Thursday, May 19, 2005

Managing maternal depression during pregnancy presents significant challenge to clinicians University of Pittsburgh Medical Center press release - "Women who take antidepressants during the final trimester of pregnancy through delivery increase the risk of 'neonatal behavioral syndrome,' a constellation of symptoms and behaviors largely related to drug withdrawal or side effects, University of Pittsburgh researchers conclude in a review of medical literature. Such findings reveal an additional challenge for clinical management of depression during pregnancy, Eydie Moses-Kolko, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and her colleagues write in the May 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association." See also the free abstract at JAMA.  
  

Child Abuse Death Risk High in Military Families HealthDay story at Yahoo - "Children from military families are twice as likely to die from severe abuse as other children are, according to a North Carolina study. Based on the findings, the pediatric experts who led the study are calling on officials at the Pentagon to do more to investigate the reasons children growing up in military households face such risks. The study was presented Tuesday at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, in Washington, D.C. Researchers at the North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute examined cases of child abuse murders in North Carolina from 1985 to 2000.  
  

Drug Firms Plan One-Stop Website for Trials Data Reuters Health story at Medscape - "The pharmaceutical industry plans to launch a global website in September, pooling information on ongoing and completed clinical trials, as it steps up a campaign to reassure patients about medicine safety. The Geneva-based International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations said on Monday that IBM would develop the Internet search portal, which will tap into information held in industry trial registries and databases. Drugmakers in the United States, Europe and Japan agreed in January on a voluntary code to publish detailed clinical trials data and said at the time they were exploring ways to make this information available through a single 'window'. The new portal will establish links to company websites and other commercial and government-sponsored websites containing information provided by firms." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

New Ways of Integrating Psychiatry and Medicine Psychiatric Times article - "Attempts have been made to integrate psychiatry and medicine as far back as Benjamin Rush, a physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Recent advances in research, clinical practice and organizational makeup, however, now make integration seem more plausible than ever..."  
  

Psychiatric Aspects of HIV: Optimizing Care for Patients Article in Psychiatric Times - "Mental illness occurs more frequently among people infected with HIV. In addition, individuals with mental illnesses are at greater risk for contracting HIV. Therefore, psychiatry has a great deal to offer in the management of patients with HIV--whether through proper patient education or safe and effective psychopharmacology."  
  

Atypical Antipsychotic Use Does Not Lead to Poor Pregnancy Outcomes Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Pregnant women who take atypical antipsychotics do not appear to be at increased risk of having offspring with major malformations, Canadian investigators report. 'Optimal control of the psychiatric disorder should be maintained throughout the pregnancy and the postpartum period,' they say. Nonetheless, 'All pregnancies in which a woman requires an antipsychotic medication should be considered high risk because of the mother's diagnosis, and both mother and fetus should be carefully monitored throughout the pregnancy and thereafter,' the researchers advise in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Medical Journals Are an Extension of the Marketing Arm of Pharmaceutical Companies Article in PLoS Medicine on the influence of pharmaceutical companies on published research - "... By 2003 it was possible to do a systematic review of 30 studies comparing the outcomes of studies funded by the pharmaceutical industry with those of studies funded from other sources. Some 16 of the studies looked at clinical trials or meta-analyses, and 13 had outcomes favourable to the sponsoring companies. Overall, studies funded by a company were four times more likely to have results favourable to the company than studies funded from other sources."  
  

Gov. Blunt Signs Legislation To Tax Managed Care Providers, Draw Additional Federal Medicaid Funds (Missouri)Item in the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report - "Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt (R) on Friday signed legislation (SB 189) that will impose a new tax on Medicaid managed care providers to bring in additional federal dollars, the AP/Kansas City Star reports. The tax, which takes effect with the state budget on July 1, is expected to generate $51.2 million. The additional revenue will be spent on Medicaid, bringing in an additional $73.8 million in federal funds, according to the state Department of Social Services. Of $125 million total, $56 million will be used to increase Medicaid reimbursements to managed care companies, and the rest will be earmarked for general Medicaid spending..."  
  

Health Information Online Report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project (in Adobe Acrobat format)- "Eight in ten internet users have looked online for information on at least one of 16 health topics, with increased interest since 2002 in diet, fitness, drugs, health insurance, experimental treatments, and particular doctors and hospitals. ... Twenty-three percent of internet users have looked online for information about depression, anxiety, stress, or mental health issues, which is statistically the same as in 2002 when 21% of internet users reported doing this type of search. As in 2002, online women are more likely than online men to search for mental health information on the internet (26% vs. 19%)."  
  

Mothers' Antidepressants Could Harm Newborns Scripps Howard story reprinted at PsycPORT - "Newborns of women who took antidepressant drugs during the final three months of pregnancy face an increased risk of behavioral and respiratory problems, a new report shows. 'Neonatal behavior syndrome' is the name for symptoms and behaviors thought to be related to drug withdrawal or side effects. They include tremors or jitteriness, stiffened muscle tone, irritability, feeding or digestive problems, excessive crying, sleep disturbances or breathing problems. While most problems related to the drugs are mild and usually end within about two weeks of birth, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found some cases severe enough to require hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit. "  
  

More bucks may go to GIs' mental healthAP story at the Tucson Citizen - "A House spending panel, concerned that soldiers and veterans are not getting the mental health services they need, agreed yesterday to boost spending on military health care by billions of dollars. Lawmakers commissioned a study on post-traumatic stress disorder. ... The subcommittee agreed to devote $2.2 billion to veterans mental health care and instructed the Veterans Affairs Department to devote 20 percent of its research money to mental health issues. The programs are part of a $85.2 billion bill funding next year's soldiers and veterans benefits, along with military construction."  
  

Community care closings displace patients (South Carolina) AP story at Dateline Alabama - "More than 100 residents who live in community care facilities throughout South Carolina may be displaced after several announced they were closing, state health officials said Wednesday. The closings came up at a special commission meeting of the state Department of Mental Health, which learned at least three facilities would close by mid-July. That would leave about 72 mental health patients without beds, a problem for an agency already trying to find additional space and care for acute and long-term care patients."