番茄社区

Psychiatry

News, opinions and meeting coverage in psychiatry.

Edible Dynamite, Cockney Rhyming Medical Slang: That's Improbable!

A weekly report from our friends at Improbable Research.

How To Tell Fake Neck Pain From Real: The Pain Medicine News Report

A regular update on what鈥檚 new in surgery from our friends at Pain Medicine News.

Medtronic's Infuse Moves From Operating Room to Courtroom

An investigative series by 番茄社区/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has been tracking the spinal fusion device called Infuse in a 4-year-long series and now reports how a flawed FDA system for device approval may have led to a long string of adverse events culminating in thousands of liability suits.

FDA Slashes Starting Dose for Lunesta

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Patients starting on the sleep drug eszopiclone (Lunesta) should take no more than 1 mg at bedtime -- one-third the current label-recommended dose -- because of the risk of next-day impairment, the FDA said Thursday.

Murder: Another Ambien Side Effect?

NEW YORK CITY -- Forensic psychiatrists are facing new challenges with murders committed by people under the influence of the sleep drug zolpidem (Ambien) -- not least to persuade the criminal justice system to take their conclusions seriously.

Depot Drug Keeps Schizophrenics Out of Jail

NEW YORK CITY -- Schizophrenia patients who had recently been released from jail were less likely to be rearrested or otherwise fail treatment when they took a depot antipsychotic drug in a randomized trial.

Seroquel XR Helps in Borderline Personality Disorder

NEW YORK CITY -- Patients with borderline personality disorder showed significant improvements when treated with long-acting antipsychotic agent quetiapine fumarate (Seroquel XR).

Cutting Sugar May Ease IBS in Kids

CHICAGO -- A diet low in foods with certain sugars known as FODMAPs appears to reduce symptoms in children diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, researchers said here.

Pain Med Docs More Prone to Burnout

TAMPA -- Physicians who specialize in pain medicine appear to be at greater risk of experiencing professional burnout than physicians in other specialties, researchers reported here.

Patients鈥� Eye Color a Clue to Pain Tolerance

TAMPA -- Caucasian women with light-colored eyes -- blue or green -- appear to tolerate pain better than Causcasian women with brown or hazel eyes, researchers reported here.

APA Meeting Highlights Mental Health Biology

NEW YORK CITY -- The biological basis for normal and abnormal mental function is emerging as a dominant theme in psychiatry research, and the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting that starts here Saturday won't be an exception.

Forget Glucometers, Use Voodoo Dolls Instead: That's Improbable!

A weekly report from our friends at Improbable Research.

10 Ways to Safely Push Ketamine in the ED

A doctor recently took me on a Special K trip, and I enjoyed it immensely.

FDA Approves Headband Device for Migraine

A headband delivering electrical nerve stimulation can prevent onset of migraine headaches and can be marketed for that purpose in the U.S., the FDA said Tuesday.

Parent's Death Has Long-Term Effect on Kids' Grades

The death of a mother or father in childhood was associated with lower grades and school failure in adolescence, but the effect was less pronounced when such things as mental health were taken into account, researchers found.

Medtronic Sued by 1,000 Infuse Patients

Medtronic said about 1,000 people have sued the company over its bone morphogenetic protein-2 product, Infuse, and that many more lawsuits may be coming.

Killing Pain: Xanax Tops Charts

Alprazolam, more popularly known by its brand name -- Xanax--is America's favorite tranquilizer and one that is often used in combination with an opioid.

Killing Pain: Benzo 'Boost' Can Be Deadly

Adding a benzodiazepine to an opioid painkiller can increase the effect of the opioid, or in the language of addiction, benzos can boost the high -- but the combo can be deadly, according to this Killing Pain report from 番茄社区 and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Lyrica Edges Mirapex for Restless Legs

Patients with restless legs syndrome treated with pregabalin (Lyrica) had as much symptom improvement as those receiving pramipexole (Mirapex) in a large year-long trial, with fewer showing "augmentation."

Drug Combo Saves Kids' Tonsils in Mild OSA

The anti-inflammatory asthma drug montelukast (Singulair) plus corticosteroids was an effective initial alternative to surgery for mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children, a retrospective study showed.

Pay and Practice: Are Neurologists Primary Care Docs?

WASHINGTON -- Neurology isn't often mentioned in the same breath as primary care, but the American Academy of Neurology is again lobbying to gain that sobriquet -- this time to take advantage of a recent policy change that benefits primary care providers.

Killing Pain: Tramadol the 'Safe' Drug of Abuse

Almost 2 decades have passed since the FDA approved tramadol as a 'safe' opioid, but the intervening years provide evidence to question that 'safe' claim, as this latest investigation by John Fauber for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-番茄社区 revealed.

Antidepressant Dressed Up for Menopause

One drug company can now brag about a nonhormonal option for menopausal hos flashes. But Brisdelle is just an old drug dressed up in a new feminine name and packaging -- it's the antidepressant paroxetine, better known by its brand name, Paxil.

ADHD: Brain Iron May Be Marker

CHICAGO -- Low Fe levels in the brain may signal the presence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), researchers reported here.

Debate: Who Should Prescribe CPAP?

Should primary care physicians and other nonspecialists be able to prescribe sleep apnea treatment after home testing? Experts debated that issue this month in Chest.

Magnet Therapy Cuts Binge-Purge Eating

SAN DIEGO -- A course of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) helped about half of patients with binge/purge eating disorders to cut the frequency of such episodes significantly, a researcher said here.

Teens More Apt to Fight Than Flee

SAN DIEGO -- Teens were more likely to actively respond to aggressive cues than were children or adults, researchers reported here.

Exercise May Allay Anxiety, Depression

SAN DIEGO -- Exercise may have modest benefits as a treatment for patients suffering from anxiety or depression, researchers reported here.

Antidepressants, Lyrica OK Combo in Fibromyalgia

SAN DIEGO -- Patients with fibromyalgia who were taking antidepressants found that their pain was successfully managed with pregabalin (Lyrica), a researcher said here.

Sleep Problems, Poor Angioplasty Outcomes Linked

Disturbed sleep is common in heart patients following coronary angioplasty and is an independent risk factor for poor cardiac outcomes, researchers reported.

Common Cause for Bruxism, Restless Legs, Migraine?

NEW ORLEANS -- About half of patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) seen in a single neurology practice also qualified for diagnoses of bruxism and migraine, suggesting a possible common cause for these disorders, a researcher said here.

Heart Surgery as Infant Hikes Risk for ADHD Later

Children who underwent surgery for congenital heart disease in the first year of life appeared to carry an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) once they reached school age, researchers found.

Morning Break: Addictive Oreos and Sperm-Slaying Bacon

Health news and commentary from around the Web, gathered by the 番茄社区 staff.

MoCA Beats MMSE to Assess Dementia

NEW ORLEANS -- The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was better than the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) at teasing out subtle differences in cognitive performance among mildly impaired individuals, researchers reported here.

Xyrem Helps With Nighttime Sleep in Narcolepsy

NEW ORLEANS -- Narcolepsy patients troubled by frequent nighttime awakenings had less sleep disruption when taking sodium oxybate (Xyrem) than modafinil (Provigil) in a randomized trial, a researcher reported here.

Opioid Use Common After Spine Surgery

NEW ORLEANS -- One year after surgery to relieve back pain, about of third of patients still were using narcotic painkillers, according to a study that raised new concerns about the long-term use of opioids.

Neurotransmitter Linked to Post-Traumatic Stress

Post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with lowered levels of norepinephrine transporter, a neurotransmitter in a brain region that plays a role in panic and stress, researchers reported.

Antidepressants Have No Effect on Bone Loss

The use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or tricyclic antidepressants among women in midlife didn't lead to a greater rate of bone loss, a prospective cohort study found.

FDA Warns of Fatal Skin Reactions with Acetaminophen

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Acetaminophen is associated with rare but severe and sometimes fatal skin reactions at usual doses, the FDA said Thursday.

FDA Adds Black Box Warning to Malaria Drug

The FDA has added a boxed warning to the labeling of the antimalarial drug mefloquine, advising of the possibility of neurologic and psychiatric adverse events, the agency announced.

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