psychiatric Outreach to the Homeless, Inc. (PPOH), New York, and Dr. Carl C. Bell, Community Mental Health Council and Foundation, Inc., (CMHC), Chicago, are the recipients of the American Psychiatric Foundation's Minority Mental Health Awards. The awards, which were established last year, recognize psychiatrists and mental health programs that are undertaking special efforts to increase public awareness of mental healthcare for underserved minorities; increasing access to mental health services for minorities; and enhancing the quality of care for minorities, especially those who suffer from severe mental illness."  
  

County mental health center hailed for work that improves lives (Illinois)
Story in the Journal-Gazette/Times-Courier on the Coles County Mental Health Center, which hosted a legislative forum on mental health issues yesterday - "Executive Director Kathy Roberts of the center said there are many opportunities now to help people make mental health breakthroughs. She said some of those opportunities include advancements in education, a fading stigma toward mental health treatment, and more community cooperation. For example, the center teamed one year ago with the Human Resources Center of Clark and Edgar counties as well as Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, to form the Regional Behavioral Network..."