Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Social supports lessen effects of maltreatment on children vulnerable to depression
Yale University press release at EurekAlert - "Maltreated children who are genetically pre-disposed to depression can be spared lifelong emotional problems if the necessary social supports are made available to them, according to a Yale study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. There are nearly one million substantiated reports of child maltreatment each year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Joan Kaufman, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and author of the study, said many, but not all abused children develop chronic difficulties, particularly depression. Previous studies have shown that a malfunction in the serotonin transporter gene is associated with the development of depression, but only in adults with histories of childhood maltreatment or recent stressful life events. After the release of serotonin from a cell into the synapse, this transporter takes the extra serotonin back into the cell so it is not degraded. In genetic pre-disposition to depression, fewer and less efficient transporter molecules are made."  
  

Problems Linger for Recovering Alcoholics
Health Day News story reprinted at Yahoo - "Even with prolonged sobriety, alcoholics can have problems with visual perception and frontal executive brain function, which can make it hard for them to do things such as read maps or put together puzzles, according to a study in the November issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Researchers compared 51 recently detoxified alcoholic men with 63 non-alcoholic men. Men in both groups were asked to complete a picture fragment identification task, assessing their ability to identify line drawings of common objects or animals when they were only partially visible. Compared to the men in the control group, the alcoholic men had to see more of a complete image before they could identify the animals or object, the researchers report."  
  

Growing drug problem amongst young & depressed (UK)
Brief story at PharmiWeb - "Researchers at the University of London have highlighted a worrying trend in the treatment of depression amongst young people. The research compares prescribing rates between 2000 and 2002 in countries in Europe, South America and North America. In this period alone the UK saw a 68% rise in children and young people being prescribed drugs that either stimulate or calm the brain, the bulk of these coming in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder."  
  

The Expanding Role of Antipsychotic Pharmacotherapy in Bipolar Disorder
A new Medscape CME unit - "Bipolar disorder is one of the most symptomatically complex disorders in psychiatry. The presence of multiple phases of the disorder with varied presentations in each phase makes it challenging to both diagnose and treat. Until recently, studies and medications specifically targeted for bipolar disorder were few in number. This clinical and scientific dearth is now changing for a number of reasons." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Depression May Raise Risk of Dementia
Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "Depression and manic depression are associated with dementia, and the more often a patient is hospitalized for these mental illnesses the greater their risk, Danish researchers report. The study involved an analysis of all hospital admissions for mental illnesses that took place in Denmark between 1970 and 1999. The study included 18,726 patients with depression and 4248 with manic depression, also called bipolar disorder."