Denmark to Hold Psychiatrist Responsible for Suicide
The Danish Agency for Patients' Rights is holding a psychiatrist responsible for a patient's suicide, which came 11 days after an 8-minute consultation that...
Paternal Age Associated With Children’s Mental Health
A study in JAMA Psychiatry finds that the association between advanced paternal age and psychiatric and academic morbidity is stronger than previously estimated, and...
Director Tony Scott had Antidepressant – Not Cancer – at Time of Suicide
The Los Angeles County coroner's department reported yesterday that Tony Scott, the  director of films such as "Top Gun" and "Beverly Hills Cop II,"...
J&J Takes Last Stab at $1.2B Risperdal Verdict
Lawyers for Johnson & Johnson took the stand in Arkansas today, a final effort at convincing the Arkansas Supreme Court to overturn a jury's...
Risk of Premature Death and Violent Crime Associated With Schizophrenia Diagnoses Rising
Rates of adverse outcomes, including premature death and violent crime, have increased among people with schizophrenia and related diagnoses since the 1970s when compared to...
Anesthetize People to Treat PTSD Symptoms?
"Breathing in xenon, a gas used in people for anesthesia, may help treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions linked with fear and anxiety,"...
DSM-5 Creates New Off-Label Prescription Opportunities
In the film Avatar scientists are keen to exploit the moon planet Pandora, which is inhabited by 10-foot-tall blue humanoids called Na'vi. To do so they create Na'vi human hybrids called “Avatars” which are controlled from afar by genetically matched humans. When the scientists decide to destroy the eco-system of the planet to gain access to valuable minerals, war breaks out between the humans and the Na'vi. At this point the main character, Jake, who operates an Avatar, has to choose whose side he is on. Eventually Jake's life is saved and transformed by the Tree of Souls, which the humans are trying to destroy. Why are Avatars in the news again? The latest innovation from psychiatric research is using computer generated avatars to help people who hear aggressive voices.
Canadian Who Killed Son While on Medication Joins Forces With U.S. Dad Who Killed...
David Crespi is serving a life sentence following his 2006 slaying of his five-year-old twin girls while being treated with antidepressant medications. David Carmichael,...
Resilience: its Psychology and Neurobiology
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica reviews the literature on psychological and biological findings on resilience, finding that secure attachment, the experience of positive emotions and having...
Hearing on H.R. 3717 (“Murphy Bill”) to Take Place Tomorrow
The House Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing tomorrow (Thursday, April 3, 2014) on the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act," also...
Happiness and First-Episode Schizophrenia
Canadian researchers find that 31 people with first-episode schizophrenia diagnoses were as happy as 29 controls, according to a self-reported questionnaire measuring happiness, life...
Prescriber of Huge Amounts of Antipsychotic Drug Was Taking Kickbacks
ProPublica has provided an update on their investigation of Dr. Michael Reinstein. "A former Chicago psychiatrist who was the nation's top prescriber of the...
One-quarter of Physicians Say Medical Research is “Sick”
In a survey of 315 medical scientists in the Netherlands, 15% "admitted to recently fabricating or falsifying research data," while more than 25% "admitted...
Common Sleep Aid Dangerous Due to Wide Misuse
Zolpidem, the active ingredient in many common sleep aids, accounts for more emergency hospital visits than any other psychoactive drug.
“DSM-5: Caught between Mental Illness Stigma and Anti-Psychiatry Prejudice”
Jeffrey Lieberman, incoming president of the APA, responds to criticism of the DSM and psychiatry, saying "it’s important to understand the difference between thoughtful,...
Previous Experiences with Treatments Influence Effectiveness of New Treatments
Previous experiences of treatments working or not working significantly influence the effectiveness of new treatments on clinical trial participants and patients, even in relation...
Bullying Affects Mental and Physical Health Long-Term
Researchers from Boston Children's Hospital analyzed data from 4297 children surveyed over 3 time points (fifth, seventh and tenth grades) to find that bullying...
In-school Exercise a Help for Attention Deficits
Researcher Michele Tine of Dartmouth College’s Poverty and Learning Lab reports in the journal Frontiers in Psychology that 12 minutes of aerobic exercise caused...
Half of Americans Believe in a Medical Conspiracy
Research published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that about half of American adults believe in at least one medical conspiracy theory. "Science in...
“A Glut of Antidepressants”
The New York Times reflects on various explanations for the skyrocketing use of antidepressants (the economy, pharmaceutical advertising, the effect of insurance), then reports...
Environment is a Primary Factor in Transition to Psychosis
Researchers (including Jim van Os)Â find, in a three-year cohort study of 1272 people at possible genetic risk of psychosis, that "most transitions (to psychosis)...
Dateline NBC to Cover Child Psychiatric Overmedication Epidemic This Sunday
This Sunday, June 12 at 7pm (EDT) on NBCs Dateline will cover MIA author Steve Francesco's book, Overmedicated and Undertreated: How I Lost My...
