Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Psychiatry for June 2008. 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.
Medicaid Mental Services Increase with More Funding
MONDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- Increased funding of Medicaid mental health services and expansion of Medicaid's Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program in California resulted in increased delivery of mental health services, especially in rural areas and communities historically receiving low levels of funding, according to study findings published in the June issue of Medical Care.
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Variant Linked to Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity
THURSDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- In children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, those with the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val108/158Met polymorphism are more likely to demonstrate poor task-oriented behavior, according to a report published online June 25 in Neuropsychopharmacology.
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Mouse Model Replicates Some Aspects of Learning Disorders
WEDNESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- A mouse model of tuberous sclerosis, a disorder associated with mental retardation, autism and epilepsy, replicates some aspects of the disorder such as the defects in learning and memory, which can be reversed with a drug, according to study findings published online June 22 in Nature Medicine.
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Automated Imaging Method Identifies Alzheimer's Patients
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- An automated method to measure hippocampal volume can accurately distinguish between patients with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment or healthy elderly patients, according to research published in the July issue of Radiology.
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Personal Benefit Motivates Medical Research Participation
MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- Patients participated in the Evaluation of Subcutaneous Proleukin (Interleukin-2) in a Randomized International Trial (ESPRIT) study because they hoped to personally benefit from the results, but they also felt a sense of pride in participating to help others, according to a report published in the June 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Subtle Signs Can Reveal Cognitive Decline
MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- Older community-dwelling adults who have no overt signs of neurological disease but who have multiple subtle neurological abnormalities are at increased risk of cerebrovascular events and mortality, according to study findings published in the June 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Saturated Fat Linked to Poorer Memory, Brain Changes
MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- A diet high in cholesterol and saturated fat was associated with memory impairment and hippocampal changes in rats, according to research published in June in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
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Article Examines Use of 'Key Opinion Leaders' in Drug Sales
FRIDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- Influential doctors known as "key opinion leaders" are paid generous fees to influence their peers to prescribe a company's drugs and may in fact be considered salespeople by the industry, according to an article in the June 21 issue of BMJ.
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Editorial - Buckwell
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Apnea Linked to Lower Mammillary Body Volume
THURSDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) showed lower mammillary body volumes compared to control subjects, which may be a factor in the memory deficits known to accompany the condition, according to research published in the June 27 Neuroscience Letters.
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Two-Way Link Between Depression and Diabetes
TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- There is a modest association between incident type 2 diabetes and depressive symptoms at baseline, according to the results of a study published in the June 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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FDA Issues Safety Warning for Older Antipsychotic Drugs
TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Labels for older or so-called "conventional" antipsychotic drugs will have to carry boxed warnings of increased risk of death among elderly dementia patients who take the drugs off-label for behavioral problems, similar to warnings already required for newer or "atypical" antipsychotic drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced June 16.
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Overtime Workers Prone to Anxiety and Depression
MONDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- Employees who work overtime are at increased risk of anxiety and depression, according to the results of a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
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Serotonin Affects Response to Perceived Unfairness
MONDAY, June 9 (HealthDay News) -- Changing serotonin function can affect the way individuals react to perceived unfairness, according to a brief report published online June 5 in Science.
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Higher Quality Foster Care Produces Healthier Adults
THURSDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Better quality foster care has important repercussions for the mental and physical well being of foster care alumni, according to a report published in the June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Gene Variants May Influence Smoking Cessation Success
WEDNESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- An investigation into genes that may help smokers achieve successful cessation suggests that molecular genetics may soon help provide anti-smoking therapies to those most likely to benefit from them, according to research published in the June Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Schizophrenia Linked to Genetic Copy Number
WEDNESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- Sporadic cases of schizophrenia lacking a family history are strongly associated with newly arising variations in genetic copy numbers, according to study findings published online May 30 in Nature Genetics.
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Eating Disorder Risk Factors Vary with Gender and Age
TUESDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- The risk factors for eating disorders such as binge eating and purging are different for boys and girls, and change from one age group to another in females, according to the results of a study published in the June issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
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Heavy Cannabis Use Causes Structural Brain Damage
TUESDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- Heavy daily use of cannabis over a prolonged period of time causes structural damage to the hippocampus and amygdala, researchers report in the June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Exposure Therapy Can Avert Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
TUESDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- Among patients with acute stress disorder, exposure-based therapy prevents progression to post-traumatic stress disorder better than trauma-focused cognitive restructuring, according to an article published in the June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Compound Promising for Neurodegenerative Diseases
MONDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have discovered that a small polyphenol molecule that interferes with protein folding can be used to block the formation of toxic β-sheet-rich amyloid aggregates implicated in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, according to an article published online May 30 in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.
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Following Quake, China Responds to Medical Challenges
MONDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- The massive earthquake in southwestern China on May 12 left more than 62,000 people dead, over 23,000 missing and an estimated 360,000 injured survivors, creating a multitude of medical challenges, according to an article in the May 31 issue of The Lancet.
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