The exact causes of many psychiatric illnesses are not known, and few risk factors exist for many of them. Scientists have long been trying to decipher the genetic from environmental factors that influence the development of psychiatric illnesses. Many studies have reported that certain mental illnesses run in families, but are there common genetic causes, or are they distinct pathologies? Now, a new study in The Lancet may shed some light on the genetic link between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Read more →

Huntington’s Disease (HD) affects approximately 30,000 people in the United States. Less than 10% of these people are under 20 years old at the time of diagnosis. These patients with juvenile, or early-onset, HD and their family members face significant and unique challenges as they battle a fatal, degenerative disease.

Symptoms of HD typically present in the third to fifth decade of life, but symptoms may appear as early as the first, or as late as the ninth, decade. Read more →

Recently a very popular colleague of mine was hospitalized. He happened to be hospitalized at the facility where he works and thus you can imagine he was inundated with visitors and friends wanting to wish him well. Unfortunately, the terms of his hospitalization were emergent and thus he did not have a choice in where he went for treatment. His frequent visitors coming into the room began to hamper his recover and his family was forced to try and enforce privacy rules and HIPAA. Read more →

You know, there’s a reason why famous sayings are, well, famous sayings. It’s because they’re true and they usually sum up this truth is just a few words so as to package their neat truism in a tidy little box.

BMJ’s article, New York’s road to health, quickly brought to mind one of those sayings in just two simple words:

Money Talks Read more →

Ok, Ok, before you scream, “This title is nuts, the economic crisis has me spending more time worrying than ever!” let’s think about the positive impact this economic downturn could have on psychosocial health. With the mortgage industry going bust, climbing gas prices, and cost of food at an all time high, Americans are being forced to hunker down and get back to the basics, which mean we spend more time with our families. Read more →

Who is to blame when patients die in overcrowded and understaffed emergency rooms?

The story of the death of a psychiatric patient in a large Brooklyn, New York hospital got my attention, both as a nurse and as a human being. These stories are, thankfully, rare but still happen too frequently. In this case, lack of a bed for the patient was cited as the reason the patient was in the ER for almost 24 hours. The patient was reportedly suffering from a psychiatric condition, but deaths of patients have occurred in emergency rooms among patients with medical conditions as well. Read more →