Monday, February 21, 2005

Outcome can be good for adolescents after first psychotic episode Psychiatry Matters story - "Contrary to previous reports, adolescents show significant improvement in symptoms following treatment for a first psychotic episode, with many engaged in employment or schooling 2 years later, study findings show. 'Although the current findings do not indicate that adolescents with psychosis have an excellent prognosis, they do not reveal the chronic, bleak outcome that some studies of early-onset psychosis describe,' Alissa Pencer and colleagues, from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, write in the journal Psychiatry Research. For their study, the team examined symptomatic and functional outcome in 69 adolescents 1 and 2 years after receiving optimal treatment for their first episode of psychosis. The findings for these adolescents were also compared with data for an adult sample attending the same program and receiving the same treatment approach."  
  

Atypical depression a variant of bipolar II disorder Psychiatry Matters story - " Researchers have found a strong link between atypical depression and bipolar validators, and suggest that atypicality may serve as a bridge between unipolar depression and bipolar II disorder. 'Although increasing data link atypical depression to the bipolar spectrum, controversies abound about the extent of the overlap,' note Hagop Akiskal (University of California at San Diego, USA) and Franco Benazzi (E Hecker Outpatient Psychiatry Center, Ravenna, Italy). The researchers interviewed 348 patients with bipolar II disorder and 254 with major depressive disorder (MDD), all of whom were presenting with major depressive episodes (MDEs), using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the structured Family History Screen, and the Hypomania Interview Guide..."  
  

Hyperactive kids most likely to be removed (UK) Brief UPI story at PsycPORT - "A Bracknell, England, mental health study suggests children suffering from hyperactivity are the most likely to be removed from their homes. The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service authored the study that indicates severely hyperactive children are three times more likely to be removed from their families than children with other mental health or behavioral problems. The study noted parents of hyperactive children often have a difficult time coping with the disorder..."  
  

ERs Underdiagnosing Psychiatric Illness Health Day News story at Yahoo - "U.S. hospital emergency departments greatly underdiagnose psychiatric disorders, resulting in unnecessary suffering among patients, a new study finds. Missing these diagnoses 'is potentially the most damaging for the more vulnerable minorities and the poor, who rely on emergency departments for much of their primary health-care needs,' the researchers wrote in the February issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology."