Monday, July 26, 2004

Geriatric Psychiatry: A Subspecialty Whose Time Has Come
Editorial introducing a special issue of the Journal of the Canadian Psychiatric Association - "As the demographic imperative increases with the aging of our society, the need for geriatric psychiatry services will continue to grow. This will lead to increasing demands in an already underserviced area. Recruitment to geriatric psychiatry suffers because it tends to be an 'acquired taste,' with residents recognizing their interest after clinical rotations, often late in their training. Subspecialty recognition will strengthen the awareness and the profile of geriatric psychiatry, increasing the likelihood of recruitment into the practice. It will lead to national standards and specific training requirements, improving the education of subspecialists and general psychiatrists alike. This will be advantageous not only for our profession but also for our patients..." See also, in the same issue, Canadian Outcomes Study in Dementia: Study Methods and Patient Characteristics, Exploring the Links Between Depression, Integrity, and Hope in the Elderly and Defining Best Practices for Specialty Geriatric Mental Health Outreach Services: Lessons for Implementing Mental Health Reform, all in Adobe Acrobat format.  
  

Risk of suicidal behaviour is similar for SSRIs and tricyclics
Brief item in the British Medical Journal on the study publiched in JAMA noted here last week - "Risk of suicidal behaviour after starting to take antidepressants was similar for four antidepressant drugs, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants..." See also the "rapid responses" feature that allows BMJ subscribers to post substantive responses.