Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Psychiatry for February 2012. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Nicotine Patches Don't Help Pregnant Women Stop Smoking
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 29 (HealthDay News) -- The addition of nicotine-replacement therapy to behavioral cessation support does not increase the rate of smoking abstinence in pregnant women, according to a study published in the March 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Statin Users Less Likely to Suffer From Depression
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 29 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with coronary heart disease, use of statins is associated with reduced risk of having or developing depression, according to a study published online Feb. 21 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
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Group Art Therapy Not Found to Be Helpful in Schizophrenia
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Group art therapy does not improve the mental health or social functioning of patients with schizophrenia, according to a study published online Feb. 28 in BMJ.
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Inactivity and Obesity Relate to Cognitive Impairment in Lupus
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Physical inactivity and obesity are associated with impaired cognitive function, especially executive functions, in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to research published online Feb. 15 in Arthritis Care & Research.
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Sleeping Pill Use Linked to Greater Mortality Risk
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Even relatively small doses of sleeping pills are associated with a more than three-fold higher risk of death, according to a study published online Feb. 27 in BMJ Open.
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Bidirectional Causality for Attention Issues, Video Games
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Children who spend more time playing video games subsequently have more attention problems and impulsivity, and those who are more impulsive or have attention problems spend more time playing video games, according to a study published in the January issue of Psychology of Popular Media Culture.
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Adults With Disabilities at Increased Risk of Violence
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Adults with disabilities face an increased risk of violence, with an even higher risk evident for those with mental illness, according to a review published online Feb. 28 in The Lancet.
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Cognitive Development Stable for Low Birth Weight Infants
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- For very low birth weight (VLBW) babies, there is good stability of cognitive development over time, with a strong correlation between assessments at 2 years of corrected age and at age 5, according to a study published online Feb. 27 in Pediatrics.
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A-Fib Increases Risk of Cognitive, Functional Decline
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with atrial fibrillation are at an increased risk for both cognitive and functional decline, regardless of whether they have a stroke, according to research published online Feb. 27 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
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Red Blood Cell Omega-3 Levels Linked to Brain Volume
MONDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- In adults without clinical dementia, low red blood cell (RBC) levels of omega-3 fatty acids are associated with smaller brain volumes and lower scores on tests of visual memory and executive function, according to a study published in the Feb. 28 issue of Neurology.
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Chemo for Breast Cancer Tied to Long-Term Cognitive Issues
MONDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Women treated with cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF) chemotherapy for breast cancer still experience neuropsychological problems decades later, according to a study published online Feb. 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Combo of Diabetes, Depression Increases Post-MI Mortality
MONDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Having both diabetes and depression significantly increases the risk of dying in the years following a heart attack, beyond the increased risk from either condition alone, according to a study published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
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ASD Meds More Commonly Used by Teens With Comorbid ADHD
FRIDAY, Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to use psychotropic medication if they also have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study published in the Dec. 23 issue of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.
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Variable Mortality Risk for Antipsychotic Use in Elderly
FRIDAY, Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of mortality associated with antipsychotic drug use among elderly residents in nursing homes in the United States varies between drugs, according to a study published online Feb. 23 in BMJ.
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Pseudo-Prospective Analyses ID Alcohol Recovery Correlates
THURSDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Prospective analysis of correlates of alcohol recovery compare favorably with pseudo-prospective studies with time-dependent covariates, but differ from cross-sectional analyses, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
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Teenage Drinking Influenced by Media Exposure to Alcohol
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Media exposure, including viewing films featuring alcohol and alcohol-related merchandise, influence both onset age of teenage alcohol consumption and binge drinking, whereas family drinking characteristics influence only onset age of alcohol consumption, according to a study published online Feb. 20 in BMJ Open.
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Study IDs the Rationalizations of Social Smokers
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Social smokers do not see themselves as addicted smokers and often smoke in response to group norms or because of excessive alcohol consumption, according to research published online Feb. 20 in Tobacco Control.
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Review Looks at Comparative Effects of Antipsychotics in Youth
TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- There is limited evidence for the comparative benefits and harms of antipsychotics in children and young adults, according to a review published online Feb. 20 in Pediatrics.
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Alcohol Dependence Significant Problem for U.S. Surgeons
TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- A considerable number of U.S. surgeons have alcohol abuse and dependence, which is more likely in those who have recently reported major errors, are burned out, and are depressed, according to a study published in the February issue of the Archives of Surgery.
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Psychiatric History Common in Gender Identity Disorder
MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Young patients presenting with gender identity disorder often have significant psychiatric history; and youth in the top decile of gender nonconformity have elevated exposure to abuse, according to two studies published online Feb. 20 in Pediatrics.
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Group-Based Lifestyle Program Beneficial in Prediabetes
MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- A group-based diabetes education and lifestyle program is associated with improvements in healthy eating, physical activity, and motivation and mood, and reduces waist circumference and weight in individuals with prediabetes, according to a study published online Feb. 14 in Diabetes Care.
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White Matter Changes Precede Manifestations of Autism
MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The development of white matter pathways is abnormal in infants before manifestations of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), according to a study published online Feb. 17 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
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Smoking Cessation Drug May Also Reduce Drinking
FRIDAY, Feb. 17 (HealthDay News) -- The smoking cessation drug varenicline (VAR) may also reduce alcohol consumption in social drinkers by increasing alcohol's aversive effects, according to a study published online Feb. 16 in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
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Overdose Prevention Programs Using Opioid Antagonist
THURSDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Naloxone, an opioid antagonist, is being used by at least 188 overdose prevention programs in the United States, but many states with high death rates due to heroin or other opioid overdose do not include naloxone distribution in their programs, according to research published in the Feb. 17 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report.
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Autism Spectrum Disorders Linked to Motor Impairment
THURSDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Motor skills are impaired in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and this impairment correlates with autistic severity and IQ, according to a study published online in Autism.
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Infants Comprehend Some Words As Early As 6 Months
THURSDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Infants already know the meanings of several common words at 6 months of age, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Smoking Bans Lead to Less, Not More, Smoking at Home
THURSDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Smoke-free legislation leads to less smoking in smokers' homes, not more, according to research published online Feb. 13 in Tobacco Control.
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Brief Cognitive Screens at Primary Care Visits Effective
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Brief cognitive screening of older patients combined with further evaluation, if needed, in the primary care setting leads to a two- to three-fold increase in the diagnosis of cognitive impairment, including dementia, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
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Behavioral Therapy Safe and Effective for Hot Flashes
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Women who develop problematic hot flashes after breast cancer treatment, where hormone replacement therapy is contraindicated, see significant improvement in quality of life after receiving behavioral therapy, according to a study published online Feb. 15 in The Lancet Oncology.
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Mediterranean Diet Linked to Healthier Brain Matter
TUESDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Consumption of a Mediterranean-style diet (MeDi) is linked to a reduced burden of white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV), a marker of small vessel brain damage, according to a study published in the February issue of the Archives of Neurology.
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Pollutant Exposure Tied to Cognitive Decline in Elderly
TUESDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) (coarse PM: 2.5 to 10 µm in diameter [PM2.5-10] and fine PM: <2.5 µm in diameter [PM2.5]) is associated with faster cognitive decline in older women, according to a study published in the Feb. 13 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Increases in [18F]FDDNP Tied to Future Cognitive Decline
MONDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) -- For individuals without dementia, increases in 2-(1-{6-[(2-fluorine 18-labeled fluoroethyl)methylamino]-2-napthyl}ethylidene) malononitrile ([18F]FDDNP) positron emission tomography (PET) binding in brain regions are associated with future cognitive decline, according to a study published in the February issue of the Archives of Neurology.
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Big Waistline in HIV Tied to Neurocognitive Impairment
MONDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Central obesity is linked to an increased risk of decreased mental functioning in HIV-positive individuals, according to a study published in the Feb. 14 issue of Neurology.
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Mindfulness Therapy Improves Bipolar Disorder Symptoms
MONDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) may improve mood, emotional regulation, well-being, and functioning in individuals with bipolar disorder, according to a study published in the February issue of CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics.
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Risk of Collision Doubles for Drivers Using Cannabis
FRIDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Drivers under the influence of cannabis are twice as likely to be involved in motor vehicle collisions, particularly fatal collisions, according to research published online Feb. 9 in BMJ.
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Testosterone Patches Improve Low Sexual Desire Disorder
THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Evidence suggests that transdermal testosterone patches may relieve symptoms of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in postmenopausal women, according to a review published online Feb. 3 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
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Parkin Has Key Role in Human Nigral Dopaminergic Neurons
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Parkin may control dopamine utilization in the human midbrain by enhancing dopaminergic neurotransmission and suppressing dopamine oxidation, according to a study published online Feb. 7 in Nature Communications.
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Neuropsychiatric Events Have No Long-Term Impact in Lupus
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Neuropsychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are not associated with long-term disease activity, the accumulation of organ damage, or overall health-related quality of life, according to a study published online Jan. 30 in Arthritis Care & Research.
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Cognitive Impairment Criteria Impact Alzheimer's Diagnosis
TUESDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Using revised criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the vast majority of patients with very mild or mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) would be reclassified as having MCI, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in the Archives of Neurology.
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Fluoxetine, Venlafaxine Tied to Drop in Adult Suicide Behaviors
MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with the antidepressants fluoxetine hydrochloride and venlafaxine hydrochloride is associated with a reduction in suicidal thoughts and behavior in adult and geriatric patients and has no impact on such thoughts or behavior in youths, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Social Exclusion Impacts Child Physical Activity Behaviors
MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- For children, simulated ostracism is associated with reduced participation in physical activity, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in Pediatrics.
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More Than 4,500 Children Hospitalized for Abuse in 2006
MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- More than 4,500 children were hospitalized due to serious physical abuse in 2006, and 300 of these children died in the hospital due to physical abuse, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in Pediatrics.
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Startle Response Up in Early-Onset Alcohol Dependence
MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Early-onset alcohol-dependent patients have increased acoustic startle responses compared with late-onset alcohol-dependent patients or healthy controls, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
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Same Gene Variants in Early- and Late-Onset Alzheimer's
FRIDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Rare variants of three genes linked to early-onset Alzheimer's disease can also be found in individuals with late-onset Alzheimer's disease, suggesting that mutations are not the only factor affecting age of onset, according to a study published online Feb. 1 in PloS One.
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New Assay IDs Individuals With Major Depressive Disorder
FRIDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- A multi-assay, serum-based test can be used to distinguish individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) from controls, with high specificity and sensitivity, according to a study published online Dec. 13 in Molecular Psychiatry.
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Many Self-Harming Youth Get Inadequate Mental Health Care
FRIDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Many adolescents who are treated in emergency departments for deliberately harming themselves do not receive adequate mental health assessments or follow-up community care, according to research published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
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Increased ADHD Rates in Children Exposed to Anesthesia
FRIDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Repeated exposure to general anesthesia before age 2 years is associated with increased risk for later development of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study published in the February issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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Heart Failure Linked to Loss of Cerebral Gray Matter
THURSDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Heart failure is associated with loss of gray matter (GM) in the brain and worse cognitive function, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in the European Heart Journal.
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National Suicide Guidelines Help Cut Suicide Rates
THURSDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Local implementation of national suicide recommendations reduces suicide rates, particularly in deprived catchment areas, according to a study published online Feb. 2 in The Lancet.
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Occasional Hard Drug Use in Mid-Life Hikes Mortality Risks
THURSDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The occasional use of hard drugs in middle age is linked to significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality, according to a study published online Jan. 25 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
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β-Amyloid Deposition Seen in Some Healthy Older Adults
THURSDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Elevated β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition is seen in some healthy older adults and is associated with worse cognitive performance, according to a study published online Feb. 1 in Neurology.
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Exercise Aids Health, Well-Being of Cancer Survivors
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise is associated with improvements in physical functions and quality of life in patients who have completed cancer treatment, according to a meta-analysis published online Jan. 31 in BMJ.
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