Friday, June 17, 2005

Behavior: In Childhood Depression, Not the Usual Suspects June 14 New York Times story - "Contrary to researchers' expectations, dysfunctional family relationships and poor communication styles appear to have little effect on whether young children become depressed, a study has found. Skip to next paragraph More Columns: Vital Signs While many children under 5 exhibit symptoms of depression, they often have not been exposed to known risk factors, experts find. And many children who are exposed to those risk factors appear to be resilient. In the study, Australian researchers looked at many factors, including marital partner change, mothers' health in pregnancy, a child's health in the first six months of life and maternal anxiety in more than 5,000 mothers over a period of five years. But few of them correlated with early childhood depression. The authors warned that their results, published in the June issue of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, depended on reports by mothers about their children's experiences, and that the mothers' emotional states might have affected those reports..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Certain antipsychotic drugs pose risk for elderly with dementia Brief Canadian Press story at PsycPORT - "Elderly patients with dementia should avoid taking certain antipsychotic medications because of an increased risk of death, says a warning issued by Health Canada. Recent studies of the drugs, known as second-generation, or atypical, antipsychotics, show that elderly patients with dementia prescribed the medications had a death rate 1.6 times higher than that of patients taking a placebo, or dummy pill. The studies examined risperidone (Risperdal), quetiapine (Seroquel) and olanzapine (Zyprexa). There were no studies on clozapine (Clozaril) in older patients with dementia, but because Clozaril is from the same family of drugs, it is included in Wednesday's advisory."  
  

Gov. Blagojevich signs legislation expanding mental health services for children in state care (Illinois) Illinois Governor's Office press release - "Gov. Rod. R. Blagojevich signed legislation today that puts Illinois on the cutting edge of addressing the mental health needs of children in state care and reflects an ongoing commitment to improving services for children. 'The children who come into state custody have been through incredible trauma - from the neglect or abuse that led up to DCFS intervention, to the anxiety and stress of being separated from their families. It’s imperative that our efforts to help these kids includes a comprehensive mental health component,' said Gov. Blagojevich. 'With this law, Illinois is taking an unprecedented step to meet the needs of children in our care - a step that I hope other states will follow. Our investment in these young people’s health and development now will pay off ten-fold as they grow up and become stable, productive adults.'"  
  

Mental Health Treatment Becoming More Common Story at WebMD - "More people are seeking mental health help than a decade ago, but most people with diagnosable mental illnesses still lack treatment, a new study shows. The report appears in The New England Journal of Medicine's June 16th issue. It's based on face-to-face interviews with thousands of people. Topics covered included anxiety disorders, mood disorders (including depression and bipolar disorder), and substance abuse..." An abstract of the NEJM study is available at no charge, with the full article available for a fee.  
  

Mental health: What's normal, what's not Article at the Mayo Clinic web site - "What's the difference between mental health and mental illness? Sometimes the answer is relatively clear. Sometimes it isn't. People who hear voices in their heads may have schizophrenia, for instance. And those with grandiose ideas — who believe they can run the United Nations, even though they have no applicable experience — may have a form of bipolar disorder. But more often the answer is less clear-cut. If you can't give a speech in public, does it mean you have a disease or simply a run-of-the-mill case of nerves? If you feel sad and discouraged, are you just experiencing a passing case of the blues, or is it full-fledged depression, for which you may need medication? Just what is normal, anyway?..."