Psychiatric Associates of Atlanta Mental Health News |
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Antidepressant by Patch May Cut Risky Side Effects Mon Dec 30, 1:43 PM ET By Merritt McKinney NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An experimental skin patch may eliminate the need for dietary restrictions in people taking a certain type of antidepressant, according to a recent study. For some people with hard-to-treat depression, antidepressants called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are the most effective treatment, but the drugs can have dangerous interactions with a long list of foods. Now, researchers report that a skin patch containing the MAOI selegiline safely and effectively treats symptoms of depression. Because this was the first study to test an MAOI patch, participants avoided certain foods, but researchers believe that the patch will eliminate the need for a special diet.
Testosterone gel may help men with refractory depression Tuesday, December 31, 2002 By Health Newswire reporters LONDON - Male patients with refractory depression who have low levels of the sex hormone testosterone may benefit from testosterone gel supplementation, according to a recent US study. A team from the McLean Hospital in Belmont, in collaboration with researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, say that male patients given a daily dose of testosterone gel showed significant improvements in depression rating scales.
Postpartum Depression May Affect Newborn's Growth Tue December 31, 2002 03:00 PM ET By C. Vidyashankar, MD DELHI (Reuters Health) - Newborns whose mothers become depressed within the first six weeks after delivery may grow and develop more slowly than other babies, according to a study conducted in Goa, India. Postnatal or postpartum depression is known to affect more than 10% of new mothers. Its effect on infant growth and development has been reported in developed countries, but there is little data from developing countries, Dr. Vikram Patel and colleagues write in the January issue of the Archives of the Disease in Childhood. Patel, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and colleagues from the Sangath Center for Child Development and Family Guidance in Goa compared 37 infants of mothers with postpartum depression to 134 babies of women who were not depressed.
Atlanta Study Finds Rise in Autism Diagnoses December 31, 2002 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A study conducted in Atlanta suggests that more children are being diagnosed with autism than in the past, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday. However, it does not shed any more light than previous reports on whether the increase is real or due to greater awareness or changing definitions of the disease. Although the evidence supporting claims for an "epidemic" of autism is weak, the "subsequent controversy has put autism on the public agenda," notes Dr. Eric Fombonne, who was not involved in the study. In the new study, Dr. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp and colleagues looked at the prevalence of autism in 289,456 children aged 3 to 10 living in Atlanta in 1996. They found that 34 of every 10,000 children had symptoms of autism, a disorder characterized by social isolation, difficulty communicating, repetitive behaviors and delayed and unusual speech. The findings are published in the January 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Friday, December 27, 2002
First mental health court in S.C. OK'd The Associated Press Copyright The State Charleston Chief Justice Jean Toal has signed off on a first-of-its-kind mental heath court to provide social and medical services for defendants charged with nonviolent crimes in Charleston County. The defendants in the new court, set to hear its first case Jan. 2, trade standard judicial punishment for an intensive outpatient program that's designed to help them take medications, get counseling and job training, and find a home. "It is going to be a wonderful court, and it will help a large population that has so far fallen through the cracks," said Associate Probate Judge Tamara C. Curry, who will preside over the new court. The mental health court is modeled after drug courts, which have been successful in many counties across South Carolina. Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Holiday season can bring on the 'blues' 12/18/02 Story By Mary T. Robbins Feel like you are related to the Grinch or Scrooge this time of year? You're not alone, says a mental health official at Sheppard Pratt Health Systems who specializes in avoiding holiday depression and stress. Senior clinical research nurse Cassie Stallings says having a bout of what is commonly referred to as "the holiday blues" is normal and expected. It's when the anxiety starts disrupting sleep and eating habits or manifests itself as a constant feeling of anger, that she advises people seek professional help.
Depression rampant in teens, study finds Wednesday, December 18 By OLIVER MOORE Globe and Mail Update Depression is rampant in teenagers, but very few receive any treatment for its symptoms and nearly half believe they are worse off than their peers, a new study says. Researchers at the New York University Child Study Center (NYUCSC) conducted Internet interviews with more than 400 teens earlier this month, finding that nearly half of teenage girls and more than one-quarter of teenage boys had been depressed for at least two weeks at a stretch. Fully 90 per cent overall had experienced "feelings of depression or sadness." In line with an earlier report from the U.S. Surgeon-General, the researchers also found that only 20 per cent of depressed adolescents had received psychiatric treatment. Wednesday, December 04, 2002
Holidays Without Cheer NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2002 (CBS) It's not unusual for elderly women and men to suffer from sadness, loneliness and mood swings — especially during the holiday season. However, relatives and loved ones risk mistaking the signs of a serious illness — clinical depression — for the holiday blues. Dr. Steven P. Roose, professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, gave tips on The Early Show to recognize the signs of depression for loved ones in their golden years.
Has pop culture couched our fear of the shrink? By Don Aucoin, Boston Globe Staff, 12/4/2002 Unless you're on a fairly twisted career path, you wouldn't exactly call Tony Soprano a role model. He's been known to ventilate foes with bullets - that is, when he's not throttling them with his bare hands. Then there's the binge eating. Hanging around strip joints. Treachery that would make a Borgia blush. But there's no denying he has a certain charisma. And when it comes to the New Jersey mobster's weekly visits to a psychiatrist's office, a cornerstone of HBO's ''The Sopranos,'' some Bostonians may have concluded that if it works for Tony Soprano, it could work for me. |
