Community Surveys of Mental Disorders: Recent Achievements and Works in Progress
Current Opinion in Psychiatry article at Medscape which asks to what extent the recommendations of Lee N. Robins - one of the pioneers of psychiatric epidemiology and author of an important review 25 years ago in the Archives of General Psychiatry - have been fulfilled. [Viewing Medscape resources requiresregistration, which is free].  
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Safety of Antidepressant Drugs in the Patient With Cardiac Disease: A Review of the Literature
Pharmacotherapy article at Medscape - "Patients with cardiac disease, specifically ischemic heart disease and heart failure, have a higher frequency of major depressive disorder than patients without cardiac disease. The pathophysiologic reason for this is not completely understood. Previous depression, other debilitating illnesses, and type A personality are risk factors for the development of depression in cardiac patients. Depression has been shown to lower the threshold for ventricular arrhythmias. Therefore, treatment of depression potentially may prolong life in these patients. Antidepressant options that have been evaluated include several of the tricyclic antidepressants, trazodone, bupropion, and several of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Individual antidepressant drugs vary in their pharmacologic activity and side-effect profiles. Although clinical data are limited, it is important to individualize therapy in order to minimize cardiac adverse effects. Clinicians are encouraged to evaluate patients with cardiac disease for major depressive disorder and to consider antidepressant drug therapy for these patients when appropriate." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
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Structured Care Key in Treating Depression in Minority Women
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story reprinted at PsycPORT - "Providing transportation and child care and taking extra time to establish trust are key components in improving the treatment of depression in low-income minority women, a new study says. The study is one of the first involving primarily blacks and Hispanics -- who traditionally have been underrepresented in such studies -- and suggests that these extra steps, coupled with anti- depressant medication or psychotherapy, are the most effective way to improve their depression symptoms. The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association."  
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SAMHSA Takes First Step Toward Reshaping Addiction Block Grant
Feature story at Join Together - "For years, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has been talking about pushing states to be more accountable for how they spend federal block-grant funds. In late December, absent much fanfare, SAMHSA finally unveiled its proposal for transforming the addiction and mental-health block grants into more demanding -- yet more flexible -- Performance Partnership grants." See also the page indexing related resources at SAMHSA.  
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'Record' suicides among women prisoners (UK)
BBC story - "In the first six months of 2003, 10 female inmates of prisons in England killed themselves - more than in the whole of 2002 - the Prison Reform Trust (PRT) says. And there have been nearly 3,000 incidents of self-harm. ... Previous research by the Office for National Statistics has indicated two out of every three women in prison suffer from at least one mental disorder."  
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