Monthly Archive for September, 2009
New Antipsychotic Agent in the US Market
More than 50 years ago, the first antipsychotic medications appeared in the United States. While these drugs -– fluphenazine, haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and others -- were effective in treating a variety of psychiatric conditions, their safety and tolerability presented many drawbacks. It was not until the 1990s when a new class of antipsychotic medications emerged that presented a decreased risk of serious side effects. The newer class of so-called atypical antipsychotics -- as opposed to the first-generation “typical” or “conventional” drugs -- has not had a new member in more than a decade. Now, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first new atypical antipsychotic in many years.
Will Healthcare Workers Refuse the Swine Flu Vaccine?
The first doses of vaccine for the Influenza A H1N1 virus (“swine flu”) should be available in October of 2009. Due to an initial limited supply, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that healthcare workers should be first in line to receive the vaccine. Immunizing healthcare workers against the H1N1 virus not only provides personal protection for the workers, but also protects patients and reduces absenteeism in healthcare settings. Unfortunately, a recent study published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports that less than half of healthcare workers surveyed are willing to be vaccinated against pandemic flu.
Brain Blogging, Forty-Seventh Edition
Welcome to the forty-seventh edition of Brain Blogging. In this round, we discuss whether science is in need of another cognitive revolution, how to reinforce our cognition, how reduced hippocampal neurogenesis correlates with depression, and other topics.Remember, we review the latest blogs related to the brain and mind that go beyond the basic sciences into a more human and multidimensional perspective. You can check out our archive for past editions.
Mood and Functional Disability – A Positive Feedback Loop
Emotional or mood problems are more frequent in people with disabilities (of any severity or duration) than in the general population. Rates range from about 20% to 50%, depending on the study and the population – from spinal cord injury to multiple sclerosis to stroke. It is important to understand the rates and types of mood disorders because the functional deficits associated with disability (I’m using disability to refer to any sort of loss of function, even if it is only temporary) can manifest similarly to mood disorder symptoms. For example, what might look like anhedonia could simply be inability to do much, or at least the reticence to be active because of pain or functional loss.
Popular Posts
- Mind Games - Science's Attempts at Thought Control
- The Science of Stuttering
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- Intelligence - Are You Holding Back Your Brain?
- Is Grief a Mental Illness?
- The Brain's Buying Power
- The Cost of a Good Night's Sleep
- Risk Factors for Recurrence of Depression
- Salvia Divinorum - DEA Control over Magic in the Mint
- The Many Emerging Roles of Astrocytes
Future Posts
Latest Posts
- Thinking Fast Equals Risky Business
- A Gateway to Weight Loss?
- Intelligence – Do You Need it to be Successful?
- A Trip for Terminal Patients
- Memory Ain’t What It Used to Be – And That’s Good for Psychotherapy
- The Science of Stuttering
- Are Your Friends Making You Fat?
- Beer – The Smarter Drink
- Macroeconomics and Suicide
- From Nymphomania to Hypersexuality
Comments
- Ryan: Great post! I agree with the p
- : I have used heroin for 20 year
- Lino Baine: I am not aware that people wit
- Lulu Jones: Hmm....this is interesting. I
- Robert A. Yourell, MA: Hi Stephanie...OR they tried a
- Stephnie: Based on the facts in the arti
- Sammy: I was a test subject for one o
- Veronica Pamoukaghlian, MA: Thank you for your insightful
- Richard Kensinger, MSW: I agree w/ Howard Gardner's pe
- Melbzi: Muso's and smoked pot.I q
- Melbzi: I am 36 and from Melbourne Aus
- CODER: When we get sick, really sick
