Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Antidepressant Use in Children Soars Despite Efficacy Doubts
Washington Post story - "The number of depressed American children being treated with antidepressants has soared over the past decade -- a tectonic shift in the practice of psychiatry -- but new scientific reviews of the research that fueled the trend suggest that the drugs' benefits have been dramatically oversold. The use of antidepressants among children grew three- to tenfold between 1987 and 1996, data from various studies indicate, and a newer survey found a further 50 percent rise in prescriptions between 1998 and 2002. The explosion in antidepressant use occurred even though the vast majority of clinical trials have failed to prove that the medicines help depressed children."  
  

Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse
This statement, in Adobe Acrobat format, is available from the Open Minds web site - "This statement summarizes the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on behavioral counseling interventions to reduce alcohol misuse in primary care patients and the supporting evidence, and it updates the 1996 recommendations contained in the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, second edition. Explanations of the ratings and of the strength of overall evidence are given in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. The article summarizing the effectiveness of interventions in the adult population and the systematic evidence review on this topic can be obtained through the USPSTF Web site and through the National Guideline Clearinghouse."  
  

Cognitive Function May Be Impaired in Some Older Bipolar Patients
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "A significant proportion of older, euthymic bipolar patients show neuropsychological deficits, according to the findings of a small study. In the April issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. Ariel G. Gildengers and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, in Pennsylvania, report on the cognitive functioning of older patients with bipolar disorder." "med"  
  

Medscape Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, March 2004
Medscape's clinician's guide to the latest clinical research findings in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Psychiatry and Human Development, the British Journal of Psychiatry Australian and the New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Medscape Journal Scan - Psychiatry, March 2004
"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." "med"  
  

A place to call home (New York)
Albany Times-Union story reprinted at the NAMI web site - " Advocates for those with mental disorders say they do better in their own places. But finding a permanent residence can become a real-life odyssey rife with missteps. ... The wait can be long. Tens of thousands of New York residents suffer mental disabilities that make it hard to negotiate a lease, talk to or avoid neighbors, keep a job, even shop for groceries. Willing landlords are few and far between, despite rent subsidies. To them, mental illness spells junkies in the hallway or a screaming match over cracked ceilings. Evictions are common. Many mentally ill tenants have a history of homelessness. Many have been addicted, abused or suicidal. But the idea of home won't relent. Each day they struggle, backed by case managers, peer counselors and staff, to find permanent refuge and launch a better life."  
  

Mental Hospital to Open in Las Vegas in 2006 (Nevada)
KLAS-TV story - "Governor Kenny Guinn has given final approval to building a 150-bed psychiatric hospital to open in Las Vegas by 2006. The governor said today that putting the $32 million dollar hospital on state property near the Community College of Southern Nevada is the most cost-effective option. The proposal had neighbors complaining it would be too close to businesses, schools and their homes about six miles west of the Las Vegas Strip." This page also includes links to three earlier, related stories.  
  

OPC officials shifting focus with mental health reforms (North Carolina)
Courier-Times story - "Person County in May will take the final steps toward joining with Orange and Chatham counties in establishing the machinery that will formally shift their responsibilities to managing mental health-related services rather than providing them. For roughly three decades, Orange, Person and Chatham counties have partnered to provide services for their respective citizens, both adults and children, who needed assistance with mental illnesses, developmental disabilities and drug and substance abuse problems through Orange-Person-Chatham Area Mental Health. But now, North Carolina is invoking broad reforms pertaining to mental health services, and as a part of those reforms, agencies such as OPC are mandated to change their thinking and their approach...."  
  

New Report Finds U.S. Unprepared for Mental Health Impact of Terrorist Acts
PR Newswire press release at Yahoo - "The United States public health and homeland security systems are not adequately prepared for dealing with the psychological effects of terrorism, finds a new report from a Task Force of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). The report asks Congress to take action since current systems ignore mental health planning and do not include science-based approaches for risk communications to the general public..."  
  

Judge rebukes mental health staff for threatening patient (New Zealand)
New Zealand Herald story - "A judge has criticised mental health workers for urging the prosecution of a patient who threatened to kill herself. Judge David Robinson says the Waitemata District Health Board services 'have evaded their responsibility' to the patient, who has a history of mental problems and harming herself. ... The public should be told how mental health workers delivered their services, he said."