Friday, March 05, 2004

Pavlovian psychopharmacology
Article in the latest APA Monitor - "New research suggests that, in response to internal cues, the body learns to anticipate and counteract some physiological effects of drugs."  
  

Anti-depressants 'cause bleeding' (UK)
BBC story - "Elderly people and those with a history of bleeding disorders have been warned of the risk of taking certain types of anti-depressants. Experts say a group of anti-depressants called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or SSRIs may predispose some people to internal bleeding. Writing in the Drug and Therapeutic Bulletin, they said the drugs should not be given to 'at risk' groups. The Department of Health said clearer warnings were being considered." See also the press release from the Drug and Therapeutic Bulletin (in Adobe Acrobat format).  
  

Depression in Women Can Hurt the Heart
HealthDayNews story at Yahoo - "Women with coronary artery disease who show signs of depression are twice as likely to die as women with coronary artery disease who have no symptoms of depression, says a Duke University Medical Center study. ... 'In our study, when we statistically controlled for the effects of age, as well as the beating capacity of the heart, depressive symptoms still remained an independent predictor of mortality,' Duke psychologist Anastasia Georgiades says in a prepared statement. 'The key question that still remains to be answered is whether or not depression actually can lead to worse outcomes, or whether depression is an indicator, or marker, for some other risk factor,' Georgiades says."