May 2006 Briefing - Psychiatry

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Psychiatry for May 2006. 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.

Medicare Drug Benefit Limit Linked to Mortality Risk

WEDNESDAY, May 31 (HealthDay News) -- Limiting Medicare+Choice recipients' drug benefits means lower drug costs but is associated with poorer health, according to research published in the June 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Loneliness Linked to High Blood Pressure in Elderly

WEDNESDAY, May 31 (HealthDay News) -- High systolic blood pressure is associated with loneliness in elderly individuals, according to a report in Psychology and Aging.

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Few Patients Consume Major Slice of U.S. Health Care Pie

TUESDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- A small percentage of the U.S. population continues to account for a disproportionate share of total U.S. health care spending for doctors, hospitals, prescription drugs and other personal health care services, according to a May report published by the U.S. Health and Human Service's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

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Researchers Describe How Ritalin May Work

TUESDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- Methylphenidate appears to work by elevating norepinephrine levels and suppressing nerve signal transmissions in the sensory cortex of awake rats, which could have implications for producing more effective drugs for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a study published online May 10 in the Journal of Neurophysiology.

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More Programs Needed to Curb High School Dating Violence

THURSDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- About 9 percent of high school boys and girls say they have been involved in some form of physical violence with a person they are dating, according to a report published online May 19 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Seven-Item Scale Can Help Diagnose Anxiety Disorder

THURSDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- Possible cases of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) can be screened using a self-administered, seven-item anxiety scale (GAD-7) that can also be used to assess the severity of the condition, according to a study in the May 22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Computer Screening Boosts Domestic Violence Disclosure

TUESDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- A computer-based screening method may increase the odds that a female victim of domestic violence will talk to a health professional about the topic when in the emergency department, according to a report in the May 22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Low Physical Function Linked to Dementia, Alzheimer Risk

MONDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- Lower levels of physical function may be associated with the onset of dementia and Alzheimer disease, according to a study in the May 22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Deprivation Has Lasting Effects on Romanian Adoptees

FRIDAY, May 19 (HealthDay News) -- The adverse effects of the extreme deprivation endured by Romanian adoptees during their early childhood in institutions continue to affect their cognitive development even at age 11, according to a study published in the May/June issue of Child Development.

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Maternal Stress Linked to Child Development

FRIDAY, May 19 (HealthDay News) -- Contrary to popular wisdom, maternal anxiety, depression and stress during pregnancy at mild-to-moderate levels may aid rather than hinder fetal maturation, according to a study published in the May/June issue of Child Development.

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Home-to-Hospital Distance Rising for Terminally Ill

FRIDAY, May 19 (HealthDay News) -- The home-to-hospital distance for patients who are terminally ill has increased over time and is greatest for children, according to a study published in the May issue of Pediatrics.

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Depressed, Anxious Children More Likely to Be Bullied

FRIDAY, May 19 (HealthDay News) -- Children who are depressed and anxious are more likely to be bullied, and bullied children often develop a range of psychosomatic and psychosocial health problems, according to a study published in the May issue of Pediatrics.

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Children in Day Care Still Most Strongly Attached to Parents

THURSDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- Children who are placed in home-based or center-based childcare settings do not develop stronger relationships with their childcare providers than with their parents, according to a study published in the May/June issue of Child Development.

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FDA Approves New Parkinson Disease Treatment

THURSDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new Parkinson disease treatment called Azilect (rasagiline), a monoamine oxidase type-B inhibitor that blocks the breakdown of dopamine. The FDA approved Azilect for use as an initial single drug therapy for patients with early Parkinson disease and as an addition to standard levodopa treatments for patients with advanced disease.

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Parenting Affects Mental Development in VLBW Infants

THURSDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- The cognitive development of children born at very low birth weight (VLBW) and who subsequently have consistently responsive parenting by their mothers is similar to that of their counterparts born at term, and the effect persists for the first 10 years of childhood, according to a study published in the May issue of Pediatrics.

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Brain Scans Measure Lesbian Response to Pheromones

WEDNESDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- A brain imaging study suggests that women who are lesbians respond to putative human pheromones with some similarity to heterosexual men rather than to heterosexual women, according to a report published online May 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

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British Study Discounts Iraq War Syndrome

TUESDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- So far, little evidence suggests the development of an Iraq War syndrome among British soldiers similar to the Gulf War syndrome observed in their counterparts after the 1991 conflict, according to a study published online May 16 by The Lancet.

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Imaging Study Shows Autistic Brain Fails to Rest

TUESDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- Metabolic activity in certain regions of the brain normally associated with resting and daydreaming is absent in patients with autism, according to a report published online May 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

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U.S. Kids' Tennis Success Often Fostered by Parents

TUESDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- Among families of junior tennis players, 59 percent of parents help their kids succeed at junior tennis, but more than one-third hinder their children by being overly critical or expecting too much, according to a study published online May 15 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

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Mild Cognitive Problems Lead to Various Types of Dementia

FRIDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with mild cognitive impairment sometimes progress to types of dementia other than Alzheimer disease, according to a study in the May issue of the Archives of Neurology.

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Brain Pathology for Memory Loss Like Pre-Alzheimer's

THURSDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) have neuropathological changes that do not meet the criteria for a postmortem diagnosis of Alzheimer disease, but are beyond the neurofibrillary tangles seen with normal aging, according to a study in the May issue of the Archives of Neurology. The findings suggest that aMCI is an interim step on the way to the very early stages of Alzheimer disease.

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Delirium More Common with Acute Hip Surgery

THURSDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) -- Cognitive impairment is the strongest predictor of postoperative delirium in elderly hip-replacement patients, with those undergoing an acute procedure more likely to have delirium than elective patients, according to a Dutch study published in the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

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One-Quarter of Elders May Have Poor Health Literacy

THURSDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) -- Almost one-quarter of elderly people surveyed in two U.S. cities have only limited health literacy, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

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FDA Approves New Smoking Cessation Drug

THURSDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Chantix, a smoking cessation drug made by Pfizer, Inc. The drug was given accelerated approval because its active ingredient, the new molecular entity varenicline tartrate, can help cigarette smokers kick the habit, according to an FDA statement.

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Caregiver Influences Reports of Dementia in Alzheimer's

THURSDAY, May 11 (HealthDay News) -- Clinicians should consider the characteristics of caregivers assisting patients with Alzheimer disease since they may influence reports of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia (NPS), according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

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Frivolous Claims Account for Small Fraction of Costs

WEDNESDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of resources involved in malpractice claims go toward resolving and paying those that involve errors, indicating it may be more cost-effective to streamline claims processing rather than discourage claims, according to a study in the May 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Collaborative Care Benefits Alzheimer Disease Patients

TUESDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- Alzheimer disease patients cared for by an interdisciplinary team within their primary care setting are more likely to receive drugs and have fewer behavioral and psychological symptoms than other patients, according to a study in the May 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Pain Management Program Improves Pain Assessment

TUESDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- A pain management instrument that includes enhanced pain assessments and nursing staff updates improves some aspects of pain management in hospitalized adults, but not overall pain scores, according to one of the largest studies of its kind reported in the May 8 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Autism Affects About 300,000 Children in United States

MONDAY, May 8 (HealthDay News) -- Autism affects an estimated 300,000 U.S. children between the ages of 4 and 17, according to an analysis of two nationally representative surveys published online May 5 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The diagnosis is 3.7 times as common in males than females and the peak prevalence was observed at ages 6 to 11.

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Brain Scans Suggest Dread Can Be Similar to Pain

FRIDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- When given the choice, most people prefer to get unpleasant or painful events over with as soon as possible. Now, a brain imaging study published May 5 in Science suggests an area within the cortical pain matrix is responsible for dreading inevitable discomfort, and anticipation of the pain is similar to the painful stimuli itself in some people.

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Teens Likely to Deny Making Virginity Pledges After Sex

THURSDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- Adolescents who take virginity pledges are likely to deny having made a pledge if they break their promise of sexual abstinence, according to a study in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

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Neurologic Soft Signs Mark Vulnerability to PTSD

WEDNESDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- A study of identical twins suggests that subtle neurologic dysfunction associated with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not acquired with the trauma but rather represents an antecedent familial vulnerability factor for PTSD, according to a report in the May issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

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Non-Hormonal Options for Hot Flashes Have Drawbacks

TUESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- Non-hormonal therapies for menopausal hot flashes appear to show some efficacy, but are not as effective as estrogen and have other drawbacks, according to a meta-analysis of 43 trials published in the May 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Naltrexone Plus Management Best for Alcohol Dependence

TUESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with alcohol dependence do best if treated with naltrexone combined with sessions with a medical professional to enhance adherence to medication and to encourage abstinence from drinking, according to the results of a large-scale, randomized, controlled study published in the May 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Doctors and Pharmacists Often Cannot ID Common Meds

TUESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- More than one-third of the time, medical practitioners fail to identify three commonly used oral tablets, with brand-name medications more recognizable than generic products, according to research published in the May 1 issue of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.

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Circadian Clock Shift May Help Seasonal Affective Disorder

MONDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, may respond to treatment intended to shift their circadian rhythm to earlier in the day, according to a report published online April 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

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