Monday, June 14, 2004
Glaxo to Release Child Depression Trials ResultsReuters Health story at
Medscape - "GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Thursday it plans to release trial results of its depression drug Paxil in children and adolescents after the New York attorney general accused it of suppressing the information. The British drugmaker said that to 'clarify the nature of these data,' which New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said was negative and deliberately hidden, it will shortly be making available summaries of the reports on its Web Site at
www.gsk.com. Spitzer has sued GlaxoSmithKline claiming it fraudulently concealed studies showing Paxil may not work when used to treat children and could lead to suicidal behavior. Glaxo has denied the allegations..." "med"
Distinct Differences Found in Study of Obsessive-compulsive Disorder PatientsDallas Morning News story reprinted at
PsycPORT - "Most people know what compulsive hoarding looks like on the outside. Piles of periodicals, clothes or other clutter are so abundant a person can hardly function. Now, scientists have glimpsed what such hoarding looks like on the inside. Inside the brain, that is. Patients who compulsively hoard have different patterns of brain activity from patients with other forms of OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, PET scans reveal. Researchers report their findings this month in
The American Journal of Psychiatry. The study is among the first to show that there are distinct differences in the brain biology of compulsive hoarders compared with other people with OCD, says the lead researcher, Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, of the University of California, Los Angeles' Neuropsychiatric Institute."
Multiple Stakeholder Agreement on Desired Outcomes for Adolescents' Mental Health Services Abstract of a study published in
Psychiatric Services which "identified desired outcomes for adolescent mental health services according to various stakeholders—adolescents parents, and therapists—and examined agreement across these groups of stakeholders" and concluded that "Consistent with the research on adult mental health services, a lack of consensus was found among key stakeholders on desired outcome priorities for adolescent services. This lack of consensus may limit engagement in treatment and the effectiveness of care." Full text is available for a fee.
Depression, Dementia Can be Confused: Accurate Diagnosis ImportantMenninger Clinic press release - "Depression is the most common psychiatric illness confused with Alzheimer’s disease. Consider the personality and mood changes. Difficulty concentrating. Loss of zest for favorite activities. Mental health professionals at the nationally known Menninger Clinic alert families to become more informed of the similarities of depression and the early onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Other shared symptoms include forgetfulness or lapses in memory, withdrawal from daily activities, indecisiveness, reduced sense of self-esteem, change in sleep patterns, agitation or decrease in energy and change in weight. All of these are symptoms of depression that may or may not be seen with early Alzheimer’s, says Alice Rogan, M.D., psychiatrist at The Menninger Clinic and assistant professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine..."
