Wednesday, December 10, 2003

How to read clinical journals: XI. Everything you always wanted to know about editorials (but were afraid to ask)
A lighthearted yet substantive article by Donald A. Redelmeier and Steven L. Shumak in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. See also How to react when your colleagues haven't read a thing and Sounding like you've read the literature when you haven't read a thing, two previously published related articles by the same author.  All articles are in Adobe Acrobat format.  
  

Helping Young Girls Avoid Depression 
ABC News story - "A new model that looks at genes and environment to identify depression and anxiety in young girls has been developed by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University. The method could help better identify young girls who are at high risk for depression once they enter puberty and begin early intervention. It is outlined in a special October issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry."  
  

Considerations in the Pharmacologic Management of Severe Depression
An October 10 Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health article posted recently in the free area of Medscape - " Unlike the rose that would smell as sweet by any other name, "severe major depression" is a name that subsumes many qualities. For the term "severe" to be of clinical value, it should imply that there is a greater-than-usual degree of impairment and/or that a greater intensity of treatment is required to achieve recovery. The DSM-IV "severe" specifier for a major depressive episode focuses primarily on the impairment aspect, requiring the presence of both "symptoms in excess of what is required to make the diagnosis" and "marked" functional impairment. However, marked impairment may not necessarily warrant a greater intensity of treatment, as patients with greater and lesser degrees of impairment may respond equally well to the same treatment. In contrast, milder persisting forms of depression may require more intense types of treatment for sustained improvement. Determining the severity of an episode of major depression is useful primarily in so far as it can predict the future course of the depression or the level of treatment necessary for improvement." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].