Monday, January 24, 2005
The Treatment of Panic Disorder Current Opinion in Psychiatry article at
Medscape - " Purpose of Review: The aim of this article is to provide an updated review of studies and recommendations published from August 2003 to August 2004 on the treatment of panic disorder. Recent Findings: Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy remains the treatment of choice for panic disorder. Recent studies confirm selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors as the first-choice drugs in treating panic disorder. Recommendations for (adjunctive) high-potency benzodiazepines have been published. Psychoeducation and combined pharmacotherapy/psychotherapy improve treatment response. Optimal long-term treatment of panic disorder involves adequate medication and duration of treatment, since relapse is frequent. Summary: Recent studies confirm that cognitive-behavioral therapy, alone or in combination with drug therapy, remains the treatment of choice for panic disorder. Long-term treatment is often necessary due to the chronicity of the illness." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
A Pilot Study of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder American Journal of Psychiatry article at
Mental Help Net - "This article describes pilot testing of interpersonal psychotherapy adapted for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unlike most psychotherapies for PTSD, interpersonal psychotherapy is not exposure-based, focusing instead on interpersonal sequelae of trauma. ... Treating interpersonal sequelae of PTSD appears to improve other symptom clusters. Interpersonal psychotherapy may be an efficacious alternative for patients who refuse repeated exposure to past trauma. This represents an exciting extension of interpersonal psychotherapy to an anxiety disorder."
The Key Assistance ReportA publication (in
Adobe Acrobat format) from the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse that has been recently added to the NMHCSC web site. Published quarterly, the
Key Assistance Report is a technical assistance product designed to help consumers get what they need. Please note that the issue now online was first published in summer 2004.
The Treatment Gap in Mental Health Care Red Nova article - "If disability is to be reduced, a bridging of the 'treatment gap' must occur. The treatment gap represents the absolute difference between the true prevalence of a disorder and the treated proportion of individuals affected by the disorder. Alternatively, the treatment gap may be expressed as the percentage of individuals who require care but do not receive treatment. Estimating the treatment gap in a population depends on the prevalence period of the disorder, the time frame of the examination of service utilization, and the demographic representativeness of the study sample with reference to the target population. The objective of this report is to examine the extent of the treatment gap for selected mental disorders. "
2001-2002 Survey Finds That Many Recover From AlcoholismNational Institute of Health press release - "More than one-third (35.9 percent) of U.S. adults with alcohol dependence (alcoholism) that began more than one year ago are now in full recovery, according to an article in the current issue of Addiction. The fully recovered individuals show symptoms of neither alcohol dependence nor alcohol abuse and either abstain or drink at levels below those known to increase relapse risk. They include roughly equal proportions of abstainers (18.2 percent) and low-risk drinkers (17.7 percent). The analysis is based on data from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a project of the National Institutes of Healths National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)."
Outpatient Commitment Garners Broad Support Psychiatric News story - "Michigan has joined 24 other states in giving courts, police officers, psychiatrists, mental health professionals, and families with a means of forcing people with mental illness into treatment rather than jail. ... Since the nationwide closing of psychiatric hospitals beginning in the 1970s, states have had little power to mandate mental health care, unless someone is dangerous or convicted of a crime. Family members and advocates for mentally ill individuals in Michigan have pushed for Kevin's Law since 2001. Public awareness that the state's mental health care system is broken helped create a consensus for the bill this year."
Why Are Mental Illness Rates Lower in Some Immigrants? Psychiatric News story - "Close-knit family and social supports that Mexican Americans bring when they immigrate appear to help them ward off aspects of U.S. culture that raise risks of psychiatric disorders. Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white immigrants both have a lower prevalence of psychiatric disorders than their U.S.-born counterparts, but Mexican Americans born in the United States retain that advantage over non-Hispanic whites born here, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). "
