Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Combination SSRI and CBT Most Effective for Adolescent Depression
Medscape Medical News story - "Adolescents with major depressive disorder are more likely to respond to a combination of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine (Prozac) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) than to either as monotherapy, according to investigators of a publicly funded study who presented their findings here at the 51st annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). In addition, the researchers found that the combination — and each therapy alone — were more effective than placebo, said principal investigator John S. March, MD. He spearheaded the Teenage Depression Study (TADS), which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

New technologies shed light on schizophrenia
APA press release reprinted at EurekAlert - "Researchers at the Boston Veterans Affairs Health Care System – Brockton Division, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Massachusetts-Boston are using new imaging technology to gather valuable information about the brains of people with schizophrenia. This new variety of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Using DTI on patients with schizophrenia, neuropsychologists have related smaller sizes in two distinct webs of brain fibers to two distinct types of cognitive malfunction. The findings appear in the October issue of Neuropsychology.."