PsychiatryRounds Team's Page

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) -- A pair of recent research articles has cast the public spotlight on treating children and adolescents with antipsychotic medications.1,2 In the first report, a large and broadly representative group of child and adolescent patients, all naive to antipsychotic medications, was followed for approximately 10 weeks after initiating treatment with olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, or aripiprazole. The average weight increase ranged from 18.7 pounds (olanzapine) to 9.7 pounds… Continue

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) -- The diagnostic criteria for sexual addiction are derived from the behaviorally nonspecific criteria for addictive disorder that were presented in Part 1 (Goodman, 1998b), by replacing "behavior" with "sexual behavior" (see Table). A definition of sexual addiction, which facilitates preliminary diagnosis of the disorder, can similarly be derived from the simple definition of addiction.

Accordingly, sexual addiction is defined as a condition in which some form of sexual beh… Continue

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) -- Firearms and Mental Illness

Donna M. Norris, MD and Marilyn Price, MD
Dr Norris is assistant clinical professor and Dr Price is clinical instructor in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston. The authors report no conflicts of interest concerning the subject matter of this article.

The right of American citizens to own, register, and carry firearms has a significant history of federal and/or local regulation dating to the early 18th… Continue

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) -- Researchers have found evidence that the placebo effect is not all “in your mind.” This study, recently published in Science, suggests that the spinal column—specifically, the dorsal horn—may be involved in blocking pain after placebo has been administered. Eippert and colleagues1 examined pain reactions in 13 young, healthy men (21 to 30 years old) after applying 2 types of cream on their forearms. The participants were told that one cream was a highly effective analgesic… Continue

(PSYCHIATRIC TIMES) -- Some would ask whether the psychiatric system at Ft. Hood adequately assessed the mental state of Army Maj Nidal Malik Hasan, the man accused of yesterday's shooting rampage on the base.

Maj Hasan, 39, was reportedly about to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, despite his vehement and public objections to the wars both on the Internet and to colleagues.1 It is not clear to what extent Maj Hasan's clinical supervisors were monitoring his emotional state prior to the rampa… Continue