Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Psychiatrists Debate New Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines Reuters Health story at
Medscape - "As they prepare to compile the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders, psychiatrists from around the world are meeting in Vienna to discuss ways of reforming the current system of diagnosing and classifying psychiatric disorders, which some say is no longer relevant to the day-to-day practice of psychiatry. Professor Ahmed Okasha, the President of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), said that the current system of classification was failing to identify many patients suffering from disorders such as depression because their symptoms often do not meet the strict criteria laid down by the current classification system. ..." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Drug Addiction as a Developmental Disorder New York Times article - "A new study from Yale suggests that drug addiction should be thought of as a developmental disorder, because the changing circuitry of teenagers' brains appears to leave them especially vulnerable to the effects of drugs and alcohol. Dr. R. Andrew Chambers of the Yale School of Medicine, lead author of the article, said addictive drugs worked by stimulating parts of the brain that are changing rapidly in adolescence. In particular, Dr. Chambers said, the drugs tap into a neural imbalance that may underlie teenagers' affinity for impulsive and risky behavior." [Viewing
New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
Access to Recovery SAMHSA press release - "President Bush announced in his State of the Union Address a new substance abuse treatment initiative,
Access to Recovery. This new initiative will provide people seeking drug and alcohol treatment with vouchers to pay for a range of appropriate community-based services. The President proposed $600 million in new funds over the next three years for
Access to Recovery. The first $200 million installment is included in the 2004 budget for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)."
PET Provides Insight Into Schizophrenic Brain Function Society of Nuclear Medicine press release at
InteliHealth - "Schizophrenia is a devastating disease that affects some 2.5 million Americans. Doctors and researchers are striving to better understand this disease; most believe the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) plays a crucial role in the disease - particularly the dopamine regulated by D2 receptors (D2R). A recent study using PET scans backs the theory that irregular transmission of dopamine is present in schizophrenics. Most previous studies of dopamine levels in the brain of schizophrenic patients have shown that they have the same average level of striatal dopamine receptors as the normal population, but that the levels in schizophrenics exhibit greater variation."
Mental health reforms failing to impact on patients, says charity (UK) Society Guardian story - "The government's strategy to improve mental health care is failing, with more than a quarter of people with severe psychiatric problems still being turned away from the NHS or social services, according to research published today. In the largest ever UK survey of mental health service users, the mental health charity Rethink criticised the lack of progress in raising standards since the launch of the national service framework (NSF) for mental health four years ago. The charity's survey of more than 3,000 people with severe mental health problems found that 28% were shunned when seeking help in the last three years." See also the full text of the Rethink report,
Just One Percent (
Adobe Acrobat format).
State gives cost-control incentive for mental care (Massachusetts) Boston Globe story - "... The state of Massachusetts signed a contract that goes into effect July 1 that provides a national for-profit company a financial incentive to keep in check the cost of mental health care for state employees -- joining most major employers and insurers who have used these incentives for years. The state, which estimates it spent roughly $14 million this fiscal year on mental health care for employees who don't belong to health maintenance organizations, will pay United Behavioral Health about $12 million to cover these same 120,000 employees, retirees, and their families next year. If United spends less than $12 million on their care, the company keeps the difference; if it spends more than $12 million, it eats the difference."
