Published: February 6, 2010
The Economists’ take on the DSM-V That way, madness lies
ON FEBRUARY 10th the world of psychiatry will be asked, metaphorically, to lie on the couch and answer questions about the state it thinks it is in. For that is the day the American Psychiatric Association (APA) plans to release a draft of the fifth version of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Mental illness carrying the stigma that it does, and the brain being as little-understood as it is, revising the DSM is always a controversial undertaking. This time, however, some of the questions asked of the process are likely to be particularly probing. link to read full article
Source: The Economist
Published: January 22, 2010
Daily micronutrient dose may combat mental illness
A University of Canterbury clinical psychologist has discovered compelling evidence that taking a micronutrient supplement may have big benefits for sufferers of some mental illness
Associate Professor Julia Rucklidge (Psychology) has just had an article published in the Journal of Attention Disorders on the effect of micronutrients on behaviour and mood in adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which affects an estimated three to five per cent of adults.
The journal article is based on findings of an open-label trial (all participants know what treatment they are receiving) she conducted with 14 adults with both ADHD and severe mood dysregulatrion (SMD). Over eight weeks the participants ingested a 36-ingredient micronutrient formula that consisted of mainly vitamins, minerals and amino acids. The participants were taking no other medications.
Significant improvements were noted across informants (self, observer and clinician) in Professor Rucklidge’s trial on measures of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, mood, quality of life, anxiety and stress, all with medium to very large effect sizes. [continue reading…]
Published: January 18, 2010
A new study from Perth’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has shown that children who are breastfed for longer than six months have a lower risk of mental health problems as they enter their teen years.
The research, led by Associate Professor Wendy Oddy, will be published in the next edition of The Journal of Pediatrics.
Dr Oddy said breastfeeding for a longer duration appears to have significant benefits for the mental health of the child into adolescence.
“There has been much evidence about the benefits of early breastfeeding, but the importance of this study is that it shows continued benefits from extended feeding,” Dr Oddy said.
[continue reading…]
Published: January 7, 2010
Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature, A decade for psychiatric disorders, Nature 463, 9 (7 January 2010) | doi:10.1038/463009a; Published online 6 January 2010
What will the next 10 year bring? Nature’s editorial takes a look at the stigma that still surrounds mental illness and ponders the challenges ahead in the next decade.
There are many ways in which the understanding and treatment of conditions such as schizophrenia are ripe for a revolution.
A media circus surrounded President Bill Clinton’s visit to a New York medical centre in 2004 for a quadruple heart bypass. Yet barely a whisper was heard about other high-profile individuals’ visits there for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.
In Britain, the public donates £500 million (US$800 million) each year to charities for cancer research. For mental-health research, the figure is a few million, and most of that is for work on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, rather than for earlier-onset conditions that can undermine people’s entire lives, such as depressive disorders.
It is time for such disparities to be addressed in a more coherent and aggressive way than in the past. The stigma of psychiatric disorders is misplaced, their burdens on society are significantly greater than more publicized diseases in developed and developing nations alike, and biomedical science is poised to make significant strides. The timescales are daunting and the challenges great — human neurons are less accessible than tumour cells, separating genetic and environmental influences is tough, and the diagnosis of the conditions is highly problematic. There is much to be done, and a decade is the timescale over which enhanced commitment is required.
The problem of stigma persists. In some countries, progress in this regard has been made with depression: a few high-profile and brave sufferers in some Western countries have stood up and identified themselves. By contrast, schizophrenia, when covered by the media at all, is mostly associated with murders carried out by a tiny minority of sufferers who have an acute form of the condition.
Link to read the complete article
Nature 463, 9 (7 January 2010) | doi:10.1038/463009a; Published online 6 January 2010
