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Heroin Growing More Popular
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Narconon Drug Rehab issued a warning today that heroin addiction is on the rise. Executive Director of Narconon Drug Rehab, Mary Rieser warns, ?We are seeing an alarming number of new students coming in addicted to heroin.  The drug has grown in popularity amongst today?s youth.  Heroin is the most common addiction we are now seeing among the addicts arriving at our rehab for treatment and rehabilitation.? The DEA says that heroin is the most abused of all the opiates.  Heroin is common in all metropolitan areas on the east coast.  Heroin can vary in color from a white to darkish brown powder.  The darker the color the more additives the heroin has, such as fentanyl, strychnine, or other poisons. 
More About: Popular , Growing

Alcohol Addiction
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Narconon Drug Rehab in Georgia released these facts about alcohol abuse: More money is spent on alcohol advertising than on any other product.  (What most people forget is that alcohol is the most widely abused drug on the planet.) Alcohol addiction is one of the toughest to overcome, especially with televisions making alcohol look tasty, sensuous, sexy, or even smart.  (The irony here is that if you have a drunk person, they are none of these things.  How is a stumbling and slurring person who has had too much to drink sexy or smart?)
More About: Addiction

Drug Rehab Programs Offer a Dual Diagnosis
1970-01-01 00:59:00
When you think about drug addiction, sometimes it is hard to see beyond the uncontrolled abuse of drugs.  For a lot of drug addicts that is only the surface of the problem.  For some, it is a much deeper rooted psychological and emotional issue.  There are factors in life that just make the feelings you get from drugs all the more desirable.  One such factor is a psychiatric or mood disorder.  We are talking disorders like depression, anxiety, and bi polar disorder.  These things can lead to drug addiction.  Drug rehab programs have learned to address such issues of disorder by offering services that treat these problems in addition to the addiction. Fact of the matter, such a mood or psychiatric problem can have a heavy hand in the development of an addiction.  The chemical imbalances of the central nervous system, when a disorder is present, can make the individual susceptible to the influences of drugs and alcohol.  If gone undiagnos...
More About: Rehab , Programs , Drug Rehab , Diagnosis

Management of Factitious Disorders: A Systematic Review
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Background: The literature regarding the management of factitious disorder (FD) is diverse and generally of case reports or case series. To date there has been no systematic review of the effectiveness of management techniques. Methods: Systematic review of all evidence reporting the management and subsequent outcome in FD. Data were extracted and outcomes were assessed using an adaptation of the Global Improvement Scale.
More About: Management , Review , Disorders

True Hope for Bipolar Disorder Sufferers?
1970-01-01 00:59:00
A new supplement from True hope Nutritional Support, Ltd. may hold promise for people suffering from bipolar and other mood disorders. EMPowerplus is a supplement sporting a blend of 36 vitamins, minerals and amino acids, and it?s making waves in the Canadian and American psychiatric communities. To its critics it is an unproven treatment that could prove dangerous, but to those who claim to have been helped by the supplement it is nothing short of a scientific breakthrough in the treatment of mood disorders. Bipolar disorder is characterized by distinct periods of elevated mood and euphoria (known as mania) followed by periods of sometimes agonizing depression. In mania, extreme creativity is not uncommon, and it is believed that many brilliant people in history may have suffered from the illness. In times of depression, victims often suffer through intense sorrow, hallucinations, disembodied voices, disconnect with reality, and uncontrollable fixations on death. Because of the de...
More About: Hope , Bipolar Disorder

Schizophrenia Candidate Genes: Are We Really Coming Up Blank?
1970-01-01 00:59:00
The most comprehensive genetic association study of genes previously reported to contribute to the susceptibility to schizophrenia by Gejman et al. is published in this issue of the Journal. The study by Sanders et al. (1) set out to examine whether polymorphic DNA sites, or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in 14 candidate genes previously argued by the authors and other researchers to be associated with schizophrenia would continue to do so in a large sample of European ancestry. The authors analyzed 433 SNPs in these genes in the hope of representing, or ?tagging,? the known common DNA variation in those genes. They also examined an additional 215 SNPs in these genes used in the earlier published studies or that occur in functionally relevant regions of the genes. Before discussing their results, it may be helpful to set the stage for this article. It is often not appreciated that the last decade of genetic studies in schizophrenia has generated findings suggesting that a...
More About: Blank , Candidate , Schizophrenia , Genes

Continuation Treatment With Antidepressants in Child and Adolescent Major D
1970-01-01 00:59:00
For the past two decades, psychiatrists treating children and adolescents who have major depressive disorder have had difficulty finding evidence to support their clinical decisions. Time after time, randomized clinical trials have supported neither psychiatrists? clinical experience nor extrapolation from studies of adults. Tricyclic antidepressants were considerably more lethal in overdose in youths than in adults, and moreover, research found no evidence for efficacy of tricyclics in the treatment of depression in youths (1). The first published controlled trial of fluoxetine for the treatment of major depression in youths showed efficacy (2), and studies of fluoxetine in pediatric depression published since then have produced largely similar results. Other, newer antidepressants have at most a single controlled trial showing efficacy in the treatment of major depression in youths, and thus far studies of several antidepressants have not shown statistical superiority to placebo i...
More About: Treatment , Child , Antidepressants , Major

More than 2 million U.S. youths depressed: study
1970-01-01 00:59:00
More than 2 million U.S. teenagers have suffered a serious bout of depression in the past year, including nearly 13 percent of girls, according to a federal government survey released on Tuesday. On average, 8.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 described having had a major depressive episode in the previous year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported. But there were ?striking differences? by sex, with 12.7 percent of girls and 4.6 percent of boys affected.
More About: Study , Million , Depressed

Postpartum depression: What to tell patients who breast-feed
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Whether you encounter postpartum depression (PPD) in a patient you have been treating or in one referred by her obstetrician, early, aggressive treatment is essential. Although PPD shares some symptoms with major depressive disorder (MDD)?and may be a subtype of that disorder?it also has distinguishing characteristics, such as timing of symptom onset. Two screening tools facilitate diagnosis. Women with PPD usually respond to pharmacotherapy, but antidepressants? potential effects on a nursing mother?s newborn are important to consider. HPA axis dysregulation Although the precise cause of PPD remains unclear, a better understanding is emerging of the complicated interplay of estrogen and progesterone with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and other neuroregulatory systems associated with depressive illness. Two lines of evidence implicate hormonal dysregulation:
More About: Depression , Breast , Feed , Patients , Postpartum

Insomnia in patients with addictions: A safer way to break the cycle
1970-01-01 00:59:00
From alcohol to opioids, most addictive substances can induce sleep disturbances that persist despite abstinence and may increase the risk for relapse. Nearly all FDA-approved hypnotics are Schedule IV controlled substances that?although safe and effective for most populations?are prone to abuse by patients with substance use disorders. You?re not alone if you hesitate to prescribe hypnotics to these patients; a study of 311 addiction medicine physicians found that they prescribed sleep-promoting medication to only 30% of their alcohol-dependent patients with insomnia. This article presents evidence on how alcohol and other substances disturb sleep in patients with addictions. We discuss the usefulness of hypnotics, off-label sedatives, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Our goal is to help you reduce your patients? risk of relapse by addressing their sleep complaints.
More About: Cycle , Break , Patients , Addictions , Insomnia

An overview of mental illness
1970-01-01 00:59:00
The Canadian Mental Health Association?s Mental Health Week was May 5 to 11 this month, so what better time to delve into the topic of mental health and mental illness. Mental health is something that affects all of us. When our mental health is good we have the foundation to handle the demands and challenges of daily life. However, when our mental health is not so good we may feel depressed and our ability to function effectively may be compromised. In the Government of Canada?s publication The Human Face of Mental Health and Mental Illness in Canada, mental health is described as ?the capacity of each and all of us to feel, think, and act in ways that enhance our ability to enjoy life and deal with the challenges we face.? This is different from mental illnesses that are defined as being ?characterized by alterations in thinking, mood or behaviour ? or some combination thereof ? associated with significant distress and impaired functioning.?
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The methadone fix
1970-01-01 00:59:00
There is no miracle solution to the addictive grip of opioid drugs such as heroin, writes Patralekha Chatterjee. New WHO guidelines confirm that, even after 40 years, substitution therapies such as methadone are still the most promising method of reducing drug dependence, but getting access to treatment is a global problem. In the global battle against illicit drugs, stemming the crisis of opioid dependence poses a grave challenge. The World Health Organization (WHO) is issuing guidelines to help countries treat dependence on opioids and prevent the transmission of HIV and other blood-borne infections.
More About: Methadone

Suicides increased after antidepressant warning: Manitoba researcher
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Youth suicides increased after Health Canada warned about the use of antidepressants, a University of Manitoba researcher has found. Health Canada issued a notice in 2004 that antidepressant drugs were linked to increased rates of suicidal thoughts in children and teens. It advised patients under the age of 18 who were being treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin noradrenalin reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) to consult their physicians. A similar warning was issued around the same time in the U.S.
More About: Warning , Antidepressant

Climate change leads to psychiatric illness: WHO
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Establishing a link between climate change and mental health, the World Health Organisation has said extreme weather conditions like floods, droughts and natural calamities can lead to psychiatric illnesses. ?Psychosocial illnesses are a part of the various health issues associated with climate change,? Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Deputy Regional Director, WHO, said. Anticipating that severe flooding may become more frequent due to global warming, a WHO report said that independent studies in cyclone-affected Orissa and a flooded town in England has shown that post-traumatic stress disorder syndromes of different severity in affected people even after an year. 
More About: Climate Change , Climate , Change , Leads , Illness

Barriers to Care for Antenatal Depression
1970-01-01 00:59:00
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the individual-level factors impacting pregnant women?s access to mental health treatment for depression. METHODS: A total of 1,416 pregnant women receiving prenatal care completed measures of depressive symptomatology, willingness to seek treatment for depression or anxiety, and perceived barriers to seeking such care.
More About: Depression , Care

Improving Care for Depression in Patients With Comorbid Substance Misuse
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Abstract OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated whether quality improvement programs for depression would be effective among substance misusers and whether there would be a differential program-by-comorbidity effect. METHOD: A group-level randomized controlled trial (Partners in Care ) compared two quality improvement programs for depression with usual care. Consecutive patients (N=27,332) from six managed care organizations in five states were screened, and 1,356 were enrolled: 443 received usual care while the rest entered a quality improvement program involving either medication (N=424) or therapy (N=489). Multiple logistic regression was used to test hypotheses and compute standardized predictions of the adjusted rates of depression and use of psychotherapy and antidepressants.
More About: Depression , Patients

Improving the detection and management of depression in primary care
1970-01-01 00:59:00
ABSTRACT The effectiveness of screening and organisational strategies to improve the recognition and management of depression in primary care published in a recent issue of Effective Health Care is reviewed. Depression is the second most common cause of disability worldwide. In the UK, depression is one of the most common reasons for consultation in general practice. While depressive disorders are common, they may go unrecognised. It has been reported that depressive symptoms are not recognised in about half of attending patients with depressive disorders in UK general practice. Unrecognised major depression is associated with poor treatment outcomes. Despite the frequency of presentation and the availability of effective interventions, the diagnosis and treatment of depression in primary care and by non-specialist practitioners may not be in line with current guidelines.
More About: Management , Detection , Primary

Blood Testing to Treat Mood Disorders
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Blood testing for mood disorders may help the medical community come up with better treatments for the conditions. Currently, there are no blood tests for mood disorders. And relying on patients to rate the severity of their symptoms and on the clinicians? impression may limit the chances of effective treatment and new drug development. 
More About: Testing , Blood , Treat , Disorders , Mood

Psychotherapeutic treatments for older depressed people
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Background Despite a number of reviews advocating psychotherapy for the treatment of depression, there is relatively little evidence based on randomised controlled trials that specifically examines its efficacy in older people. Objectives To examine the efficacy of psychotherapeutic treatments for depression in older people.
More About: People , Treatments , Depressed

Psychological distress, major depressive disorder, and risk of stroke
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Background:  Studies have suggested that mood status is associated with an increased risk of stroke, though mostly based on measures of depression defined by symptoms alone rather than diagnostic criteria representative of clinically important distress and impairment. We investigated this association based upon a large population-based prospective cohort study. Methods: Baseline assessment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and of mental health well-being (defined by the Mental Health Inventory, MHI-5) was completed by 20,627 stroke-free participants, aged 41 to 80 years, in the United Kingdom European Prospective Investigation into Cancer?Norfolk study.
More About: Risk , Psychological , Stroke , Major , Depressive

Depressed teen mothers likely to have another baby
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Teenage mothers who suffer from depression are more likely to get pregnant again than their non-depressed counterparts, according to research published today. ?Depression may be an important malleable risk factor? for subsequent pregnancy in teenage girls, Dr. Beth Barnet and colleagues from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore conclude in their report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. They followed 269 low-income, predominantly black pregnant or parenting adolescents between 12 and 18 years old living in Baltimore, where the teen birth rate is nearly twice the national average. 
More About: Baby , Mothers , Depressed

Protein discovery could lead to depression test
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Changes in the location of a single protein in the brain could be used to tell whether a person with depression is responding to an antidepressant within days of taking the drug, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. People with depression now must wait weeks before they learn whether the drug they are taking will bring relief. But researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered that a single protein in the brain changes its location within a cell membrane when an antidepressant is working, and this change could be identified with a simple blood test.
More About: Discovery , Depression , Protein , Test , Lead

Paroxetine reduces social anxiety in individuals with a co-occurring alcoho
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Patients with social anxiety disorder who are seen in clinical practice commonly have additional psychiatric comorbidity, including alcohol use disorders. The first line treatment for social anxiety disorder is selective-serotonin-reuptake-inhibitors (SSRIs), such as paroxetine. However, the efficacy of SSRIs has been determined with studies that excluded alcoholics.
More About: Social , Anxiety , Individuals

Panic disorder in patients with chronic heart failure: study
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Our objective was to assess the prevalence of panic disorder, its influence on quality of life (QoL), and the presence of further anxiety and depressive comorbid disorders in outpatients with chronic heart failure (CHF). In a cross-sectional study, anxiety and depressive disorders were diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition diagnostic criteria in patients with CHF who were aged ?18 years and had New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Classes I?IV, using the Patient Health Questionnaire. Health-related QoL was evaluated using the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36).
More About: Study , Failure , Patients , Panic Disorder

Health risk for jockeys highlighted
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Jockeys are at risk of eating disorders and feeling depressed when trying to slim down for races, researchers have said. Fasting, excessive use of saunas and taking laxatives are all methods of keeping weight down, they said. Experts at Brunel University in London decided to examine the link between low weight and mood among jockeys.
More About: Health , Risk

Help must be there for depressed mums
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Postnatal depression affects an estimated one in five New Zealand woman, writes The Marlborough Express in an editorial. Figures like that can be nebulous, but often taking a look around your own office or factory floor and working out how many people may have suffered some form of this condition gives some perspective. And then extrapolate that out to include partners or husbands and children.
More About: Depressed

Support group helps troops suffering from stress disorder
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Will King was an Army infantryman in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. After 13 years and two wars, he was honorably discharged in 2003 for having asthma. However, other problems would soon surface.
More About: Support , Stress , Suffering , Troops , Group

Genes could be linked to post-traumatic stress disorder
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Experts say about 8 percent of the general population will suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. The number gets much higher in the veteran population. How a person handles trauma - ranging from street crime to child abuse - may depend on their DNA. NECN?s Ally Donnelly explains. 24-year-old Kevin Lambert was in Iraq for 16 months. The now discharged army gunner has seen things in war he?ll never forget.
More About: Post , Stress , Post Traumatic Stress Disorder , Genes

FDA Examines Safety of ADHD Drugs
1970-01-01 00:59:00
Reports of sudden deaths, strokes, heart attacks and hypertension in both children and adults taking drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are spurring new government study into the medications? safety. Sales of drugs to treat ADHD have increased sharply in recent years, with use growing at a faster rate among adults than children, according to a recent study by Medco Health Solutions, a prescription benefit manager. Spending on ADHD drugs soared from $759 million in 2000 to $3.1 billion in 2004, according to IMS Health, a pharmaceutical information and consulting firm.
More About: Safety , Drugs

Researchers link genetic errors to schizophrenia
1970-01-01 00:59:00
A team of researchers at the University of Washington and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories has uncovered genetic errors that may shed light on the causes of schizophrenia. The scientists found that deletions and duplications of DNA are more common in people with the mental disorder, and that many of those errors occur in genes related to brain development and neurological function. The findings, which were replicated by a team at the National Institute of Mental Health, appear in the March 27 online edition of the journal Science. Schizophrenia , a debilitating psychiatric disorder, affects approximately 1 percent of the population. People with schizophrenia suffer from hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking, and are at risk for unusual or bizarre behaviors. The illness greatly impacts social and occupational functioning and has enormous public health costs. 
More About: Link , Errors