Flat Affect Fluctuates, but Predicts Poor Outcomes
Researchers in Norway and Denmark found that in a sample of 186 first-episode psychosis patients followed for 10 years, flat affect was more "fluctuant"...
Family-Level Intervention for Schizophrenia
Scores of daily function, employment, living situation, marital status and Global Assessment Scale in 979 persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and 1,509 of their relatives...
Ritalin Causes Long-Lasting Change in Prefrontal Neurons
Drexel University researchers found that methylphenidate (Ritalin) administered to juvenile rats produced significant depressive effects on pyramidal neurons. The authors conclude that "the juvenile...
APA President-Elect Responds to DSM Criticism on Fox News
Dr. Keith Ablow, a former APA member who resigned "in protest," criticized the DSM on FoxNews.com last week. Dr. Joseph Lieberman, president-elect of the...
Negative Symptoms Predict Quality of Life
Researchers assessed 55 first-episode drug-naive people with schizophrenia diagnoses in New Delhi, India for the predictive value of symptoms on quality of life (QOL)....
Review of Dietary Supplements for Depression
A review of dietary drug supplements for depression in the May issue of the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services finds that...
Scientific American Reviews the DSM
In a continuing series, Scientific American analyzes the "Trouble at the Heart of Psychiatry's Revised Rule Book."
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Part 1: Psychiatrists Are About to Shift...
Canada Announces National Mental Health Strategy
Announcing what The Lancet calls "the first-ever national mental health strategy," Canada's Mental Health Commission released "Changing Directions, Changing Lives," a plan intended to...
“How One Flawed Study Spawned a Decade of Lies”
Forbes magazine dives into the controversy swirling around former DSM task force chairman Robert Spitzer, and his recanted study of "reparative therapy," with an...
Accused Trayvon Martin Killer was Previously Prescribed Adderall
George Zimmerman, accused of killing unarmed Trayvon Martin while communicating with police dispatchers who tried to restrain him, was prescribed Adderall (a stimulant) and...
“Zoloft Defense” to Start Monday
The defense phase of the trial of Anthony Nicholas Orban begins on Monday, with Mr. Orban's lawyer presenting evidence that Orban was so overwhelmed...
Mental Illness is the Leading Cause of Military Hospitalizations
Since 2001 almost $2 billion have been spent on drugs to treat mental illness and PTSD in soldiers, but mental illness is still the...
Dissociative Experiences Mediate Childhood Trauma/Auditory Hallucinations
Researchers in Spain assessed 71 patients diagnosed with psychoses for dissociative experiences, trauma, delusions and hallucinations. Childhood trauma was positively associated with dissociation (r =...
Benzos in 30% of NYC’s Overdose Deaths; ER Visits Soar
The NYC Department of Health reports that 30% of the city's 2009 overdose deaths were tied to benzodiazepines, and that benzo-related emergency room visits...
Judge Allows Zoloft Defense in CA Rape Case
A former southern California police detective and Iraq war veteran charged with rape will be allowed to argue that an over-prescription of antidepressants for...
“Father of Modern Psychiatry” Feels He Owes An Apology
Robert Spitzer, chair of the DSM-III task force and referred to as "the father of modern psychiatry" in a front-page story on the New...
Consumer Reports: Long-Term Benefits of ADHD Drugs Uncertain
Consumer Reports, looking at an analysis of more than 400 studies of ADHD medications, concludes that the apparent benefits of the drugs wear off...
Pa. Court Hears Arguments in Dismissed Risperdal Case
A lawyer for Pennsylvania urged seven justices of the Pa. Commonwealth Court yesterday to allow the state's case against Johnson & Johnson's subsidiary Janssen...
Benzos May Increase Cancer Risk
Researchers in Taiwan found in a retrospective analysis of data from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance system concerning 59,647 patients from 1996 to 2000 that...
Behavioral Therapy (Including Parents) More Effective for ADHD than Drugs
Stimulant medication does not improve the academic performance or test scores of the 9% of all children in the U.S. diagnosed with ADHD, according to...
Cognitive Remediation with Functional Skills Training Effective in Schizophrenia
Researchers from Canada and the U.S. report, in findings published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, that cognitive remediation robustly improved neurocognition after 12...
Pennsylvania Court to Hear Appeal of Dismissed Risperdal Lawsuit
In 2002, Pennsylvania state investigator Allen Jones discovered improprieties that lead to a succession of multi-billion dollar awards and settlements against Johnson & Johnson...
Fewer Involuntary Admissions by Psychiatrists than Physicians
In October of 2006 Switzerland enacted a law requiring a certified psychiatrist - rather than a physician or resident - to compel an involuntary...
Nonwhites Twice as Likely to Receive Injectable Antipsychotics
Research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry shows that of all 901 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia from July 2009 to June 2010 at a...
DSM-5 Adds “Behavior” to List of Addictions
The APA convention last week included a debate about the addition of "Behavioral Addiction - Not Otherwise Specificed" to the new edition of the...
