Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Brain Researchers to Develop New Class of Drugs to Repair Psychiatric Disorders
University of British Columbia press release - " 'Smart' drugs capable of targeting specific brain cells to control psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia may be ready for early clinical trials within three years, with the launch of a $1.5 million project to take place at the Brain Research Centre (BRC), a partnership of the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI). The new drugs would be the first significant change in decades to medications used to treat psychiatric disorders, says neuroscientist and team leader Yu Tian Wang, a UBC professor of Medicine and BRC member."  
  

Depressed Workers on the Job Hurt the Bottom Line
Psychiatric News story - "Major depression diminishes work performance in terms of both productivity and task focus, resulting in workers missing the equivalent of 2.3 days a month. Lost productivity due only to employee absenteeism may underestimate the true effect of depression on people's work lives. A study in the October American Journal of Psychiatry suggests that diminished productivity while workers are on the job—what has been called "presenteeism"—may significantly add to the costs attributable to untreated or inadequately treated depression. Moreover, compared with other conditions that significantly impact on-the-job productivity, depression appears to be among the most debilitating, according to the study."