Psychiatric Associates of Atlanta Mental Health News |
Saturday, November 30, 2002
Killer of teen dies in prison Web posted Monday, November 25, 2002 10:43 p.m. EST By Ashlee Griggs, Augusta Chronicle An Augusta man convicted of murdering an Augusta teen in 1986 apparently has committed suicide in a Georgia prison. Prison officials said Monday that Alexander Williams, 34, hanged himself in his one-man cell at Georgia State Prison in Reidsville. "It is an apparent suicide, but our internal affairs division, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, is conducting an investigation," said Peggy Chapman, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Corrections. Ms. Chapman said Mr. Williams hanged himself with the shirt from his prison-issued uniform. He was found by prison guards about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
Killer who got off death row because of mental illness apparently commits suicide in cell Tuesday, November 26, 2002 (11-26) 09:08 PST AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- A killer whose death sentence was commuted to life in prison earlier this year because of his severe psychosis has apparently killed himself in his cell, prison officials said. Alexander Williams, 34, of Augusta, hanged himself with his shirt late Monday at the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville, said Peggy Chapman, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Corrections. He was 17 in 1986 when he raped and murdered 16-year-old Aleta Bunch, who was kidnapped from an Augusta mall where she had gone to buy her mother a birthday gift.
Interferon causes depression in hepatitis C patients Susan Aldridge, PhD Most people treated with interferon for hepatitis C become depressed, but this can be treated with medication. Interferon has become the mainstay of treatment for hepatitis C, a liver infection which affects around four million Americans. There is no vaccine available, at present, but treatment of interferon works for at least 50 per cent of those affected. But a study by a team at Oregon Health and Science University reveals that many of those treated with interferon develop clinical depression. In a study of 39 patients, 13 experienced major depression and most develop at least some symptoms. However, treatment with the antidepressant citalopram relieved the depression in most of those affected. The next step is to see whether proactive antidepressant treatment might help prevent depression in those treated by interferon for hepatitis C. Source Molecular Psychiatry November 2002
Depression a reality during holidays Susan M. Jackson, The Newton Kansan Online Extension agent, family and consumer sciences and community development Traditionally, the holiday season is associated with times of good cheer and friendly feelings. The reality, however, is often something else -- depression. In fact, depression is rather common both during and after the long winter holiday season. Depression is an emotional state in which the sufferer feels sad, lonely and dejected, usually accompanied by negative thinking, and often involving physical symptoms, such as fatigue and headaches. There are lots of reasons for depression during the holiday season, but one common factor is we often have unrealistic expectations for the holidays. There's a buildup that may last a month and a half, and then, boom it's over. In addition to the quick ending, the long holiday season may not pan out to be all we had anticipated. Keep your expectations positive but realistic; don't set yourself up for disappointment.
FDA Approves ADHD Drug Offering Fewer Side Effects By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, November 27, 2002; Page A02 A new type of medicine to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was approved yesterday by the Food and Drug Administration, bringing with it the promise that the most common psychiatric disorder of childhood may be treated with fewer side effects -- and less controversy. Atomoxetine, which will be marketed under the brand name Strattera, will join in January such drugs as Ritalin that are prescribed by physicians. It will become the first medicine to treat ADHD that is not a stimulant. Saturday, November 23, 2002
Psychotherapy Shows a Rise Over Decade By ERICA GOODE The New York Times The number of Americans who received psychotherapy increased slightly from 1987 to 1997, according to a large national study, and rose significantly for two groups: older adults and the unemployed. But the average length of time patients spent in the consulting room dropped precipitously over the same period, the study found, and the percentage of patients who combined psychotherapy with psychiatric medication nearly doubled. Thursday, November 21, 2002
Congress Extends Mental Health Parity Law Tue Nov 19, 5:44 PM ET By Julie Rovner WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - With efforts to require "parity" between health insurance benefits for mental illness and other ailments having stalled, Congress has instead extended for one more year an expiring law originally seen as a first step toward that goal. The House late Thursday and the Senate late Friday approved and sent to President Bush a bill to renew a provision originally included in the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The provision barred most group health insurance plans from imposing lower annual or lifetime dollar limits for mental health services than for other medical services.
Capitol Police Slaying Suspect Improving, Says Prison Doctor By Arthur Santana Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, November 20, 2002; Page B04 Russell E. Weston Jr., the mentally disturbed man accused of killing two U.S. Capitol Police officers in 1998, is improving after 10 months of antipsychotic medication and could be able to stand trial in a year, the psychiatrist who is treating him said yesterday. Sally Johnson, who oversees Weston's care at a federal prison facility in Butner, N.C., gave the assessment at a court hearing to determine whether Weston should continue on medication. The hearing took place in Butner and video was transmitted to U.S. District Court in Washington, where the victims' families and others watched. Tuesday, November 19, 2002
The Question In Mind Many of the Ill Are Depressed. Many of the Depressed Are Ill. Do Such Links Matter? By Adriel Bettelheim Special to The Washington Post Tuesday, November 19, 2002; Page HE01 Depression, medical science has learned, keeps sorry company. It's increasingly clear that the mental illness occurs not just in isolation, but often along with heart disease, stroke, immune disorders, diabetes, cancer and neurological illnesses like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. This connection leads immediately to the fascinating, worrisome question: Does being sick lead to depression, or does being depressed make you sick? The lines are further blurred because common behavioral manifestations of depression -- anxiety, poor diet, lack of exercise, social isolation -- have their own deleterious effects on health. Thursday, November 14, 2002
Status of Mental Health Rises in Senate Thursday, November 14, 2002 By Liza Porteus FoxNews NEW YORK — Critics of a mental health bill are questioning if Congress should be pushing for insurance coverage of illnesses like social phobia — described as the irrational fear of embarrassment — saying it could lead to coverage of jet lag, caffeine addiction and other commonplace phobias or vices. The Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act, introduced by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., last year, has huge support in the Senate. The House companion bill was introduced by Rep. Marge Roukema, a New Jersey Democrat. The bill is sure to be a top priority in Congress, if Domenici has his way. After Wellstone's death in a plane crash last month, Domenici said he is putting it at the top of his list of objectives.
At NIMH, Outgrowing Jung Ideas New Chief to Focus Studies On Genes and Neurobiology By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, November 13, 2002; Page A25 ATLANTA -- In 1979, Thomas R. Insel had just finished medical school and three years of training in Jungian psychoanalysis. That was when the psychiatrist became a clinical associate at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, the federal government's top institute for the study of mental illness. It was partly an accident -- Insel replaced someone who had dropped out at the last minute. Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Lawyer seeks Wash man's removal from meds From the National Desk Published 11/9/2002 4:13 PM SEATTLE, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The lawyer for a transient accused of murdering an elderly Seattle-area woman will next week ask a Washington state appeals court to hear his request that his client be temporarily taken off his psychiatric medication. A King County Superior Court judge Friday turned down the request aimed at allowing Robert Ladson Gregory to slip back to the mental state he was in when he allegedly intentionally struck 75-year-old Kathleen Ryan with a car more than two years ago. Gregory's lawyer, James Conroy, argued that the jury in the upcoming trial should be allowed to see his client as he was when Ryan was killed and not in the more lucid state he is in today. Friday, November 08, 2002
Business on a small scale: Illness takes toll both at work and at home Firm co-owner fights battle with depression Christine Van Dusen - Staff, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday, November 5, 2002 To find any of the memos, invoices and checks on Tara Norman's desk would seem a hopeless endeavor. It's a mess of unpiled papers, tangled rubber bands and hole-punch confetti. Somehow, though, Tara knows where every important piece of paper hides in this home office. Her husband, however, does not. That was a big problem during those times when Tara would not --- absolutely could not --- get out of bed. Ray Norman would take a perfunctory crack at it, shifting papers and peering under books. But eventually, knowing one of their employee's paychecks was long overdue, Ray would call to his wife: "Tara, where is it?" A small voice, tinged with anger and defeat, would come from the bedroom: "I don't care." This became a familiar scene at Norman & Associates Architects in Marietta. As the Normans struggled to build their home-based firm to $400,000 in annual revenue, Tara struggled with clinical depression. Now, with the help of therapy and medication, Tara's feeling even-keeled. But she's keenly aware she could fall into an emotional pit at any time.
Woody Allen Has Public Session with Psychiatrist Fri Nov 8,12:18 AM ET By Larry Fine NEW YORK (Reuters) - Woody Allen (news) went one-on-one against a prominent psychiatrist on Thursday night in front of more than 800 people, fending off a stream of suggestions on how psychoanalysis affected his life and work. "There is no profound significance to any of the dream sequences in my movies," proclaimed Allen, whose films are full of references to analysis and slapstick sexual imagery. "I made it all up. "After eight years with one of my analysts, I wanted to get up from the couch and offer my hand and say 'draw."' Thursday, November 07, 2002
Supreme Court Blocks Execution of Texas Man Case Raises Questions About Issuing Death Sentence for Mentally Ill Defendants By Lee Hockstader Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, November 7, 2002; Page A06 AUSTIN, Nov. 6 -- The Supreme Court granted a last-minute reprieve tonight to a convicted murderer in Texas who was to receive a lethal injection in the death chamber despite his severe mental illness. The stay of execution, issued at 9:26 p.m. in Washington, at first delayed and then blocked the scheduled 7 p.m. execution of James Colburn. Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed he was deeply deranged before and after he murdered Peggy Murphy in 1994 by strangling and stabbing her. |
