Consider This: Sol Wachtler's essay, "When the Scars of Battle"
. . .a recurring theme
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News: Mental health faces cuts in Britrain's National Health Service

News: NARSAD seminars launched for 2010

News: Crisis of college suicides
The suicide of a Yale University student has left the community mournful and in shock. The Yale junior who took his life in New York City last week is the latest in a rash at colleges in recent months. Suicide on college campuses is the second leading cause of death. Cornell University, which reports six this year, has taken steps to erect barriers at various bridges over the gorges. The student paper also knows this is a temporary solution. . .
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News: Witnesses spar at hearings over anti-depressant -- suicide risks

Did You Know: Researchers discovered a gene associated with depression and bi-polar disorders.
Read Genes and Circuitry, Not Just Clinical Observation, to Guide Classification for Research about the overlap of depression and bipolar disorder on Chromosome 3, one of the many genes researchers believe will one day influence classification, diagnosis and treatment....
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News: New depression studies raise questions

News: FDA seeks public comment on ECT
The FDA is asking for comment to determine whether it should reclassify ECT to require "reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness" of the mechanical devices used for electroconvulsive therapy. ECT was already in use when the FDA codified mechanical devices,
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News: Diet affects depression

Did You Know: Lithium's effect was discovered accidentally by an Australian doctor experimenting with guinea pigs.
Read more about the process by whiche Dr. John Cade learned that lithium had a calming effect in the laboratory. To test the properties of lithium, Cade used took it himself before giving it to 10 patients on an experimental basis....
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Track Legislation: Preventing Indian youth suicide (S 1635)
Suicide rates among Native Americans range from 3 1/2 to 10 times greater (depending on the state) than for other youth in America, said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND). The Indian Affairs Committee heard testimony on behalf of the "7th Generation Promise: Indian Youth Suicide Prevention Act of 2009 (S 1635)" discussing the epidemic of suicide pointing to the mental health needs of the Indian Health Service. Dr. Yvette Roubideaux explained services are inadequate and fragmented, stitching together a combination of...
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News: Internet therapy for depression

News: Psychosis and understanding risk
Understanding psychosis for risk, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders is not as straightforward as it was once thought to be. . .
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News: Bipolar diagnosis mixed bag in youth
With the hike in diagnosing bipolar disorder, and prescribing drugs for kids, researchers wanted to know the circumstances in which these decisions were made. Researchers reviewed 1.3 million insurance claims for youth under the age of 17. . .
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News: Depression studies

News: Childhood depression after parental death
All children who lose a parent are at greater risk for depression than their peers who do not suffer this loss. But the risk of those whose parent dies because of suicide continues to increase while that for the others (i.e., natural causes or accident) levels off sooner, say the authors of a report in the American Journal of Psychiatry....
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News: Stigma starts early in childhood
Children believe if someone tries hard enough, he or she can overcome ADHD or depression, suggest authors. . .
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News: Recovery works, says Clifford W. Beers honoree

News: Depression-gene link complex

News: June in the journals

Track Legislation: Stabenow introduces bill (S1136) to close treatment gap
Michigan's Senator Debbie Stabenow (D) introduced a bill to open the door for seriously mentally ill people, now receiving Medicaid, to get comprehensive care in 10 participating states. The Mental Illness Chronic Care Improvement Act (S 1136) is a demonstration program with the potential to close a treatment gap by linking to primary care. Diabetes and heart disease are among the chronic conditions afflicting people with a mental illness and shortening life and Stabenow's proposal recognizes the existing system has...
Full Story | Topics: chronic illness, Congress, depression, drug use, politics, schizophrenia | Comments (0)

News: Good news-bad news for AstraZeneca
Between celebrating the Canadian approval of Seroquel to treat major depression, then learning the the Netherlands denied approval for the same, AstraZeneca has had quite a ride. In the courts a similar see-saw is taking place. A judge dismissed a case in Del. charging diabetes was the result of Seroquel This is the third case dismissed, and the only potential jury trial. They have drawn considerable attention and new cases are scheduled in New Jersey and New York. Documents have...
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Did You Know: When there is a dual diagnosis, mood disorders are most likely to be associated with substance use disorders.
Read more about dual disorders from AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)....
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News: Women's mental health patterns
Anxiety disorders, phobias and major depressions are more common in women than men according to a report from the Office on Women's Health. And while it has long been said that schizophrenia was a male disease, the rates are actually fairly close (1.26 percent for males compared to 1.0 percent for women), in comparison to PTSD, which appears to be twice as common in women and prevalent in women vets. The findings are part of a more intense effort to...
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News: Personal narratives of recovery and activism
Three engaging, powerful, personal narratives about managing with a mental illness are available. In the May-June issue of Health Affairs, television news personality Jane Pauley discusses her bipolar disorder, diagnosed when she was 50. And Fred Frese, former president of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and a psychologist who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1966, calls for mental health professionals to come out of the closet. His remarks are also available in a webcam of the Health Affairs conference....
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Did You Know: Depression is a risk factor for suicide in the elderly.
Read more from the National Instutitue of Mental Health....
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News: Economic downturn affects mental health
Experts are expecting an increase in anxiety, depresssion, substance abuse, and suicide as a result of the stress caused by the economic downturn. SAMHSA, the federal agency concerned with substance abuse and mental health services issued a guide with warning signs, suggestions for managing stress, and resources for follow up....
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Consider This: State budget fixes
. . .some will hurt more than others
Full Story | Topics: community programs, depression, hospitals, jails, medication, mental health, politics, states, suicide | Comments (0)

News: Pregnancy and depression
Pregnant women with diabetes have a greater likelihood of developing depression before and after they give birth than do pregnant women without diabetes, say the authors of a study appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study was based on Medicaid data for more than 11,000 women delivering babies in New Jersey in a two-year period. The authors speculated that the hormonal disorders accompanying diabetes may play a role in depression, but they did not establish...
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News: Mental illness does not predict violence
A new study concludes that mental illness alone does not predict violence. For the past two decades, debate about a putative link between mental illness and violence has been heated with implications for policy, treatment and legal decisions. The authors of this study, published in Archives of General Psychiatry, interviewed 34,500 people in a national sample who were diagnosed with schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and major depression. Their findings, based on interviews roughly 3 years apart, indicate that of the numerous...
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News: TV and depression
Of the many aspects of adolescent mental health, it appears watching television and depression go together. A study in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry describes a national, heterogeneous sample of students, grades 7 to 12, for whom depression increased with each additional hour of television viewing. Seven years after the study began, by 7.4 percent met criteria for depression. This is slightly higher than the 5 percent estimate for teen depression given by the American Academy of...
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Film: "Another Kind of VALOR"

News: States in trouble
South Carolina announced cuts of at least 12 percent to its mental health budget. This will come as a result of closing programs, staff cuts, a freeze on hiring, and eliminaitng 75 in-patient beds. The projected $26 million reduction might increase by another $7.8 million. Advocates worry that the impact of reducing services will be transferred to emergency rooms, jails and homeless shelters. Elsewhere: A spike in anxiety, depression and suicide risks in Denver. In New York, reports the Poughkeepsie...
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News: New magazine about anxiety and depression
A Buffalo-based publisher launched a new magazine, Esperanza, focusing on anxiety and depression. Mariel Hemingway is on the cover of the premier issue. Esperanza means "hope."...
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News: Other nations surpass US in chronic care
Depression is one of the seven illnesses included in an international comparison of how nations treat chronic conditions. Authors report that the United States stands out for "gaps in coverage, and for high cost sharing even for patients with insurance" with more people suffering complex chronic health problems despite spending twice as much on health care ($7,000 per person versus $3,500 per person). Cost figured into the decision of more than half the American respondents not to seek care, and...
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News: Resources for college students
To help colleges meet the needs of students with a mental illness, two resources were recently released. Building Bridges from SAMHSA is a rich resource describing problems students have encountered, offering solutions student consumers recommend, and providing community resources. The Jed Foundation makes available Student Mental Health and the Law which answers questions about disabilities, the law, and services. Each is available in a pdf download....
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News: Web site helps New Zealand teens
Text messaging by teens is par for the course. But messages sent by teens to a website for depression is an indication of seeking and getting help. The Auckland-based site has been visited by nearly 100,000 people since it was launched in 2007 reports a New Zealand paper....
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News: St. John's wort and depression
iStockFor many years the plant St. John's wort was considered a folk remedy to treat depression. Now an analysis of 29 clinical trials (n=5489) concludes Hypericum perforatum L. performed better than a placebo and as well as standard antidepressants and with fewer side effects. The Cochrane Library report sounded a cautionary note because numerous forms and extractions of Hypericum perforatum L. may not be identical to those in the study. Better study outcomes were also apparent in German-speaking countries where...
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News: Suicide risk increases during financial crisis
iStock Financial insecurity, stress and unemployment are worrisome conditions to those who study suicide. Reuters spoke to experts who fear a global economic crisis will take a heavy toll on mental health. During previous periods of unemployment and bankruptcies, suicides jumped in Japan and Hong Kong....
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News: Colleges proactive about mental health
The needs of students attending college while managing a mental illness are being addressed more openly than ever before. In the month of September, typically associated with "back-to-school" news, NPR aired stories about managing depression, and campus organization such as Active Minds, Graduate students are writing about how knowledge of one's illness can influence how to select a program. Last week the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law released a guide, Campus Mental Health with detailed information about legal rights...
Full Story | Topics: advance directives, colleges, depression, legal, stigma, students | Comments (1)

News: Colleges proactive about mental health
The needs of students attending college while managing a mental illness are being addressed more openly than ever before. In the month of September, typically associated with "back-to-school" news, NPR aired stories about managing depression, and campus organization such as Active Minds, Graduate students are writing about how knowledge of one's illness can influence how to select a program. Last week the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law released a guide, Campus Mental Health with detailed information about legal rights...
Full Story | Topics: advance directives, colleges, depression, legal, stigma, students | Comments (1)

News: FDA lashes Ranbaxy about generic drugs
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) sent warnings to Ranbaxy, a generic drug company based in India, partially restricting imports of some drugs while it was highly critical of the company's sloppy quality control for others. Redactions in the letters make it impossible to know whether the problems cited apply to the anti-anxiety and anti-depressants Ranbaxy makes. While the FDA was coming down on Ranbaxy, Rep. John Dingell, chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, released a statement asking...
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News: FDA lashes Ranbaxy about generic drugs
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) sent warnings to Ranbaxy, a generic drug company based in India, partially restricting imports of some drugs while it was highly critical of the company's sloppy quality control for others. Redactions in the letters make it impossible to know whether the problems cited apply to the anti-anxiety and anti-depressants Ranbaxy makes. While the FDA was coming down on Ranbaxy, Rep. John Dingell, chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, released a statement asking...
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News: Antidepressants fall through "doughnut hole"
An analysis of the impact of the "doughnut hole" for seniors with Medicare Part D with chronic illnesses found that "45% of patients on antidepressants reached the coverage gap in 2007." The study is available from the Kaiser Family Foundation....
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News: Recognizing a dual diagnosis
National Public Radio reporter Farai Chideya explored difficulties people have recognizing co-occurring substance abuse and a psychiatric disorders, and then of finding appropriate treatment that does not ignore one component of this tricky but common condition. In a 10-minute interview, she spoke with a consumer, now in recovery, who has become a peer counselor in a Los Angeles program, and Dr. Robert Drake, a psychiatrist at Dartmouth Medical School....
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Commentary: Graduate school and mental illness...intertwined needs and success


Success in graduate school, like recovery from mental illness, is step-by-step. K. R. Avilés-Vázquez describes how good mentoring became a partner for her.
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Book Reviews: "Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry is Medicating a Nation," Charles Barber
by Alison Bateman-House* Charles Barber's latest book, Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry is Medicating a Nation (Pantheon Books), is a passionate, multi-pronged critique of the state of psychiatry in the United States. Barber takes as his starting point his fourteen years working with the mentally ill homeless in New York City. In positions ranging from a counselor to a senior social services administrator, he worked on the streets, in shelters, and in supportive residential programs with clients who were dealing with...
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News: High suicide rates for Asian-American women
Language barriers, insurance costs and cultural values, including family honor and shame, often deter Asian-Americans from seeking help. According to an article in Newsweek, Asian-American women between the ages of 15-24 have the highest rates of suicide of women in the U.S., and those over 65 are ten times more likely to commit suicide than their Caucasian counterparts....
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News: Katrina damage lingers
A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that three years after Katrina, rates of depression have increased, and those taking prescription medicine for mental health problems rose from 8 to 17 percent since 2006. The full report is available....
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News: Responding to responders: who is responsible?
The federal government's responsibility for meeting health care problems resulting from 9.11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City were addressed in hearings held yesterday. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, (D-NY) was among the witnesses to testify about the nation's responsibility, not just New York's, in meeting the physical and mental health needs of responders. Uncertain federal funding has compromised treatment options, including special programs set up for firefighters and police. Maloney lambasted the Bush administration for discharging Dr....
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News: Hotline helps
In the first year of operation, the veterans' suicide hotline received a total of 55,000 calls from returning soldiers or their relatives. Rep. Harry Mitchell (AR) said the 22,000 calls from vets alone indicated the Veterans' Admnistreation had to do more yet to meet the crisis in mental health which has resulted in a jump in suicide. It's been estimated that one in five vets are returning from Iraq or Afghanistan with PTSD, and the hotline was installed last year...
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News: Viagra for women?
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicates Viagra may ease sexual dysfunction, a side effect for women taking SSRI anti-depressants. The study was conducted over three years, and employed numerous outcome measures including interviews, blood tests, and rating scales. The 8-week placebo-controlled clinical trial (N=98) was financed by Pfizer, according to the federal clinical trial registry. Of the six collaborators, including the lead author Dr. George Nurnberg, only one did not receive outside consulting...
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News: Depression in middle school students
A study of African American students (n=474) in Baltimore schools found that children showing difficulty mastering skills in the first grade are at risk for depression by middle school. The students were assessed in the first, sixth and seventh grades....
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Consider This: When the press gets it right. . .
Three items of note
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News: No two alike: study on substance use and mental health
Communities differ in substance abuse and mental health problems, and a new report from SAMSHA details the use of addictive substances -- pain relievers, marijuana, cocaine -- based on responses from 200,000 people in 345 selected regions of all 50 states. Some of the findings: Nationally, 7.7 percent of the population aged 12 or older was classified with being dependent on or having abused alcohol in the past year in 2004-2006. Nationally, 7.6 percent of adults aged 18 or older...
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News: Psychiatric disorders at Guantanamo
A report released from Human Rights Watch, Locked Up Alone indicates that many of the prisoners at Guantanamo have developed psychiatric symptoms of a thought disorders such as schizophrenia (hallucinations, voices, self-mutilation), or anxiety, PTSD, depression which have led to suicide attempts during their detainment. The YouTube video shows a supervised press visit in March....
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News: Regulating residential treament programs
Parents with troubled teens often choose mental health and behavioral treatment programs within an industry suffering from lack of state and federal oversight. Congressional hearings, and an April GAO report about reforms needed in the residential treatment industry are part of the background to a bill proposed by Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), "Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008" 
(H.R. 5876). Kathryn Whitehead (above) discusses her experience in a Montana program....
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News: APA panel: Liaison psychiatry at Walter Reed Hospital
Dr. Harold J. Wain discusses treating one soldier who was flown to Walter Reed Hospital with half her scull resting on her abdomen and another who picked up his severed arm so it could be reattached. These are two of 3,500 combat medical emergencies airlifted to the hospital as a result of the war in Iraq. Wain heads the liaison psychiatry service and he outlined procedures at the American Psychiatric Association for automatically placing psychiatrists on the treatment team prior...
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Film: Men Get Depression
“I would literally stare at [my computer] for an hour before doing anything.” . . . “I don’t want to think about anything, I don’t want to move. . . just leave me alone.” . . . “I was verbally abusive to people around me.” . . .“the only emotion that I showed was anger.”. . .“I had a high degree of anxiety; I had a sense of loss of self-worth.” This is how men describe what it feels...
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Consider This: What's in an FDA approval
FDA approval, watchdogs and court cases: what this means for you
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News: Trial hears of veteran suicides
On the opening day of a non-jury trial in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti heard about backlogs, delays, and 18 suicides a day despite staff increases in VA hospitals. A class-action suit, brought by two advocacy organizations, asks for improved treatment for mental health care and not for a financial settlement. The trial follows last week’s report from the Rand Corporation"Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery" noting a serious...
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News: Adolescent depression therapies
Research evaluating three treatment options for adolescents (n=439) with major depression disorder appeared in the April issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. Adolescents were selected from 13 centers between 1998 and 2004 and were evaluated three times for interventions including talk therapy, drug therapy and a combination....
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News: Impact of work programs
A six-country international study (n= 312) evaluated work programs and subsequent clinical and social functioning for people with schizophrenia and depression using a battery of standard evaluations. An abstract is available online in Advance Access Schizophrenia Bulletin....
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News: Barriers to meds for elderly
Two studies in the April issue of Psychiatric Services discuss barriers for the elderly taking psychiatric medicines in Canada and the United States. One article, an NIMH-funded study of co-pays in British Columbia between 1997 and 2005, found that copays delayed seniors from obtaining antidepressant medicines. Another study discussed the United States, and the implications of excluding the anti-anxiety benzodiazepines from Medicare Part D....
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Commentary: Home genetic tests: science or marketing?


With daily updates about genetics, the direct-to-consumer marketing of testing kits is proliferating. Whom do these kits serve? asks Laura Hercher.


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News: Drinking, drugs and depression: SAMHSA's study
Roughly one in ten youngsters between 12 and 17 years old have a depressive episode each year, SAMHSA administrator, Dr. Terry Cline, told a House subcommittee on Weds. "[T]these young people are twice as likely to take their first drink or use drugs for the first time as those who did not experience depression.” Help, should they become addicted, is not readily available. Cline said that slightly more than 10 percent of the 23.6 million needing treatment for drug or...
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News: Depression risk factor for black teens
A study of teen pregnancy (n=269), with mothers 12 to 17, calls race plus depression a “double jeopardy” risk factor. The authors believe their study of adolescent mothers, published in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, is the first to show that “depressive symptoms precede subsequent pregnancy and may be a determinant of this adverse outcome.”...
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News: Depresson studies
A study of adolescents in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests switching medicine and adding CBT helps teens for whom an earlier medicine didn't work. Men between 71-89 years old who scored high for elderly depression also had lower concentrations of testosterone. The community study (n=3987) took place in Australia, and findings are reported in the March edition of Archives of General Psychiatry (subscription required). Stroke victims: The American Academy of Neurology published a British study indicating...
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News: Backlog in vet claims persists
A Veterans' Affairs house panel heard experts say again that the system for addressing benefit claims is dysfunctional. The volume of claims -- 838,000 pending for 2007 -- and the delay in addressing them, which takes nearly six months, requires immediate attention for chronic conditions including mental disorders such as depression or PTSD. The hearings were held following a GAO report released earlier in the week. The President's 2009 budget proposal calls for hiring another 2,600 people to process claims....
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News: Purpose and recovery
Charles Barber, on the faculty of Yale University, writes about the social context for recovery and points to his own experiences in “a life that had been reconfigured by illness.” Follow-up conversation appears in The Washington Post....
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News: Bullying hurts
A study in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggests that being bullied at a young age is a risk factor for depression, anxiety, social isolation and suicidal thoughts. The research design using identical twins (n=1116) born in England and Wales, between 1994 and 1995, indicates the power of environment in internalizing victimization....
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News: Mid-life depression
Most people hit the lowest of the lows in their mid-40s, according to the findings of an American and British study. The pattern for lifelong depression follows a U-shape and, with a few exceptions, is fairly consistent for two million people in 80 countries. An exception appears to come from the United States, where women enter depression at about 40, and men, a bit later, at 50....
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News: Price tags for care
Americans spent $56 billion for treating mental disorders (including depression) in 2005, making it the fourth most costly of the nation’s medical expenses. When traumatic disorders are added – PTSD, anxiety or panic attacks—it brings the total to $128 billion. The full report is available online at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality....
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News: Publication bias for antidepressants
The selection of articles reaching print might overstate the benefit of antidepressants, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The authors examined clinical studies of 12 antidepressants, involving 12,564 patients, registered with the FDA and concluded that most published studies showed positive results. But one-third of the clinical studies showing that the agent was no better than a placebo were not published. Selective reporting of clinical trials which emphasize only the benefits, “may have adverse...
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News: Many causes of depression
A review article about depression in the Jan. 3, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (subscription required) cautions against a premature acceptance of a single theory explaining its origins. Causes of acute depression may differ from chronic depression, influenced by genes, biology, cardiovascular disease, or childhood trauma....
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Consider This: This campaign misfired
by Phyllis Vine

The Child Study Center withdraws "Ransom Notes."


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News: Suicide prevention measures for military
Differing view of progress toward implementing suicide prevention programs were heard on Capitol Hill yesterday in testimony before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Telling a story that has become all too familiar were parents Mike and Kim Bowman, whose 23-year old son Specialist Tim Bowman committed suicide in 2005 after returning from Iraq with the Illinois National Guard. “The VA mental health system is broken in function, and understaffed in operation,” Bowman said, calling the veteran suicide rate an...
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News: Disparities in care
Several articles in the December issue of Psychiatric Services (fee required) address cultural and racial differences in seeking psychiatric help, how language and ethnicity affect treatment, and how resources are spent. Conspicuous differences emerge, including “less care to persons in African-American and Hispanic minority groups than to whites,” according to one study examining disparities between 2000-2004. Stigma around mental health services might also explain ethnic differences for seeking help by women with depression....
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News: Fighting depression and suicide in Australia
Men in Australia, who battle depression and suicide, are meeting in warehouses where they build furniture or children’s toys. The World looks at the quickly growing “men’s shed” movement, how these groups provide companionship and a place to speak freely, and how they have saved lives and spirits....
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News: Suicide, depression and insurance: states differ
Depression and suicide vary considerably state to state, according to a study released by Mental Health America. But those with barriers to insurance and treatment have higher rates than those with easy access and services. Depression and suicide are closely linked. Thirty thousand people take their own lives each year and suicide is the third leading cause of death for those 15-24 years old. Ranking America's Mental Health was built on state and federal data sets, and individual responses for...
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News: Bone loss linked to depression
Depression should be on the list of risk factors for osteoperosis in premenopausal women, according to a National Institutes of Health study appearing in Archives of Internal Medicine (Nov. 26). Earlier reports indicated a relationship between antidepressants and bone loss in the elderly, but the recent study “showed that these medications were not linked to low bone mass in premenopausal women.” The level of bone loss was comparable to that associated with other risk factors such as smoking or diet....
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News: Doctors repping for pharma
What is the cost of paying doctors to speak on behalf of a specific medicine? Psychiatrist Daniel Carlat discusses how he was recruited, and why he stopped lecturing about the antidepressant Effexor XR for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Carlat tells this story in "Dr. Drug Rep," published in the New York Times Sunday Magazine....
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News: Brain cells can grow lifelong
Neuroscientists reported on an experiment showing the growth of new cells in the hippocampus of monkeys treated with fluoxetine (Prozac), which the Boston Globe calls another contribution to an emerging theory about the importance of neurogenesis. The appreciation that neurons can grow in the adult brain appeared in the scientific literature about ten years ago. Now an interdisciplinary research team at Stony Brook University Medical Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has designed a technique to observe...
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News: Telemedicine after Katrina
Professor Ronald Kessler included telemedicine as one option for New Orleans two years after Katrina left the devastated city short of psychiatric services. Kessler, co-author of a recent study published in Psychiatric Services, discussed a range of persistent symptoms -- PTSD, depression, and suicidal thoughts -- plaguing people who are trying to rebuild their lives. Kessler's nine-minute interview with NPR can be heard on their site....
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News: Soldiers need follow-up
A survey of 88,235 soldiers returning from Iraq indicates that psychiatric symptoms, including depression, PTSD , and alcohol abuse, can take months to become apparent. The study, the first of its kind from the Walter Reed Military Institute, aimed to evaluate the impact of two screenings on detection and treatment. The first was soon after return; the second three to six months later. In many instances, soldiers had already left service, or were beyond the six month window for military...
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News: Open enrollment for Medicare Part D
With six weeks of an open enrollment period to make changes in Medicare Part D coverage beginning Nov. 15, the Kaiser Family Foundation examined 1824 stand alone plans and estimates that premiums are likely to increase an average of 17 percent (for those staying in the same plan), with the top three plans averaging 27 percent. Seniors, and those who advise them, might take note of the October issue of Psychiatric Services which says restrictions in some drug plans under...
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Commentary: Depression, advertising and pharma
by Julie Donahue
If pharmaceuticals educate consumers, instead of targeting them for specific drugs, can they still meet the bottom line? These are among the questions Professor Julie Donahue raises about depression and advertising for antidepressants.


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News: Depression hits men
Gender stereotypes suggest men don’t, or shouldn’t get depression. But statistics say about 10 percent of them do experience depression at some time in their lives. Now a national campaign is tackling the reality in Spanish and English with local community events, educational resources, and the release of a film "Men Get Depression" in 2008. To kick of the campaign, a symposium at the Kaiser Family Foundation on Tuesday addressed disparities in male depression. Dr. David Satcher, the former Surgeon...
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Consider This: Generic antidepressant not equal to patented product
A generic antidepressant has different action and side effects.


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News: China treats mental illness with surgery
The Wall Street Journal reports that in China some doctors routinely perform surgery on people suffering from schizophrenia or depression, a practice abhorrent in the West. The procedure destroys part of the brain and while doctors claim improvement more than 90 percent of the time, families see failures and new disabilities, and they are fighting back. In 2004, China banned similar procedures, called “ablative” surgery, for drug addiction....
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News: Smoking, dopamine and mental illness
Nicotine has long been known to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and cancer, but it also is a gateway to substance abuse and marijuana, and a factor in mental illness. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has now published Tobacco -- The Smoking Gun (for purchase or free pdf download) discussing the damage done to the adolescent brain. Anxiety symptoms are stronger for smokers than for non-smokers, and twice as many (22 percent)...
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News: Biology, vulnerability and stress
A biologically active process promoting resistance to stress in mice is reported in the online science journal Cell (subscription required). The research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and a press release noted, "[T]he researchers found differences in the rate of impulse-firing by cells that make the chemical messenger dopamine." Director Thomas R. Insel, MD, expressed enthusiasm for these findings, citing similar mechanisms in the human brain....
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News: Anticipating disaster -- school preparedness
RAND, a nonprofit research organization, released a report saying schools should create programs to anticipate students needs after a hurricane, shooting or earthquake. An assessment of 196,000 students in grades K-12 displaced by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, in 2005, indicated that even where emergency responses were adequate, six months later many programs had disappeared leaving PTSD, chronic stress, anxiety or depression untreated. Lisa H. Jaycox, study director, said schools must follow-up “for the months and years afterward when lingering mental...
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News: Heart disease killing people with mental illness
An editorial in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) sounds a wake up call to the medical community to address the shortened life span of untreated cardiovascular disease for people with a mental illness. On average their life-span is 25 years shorter, and the authors go beyond explaining this disparity with diet and smoking (people with mental illness consume about half of the cigarettes sold in the United States). They urge psychiatrists to begin monitoring cholesterol, blood pressure, and...
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News: Depression rates vary
Data from a National Survey of Drug Uses and Health indicate that depression varies across gender, age and occupation. Of the people aged 18-64 who experienced major depressive episodes between 2004-2006, the greatest number (10.8 percent) came from workers in personal care and service occupations. The highest rate among female workers (14.8) came from those employed in food preparation; and for those 26-34, the highest rate (13.5) came from people working in arts,design, entertainment, sports and media. Between $30 billion...
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News: Combined treatments help depressed teens
A study of adolescents (N=327) diagnosed with a major depressive disorder reports that treatment which included a combination of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and medication was superior to monotherapy. Measurement took place at 12, 18 and 36 weeks at 13 different sites. The study appeared in the Archives of General Psychiatry....
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News: Depression and diabetes
People with diabetes who neglect self-care are at risk for the symptoms of depression, according to a new study (N=879) conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Gonzalez, Mass. General Hospital. But the opposite is also true. People suffering from depression are more likely to miss their medication. Gonzalez told Reuters that the findings reiterate the importance of mental health providers remaining alert to diabetes as a chronic disease....
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News: Integrated model of primary care
A study appearing in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that integrating mental health and substance abuse treatments with primary care reduced racial disparities based on access. The conclusions are based on a randomizing 183 elderly patients at a single site....
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News: Depression costs work days
Major depression accounted for the second most frequent reason people missed work according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The study was based on interviews with a representative sample of 9,282 people, 18 and older. Back and neck pain accounted for the greatest number (1.2 billion) of missed days, nearly three times more than the 387 million days for depression....
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News: Exercise equal to antidepressants
A Duke University study of major depressive disorder found that exercise was as effective as an antidepressant (Zoloft) in treating adults (N=202) after four-months. The September issue of the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine reports that patients who were randomly assigned to two groups using aerobic exercise (at home or in a supervised group setting) scored about the same as those taking antidepressants on the Hamilton Rating Depression Scale, a standard evaluation. Both did better than the placebo group. Depression is...
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News: Crisis in global mental health
Lancet's third installment of a six-part series on global mental health discusses failures to address depression, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse, and developmental disorders in low- and middle-income countries. A review of 11,500 studies, or nearly 85,000 people in 17 countries, lead an international panel of authors to conclude that gaps in research and systems, shortages of community resources, and the failure to treat with price-effective interventions penalize low and middle-income countries: Most mental health systems in the world are dominated by...
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Commentary: Disaster Mental Health
by Anthony T. Ng, MD
In "Disaster Mental Health," Dr. Anthony T. Ng draws on his extensive experience to discuss challenges psychiatrists face when helping individuals and communities respond to natural or man-made disasters. Dr. Ng is the former chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disasters.

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News: Depression the most damaging chronic illness
"[D]epression had the largest effect on worsening health compared with the other chronic conditions," such as asthma, angina, asthma, arthritis or diabetes, according to a study conducted by the World Health Organization.Interviewing more than 245,000 people from 60 countries, WHO concludes that people with depression have the lowest overall health scores - made worse when another chronic disease co-occurs. The article is part of a series about global mental health published in the Sept. 8th issue of The Lancet....
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News: Two years later: problems abound
Coming up on the second anniversary of Katrina, USA Today ran a four-part story on persistent mental health issues for kids. Some problems appear to be a direct consequence of the trauma of the hurricane, others due to the limbo in which people have been living since....
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News: PET scans/ MRIs used diagnostically
The Menninger Clinic announced a novel step in the diagnostic process using MRI's (magnetic reasonance imaging) and PET scans (position emission tomography). Now part of Baylor University, Menninger is offering these tools in addition to traditional assessments for schizophrenia, bipolar, depression. PET scans and MRI's have been used for research, but not for diagnostic purposes....
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News: Targeting medication by genes
The August issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry reports some people have a genetic predisposition to respond to the antidepressant citalopram (Celexa). The NIMH research was based on DNA collected in the clinical trial Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D). "We're moving steadily closer to being able to personalize treatments based on patients' genetic variations." said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, MD....
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News: Depression and heart risks
A research team at the University Medical Center in Amsterdam confirms depression is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Their conclusions are based on an analysis of 28 different studies (N=80,000) which appeared in the July issue of the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry....
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News: Faster acting antidepressant
Scientists at NIMH have identified molecular targets that may speed the absorption of antidepressant medication, according to a report published online in Biological Psychiatry....
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News: FDA will review Abilify for depression
Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co. announced that the FDA agreed to a priority review of Abilify for treating depression. The drug was approved for treating schiziophrenia in 2002, for bipolar in 2004, and an oral solution hit the market in 2005. Priority review shrinks the process to six months....
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News: Number 1 Rx in America: antidepressants
CNN, July 9, 2007 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the use of antidepressants tripled between 1988 and 2000. By 2005 they were the most often prescribed drug in America. It's not clear what's driving the surge -- better diagnosis, pharma marketing, or consumer demand....
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News: Depression and brain circuitry
">Science Express reports that a research has pinpointed brain circuitry which seems to explain depression in rats. With fast high-resolution cameras, a team at the Stanford University School Medicine was able to observe in real-time how brain circuits respond to stimuli such as fluorescent dyes and antidepressants....
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News: Caffeine induced panic attacks
Medscape, June 22, 2007 A study (N=99) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, found subjects with major depression and panic disorders reporting more anxiety than did controls when challenged with the equivalent of five cups of coffee. The findings were published in Comprehensive Psychiatry (May-June 2007), and also presented in a poster session at the American Psychiatric Association meetings....
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News: Musician pays tribute to mother
Musician Judith Owen paid tribute to her mother during an interview with NPR's Liane Hansen on Sunday Edition. Owen's mother, who suffered from depression and took her life, influenced the singer/songwriter's moving title-song for her newest album, Happy This Way....
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News: FDA stops obesity drug
Citing safety factors, the FDA rejected a drug called Zimulti used to fight hunger. Side effects included risk factors for depression, phobias, PTSD and suicidal thoughts....
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News: Co-occurring depression and anxiety
Reuters, June 14, 2007 The June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry (requires subscription) published a study (N=1,037) in New Zealand examining the association between anxiety disorders and depression. The high incidence of co-occurrence leads authors to suggest re-classifying how they are diagnosed, something which has implications for clinical care....
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News: Annual SAMHSA report on depression
June 11, 2007 An annual SAMHSA report estimating the prevalence of depression confirms an "ongoing public health concern in America." The report is based on information from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2004 and 2005). For teens, estimates are highest in Idaho (10.37); for those over 18, it is Utah (10.14). Information is presented state-by-state, and not separately for youth younger than 12, or adults older than 65....
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News: Antidepressants in Kids - Another Look
Scientific American Mind, June 2007 Science writer Paul Raeburn asks if antidepressants are "altering the brains of the kids who take them?" This article is based on lab research and interviews with child psychiatrists to address the impact medication versus untreated depression on the development of the brain....
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News: Sessions on TMS for depression at American Psychiatric Association meetings
Sessions at the APA meetings in San Diego reported on a Stanford University study (N=301) comparing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to placebo to treat moderate-to-severe depression. Findings indicate those undergoing TMS, who had not benefitted from antidepressant therapy, had a reduction in symptoms and an increase in functioning based on numerous reporting scales....
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News: A comment on the FDA’s decision for black-box warning
New England Journal of Medicine, May 7, 2007 (on-line version) An op-ed appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine analyzes the data used by the FDA -- plus some it didn’t include -- to arrive at the recent decision to expandblack box warnings about antidepressants and the risk of suicide for people under the age of 24. “The new black-box warning is clearly an attempt to balance the small risk posed by antidepressants against their well-documented benefits. But this...
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Links: Children and Youth
These organizations explicitly address children's concerns as they relate to diagnosis, education, statistical prevalence, and medication. Updated 10.03.07
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Links: Find Help
New visitors will find useful resources for narrowing a search or for general information. Updated 11.02.07.
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News: JAMA reviews studies of pediatric antidepressants
According to an article in JAMA, a review of 27 pediatric trials (including major depression, OCD and other anxiety disorders) showed selected benefits of antidepressants appear to outweigh risks of suicide attempts. Variations occurred depending on age, severity, and study characteristics. This follow recent news that prescriptions for antidepressants declined after revisions in FDA labeling and media coverage of suicide attempts....
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News: Lithium appears to drop suicide rates
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry has published an article based on a McLean Hospital study (N=329) analyzing patterns of suicide attempts of people with depression or bipolar disorder. Those being treated with lithium showed substantial (88.5 percent) reductions in risk....
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News: Swarthmore students debate depression, genes and existential suffering
In response to a student op-ed about depression, other students, and one father (Faud Issa, M.D., F.A.P.A), respond....
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News: When diagnosis overlaps: GAD, depression, grief reactions
Washington Post, April 4, 2007 / Primary Psychiatry Two articles draw from research in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry to address diagnostic certainty when situations obscure the meaning of symptoms....
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News: Dirt and depression
Anxiety Insights analyzes a report from Neuroscience explaining how bacteria normally found in soil activates serotonin neurons with the potential to mediate mood disorders....
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News: TMS for treating depression
Italian researchers show transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) reduces symptoms of depression lasting up to three months. The small study size (N=19) warrants additional research to determine comparisons with anti-depressants in a larger sample....
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News: Stigma documented
Findings from a study out of Indiana University point to continuing stigma of people with mental illness. Between 30 to 40 percent of the respondents (N=1,134) said they would not want their child to become friends with someone who was depressed or had ADHD. This compares to about 10 percent who reported negative feelings when asked about asthma....
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News: Risk of depression doubles for Latino caregivers
A study of Latino caregivers (N=85) in California, Texas, and Wisconsin, confirmed that caring for a relative with schizophrenia leads to a greater sense of burden and stigma as well as a higher risk for depression. The authors recommend dedicating resources to family support alongside those of patient recovery....
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Book Reviews: "Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy," by Kitty Dukakis and Larry Tye
reviewed by Sigurd Ackerman, MD
ECT has been alternately hailed as a medical miracle and denounced as a dehumanizing punishment. For author Kitty Dukakis, despite its risks and the side effects, it was the most successful therapeutic intervention she experienced in decades of fighting depression.
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Book Reviews: "Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness," by Joshua Wolf Shenk
reviewed by Phyllis Vine
Within the context of a supportive community and watchful friends, part of Abraham Lincoln's courage came from the humility he acquired in his battles with depression and melancholy.
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