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Main News Stories

Bipolar Focus - at www.moodswing.org  - The New Schizophrenia.com Sister Site for Bipolar Disorder

The schizophrenia.com team has just launched Bipolar Focus - http://www.moodswing.org, a site devoted to bipolar disorder. It is designed and based around the same principles of accurate information, community support, and advocacy that currently govern schizophrenia.com. Key components of the new site will be news and personal blogs, discussion boards, and chatrooms, all features that currently make schizophrenia.com the unique, dynamic, up-to-date community that it is.

Please visit Bipolar Focus at www.moodswing.org, and help spread the word and add a link it to your own web sites (or organization's web site). Please email szwebmaster@yahoo.com with suggestions, comments, improvements, or additions. The site is extremely new and still in a very basic format, but we expect to be building it up quickly in the near future.

Schizophrenia Scholarships from Eli Lilly

In a press release today, Eli Lilly and company stated the following about their scholarship program. Unfortunately I believe the scholarship is only available for about 50 to 100 people a year:

The scholarship program helps people with bipolar, schizophrenia and related schizophrenia -spectrum disorders reintegrate into society

The Center for Reintegration, a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of persons with mental illness, today announced that applications for the 2005-2006 Lilly Moving Lives Forward Reintegration Scholarship are currently available. Interested candidates can now obtain the application from the Center For Reintegration's website at http://www.reintegration.com. The application deadline is January 14, 2005.

Sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, the scholarship program was designed to help persons with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and related schizophrenia -spectrum disorders acquire the educational and vocational skills necessary to move their lives forward and reintegrate into society. For the 2004-2005 school year, fifty students were awarded the Lilly Moving Lives Forward Reintegration Scholarship.

This is the second year that The Center For Reintegration has made the application available via the web. Last year, a record number of applicants opted to download the forms from http://www.reintegration.com.  A limited number of hardcopy applications will still be available to anyone without Internet access. Individuals wishing to receive an application by mail may call the hotline at 800-809-8202.

New Research Study - Now Recruiting (Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals)

This study will measure the effectiveness of an FDA approved, marketed drug when combined with a patient's current treatment.

Patients may be eligible to participate if they:

1) Are between the ages of 18 and 65 years old
2) Have a diagnosis of schizophrenia
3) Agree to use an acceptable method of birth control if female of child-bearing potential

Patients are not eligible to participate if they are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding

Other medical criteria will be evaluated by the physician.

For more information call 888-818-7377 or go to www.SchizophreniaTrial.com

New Support Group in India

We recently recieved the following email from a schizophrenia.com community member, alerting us to the existence of an existing schizophrenia support group in India:

I was browsing through you website...and felt that I should send you an update on the pioneering effort by AASHA in starting a non-profit Family Support Group for the Mentally Challenged in Chennai, India. It was started in 1989 and today has about 300 families as members. Some of its activities are: Running AASHA Halfway Home for men managed entirely by Caregivers. It has about 24 residents at present.

Their address is:

AASHA
Old #.35, (New # 56), Bunder Garden Street
Perambur, Chennai 600 011. INDIA.
Email: ratna@md3.vsnl.net.in

The name & address of the present President of AASHA is:

Ms. Ratna Chibber
D-8, Industrial Estate Mogappair West
Chennai 600 058. INDIA.
Telelphone: 91-44-98400-88031
Email: kromatiks@vsnl.com

More information about AASHA is available at http://www.chennaibest.com/discoverchennai/ngowatch/feature06.asp

FDA Warnings on Antidepressant Use in Kids

Official advisories over the last two months, precipitated by several research studies, have warned that antidepressants (with the possible exception of Prozac) prescribed to children may increase suicidal thoughts and tendencies. Previous schizophrenia.com news reports (see newsblog entry from Aug 11, 2004 at http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archives/000846.html) have details about the studies and their findings.

Most recently, the FDA announced that all antidepressants must carry a "black box" warning, the government's strongest safety alert, linking the drugs to increased suicidal thoughts and behavior among children and teens taking them.

Because the warnings are primarily seen by doctors, the agency also is creating an information guide for patients to advise them of the risk.

"Today's actions represent FDA's conclusions about the increased risk of suicidal thoughts and the necessary actions for physicians prescribing these antidepressant drugs and for the children and adolescents taking them," said Dr. Lester Crawford, acting FDA commissioner.

The drug labels also include details of pediatric studies which (to date) have pointed to Prozac as the safest antidepressant for youths to take.

Approximately 2 percent to 3 percent of children taking antidepressants have increased suicidal thoughts, independent experts, working with Columbia University, found.

For more information and links to the research, see the schizophrenia.com newsblog entry from Aug 11, 2004 (available at http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archives/000846.html)

New Drug in Testing May Reduce Side Effects of Current SZ Medications (Marketing Press Release)

The following is a press release from Acadia Pharmaceuticals, detailing the clinical testing of a new drug that allegedly reduces some side effects associated with haloperidol, Zyprexa, Risperdal and Seroquel. As with all cases where you're getting information directly from the marketing department of a company - if you're interested in this drug you should seek additional information from an independent expert (for example your psychiatrist or doctor).

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.

(Nasdaq: ACAD), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing innovative science to fuel drug discovery and clinical development of novel treatments for central nervous system disorders, today reported results from a clinical study that assessed the ability of ACP-103, ACADIA's proprietary 5-HT2A inverse agonist, to reduce the side effects associated with antipsychotic drug treatment with haloperidol. Results of the clinical study showed that ACP-103 reduced both the motor disturbances and hyperprolactinemia, a condition of elevated prolactin secretion, caused by haloperidol treatment.

ACADIA is developing ACP-103 as a novel therapy for schizophrenia to be used in combination with currently available antipsychotic drugs including haloperidol, Zyprexa, Risperdal and Seroquel. These antipsychotics cause a variety of unfavorable side effects, including hyperprolactinemia, which can adversely affect menstrual and sexual function, and akathisia, an extremely distressful motor disturbance characterized by feelings of inner restlessness and an urge to move. ACP-103, when combined with existing antipsychotic drugs, may reduce the side effects associated with these drugs and expand their range of efficacy.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study, conducted in Sweden, involved 18 healthy volunteers. All subjects were administered a single 7.5 mg dose of haloperidol and 11 of these subjects developed measurable akathisia. In addition, the haloperidol treatment induced about a three-fold increase in prolactin secretion.

Results of the study indicated that a single treatment with ACP-103 reduced akathisia symptoms in most subjects and, importantly, that four of the subjects had complete disappearance of haloperidol-induced akathisia as measured on the Barnes Subjective-Distress Rating Scale. Researchers observed that maximal reductions appeared at the time of peak plasma levels of ACP-103 following a single 100 mg dose that produced plasma levels approximately equivalent to those achieved at steady state following chronic once daily administration of a 20 mg dose of ACP-103.

In addition, ACP-103 reduced haloperidol-induced increases in prolactin secretion by 33%. This reduction is highly statistically significant (p<0.001, paired t-test). The pharmacokinetics of haloperidol and ACP-103 were not affected by their co-administration, indicating a lack of drug-drug interactions between these two drugs. No serious adverse events were reported in this study.

Akathisia and hyperprolactinemia are troubling side effects of most existing antipyschotic drugs. Akathisia can lead to high levels of discomfort and ultimately is a major contributor to patient noncompliance. Patients with
schizophrenia displaying hyperprolactinemia may be at high risk of developing osteoporosis and other side effects including decreased libido and the development of breast tissue in men.

About ACP-103 - ACP-103 is a small molecule drug candidate that ACADIA discovered and is developing as an adjunctive therapy for schizophrenia and as a therapy for treatment-induced dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. ACP-103 is a potent and selective inverse agonist that blocks the activity of a key serotonin receptor known as the 5-HT2A receptor. ACP-103 has been shown to be safe and well tolerated in all Phase I clinical studies and initial Phase II clinical trials conducted to date. ACADIA is currently conducting a multi-center Phase II clinical trial with ACP-103 designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this drug candidate in Parkinson's disease patients who suffer from treatment-induced psychosis.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals - See http://www.acadia-pharm.com/
 

To view the original press release, please see "ACADIA Clinical Study Shows ACP-103 Improves Clinical Profile of Antipsychotic Drug Treatment," available at http://www.prnewswire.com

 

Factors That Affect Medication Adherance

A recent study from Innsbruck University Clinics in Austria surveyed 61 patients with schizophrenia, to determine the subjective attitudes and concerns that affect their adherance or non-adherance to medication treatment.

The study concentrated on analyzing four variables: the influence of patient attitude, the influence of clinicians/relatives inquiring about medication adherance, psychopathology, and side effects.

Results showed that patients were most likely to adhere to mediction if: the drugs were percieved as having a positive effect on everyday life, psychiatrists enquired about drug intake, and psychological side effects were present.

The first two variables make sense - clearly, a person is more likely to comply with medication if they can percieve its benefits in their daily lives. The second factor highlights the important role that family and physicians play in the long-term treatment plan. Patients who have people asking about their medication intake seem to adhere better than those who lack this kind of support.

The third variable correlated with medication adherance - the presence of psychological side effects - seems very counter-intuitive. However, the study points out that subjects in the study were surveyed only for the presence of side effects - it makes sense that patients who regularly take their medications are more likely to have such side effects.

The study concludes: "our findings re-emphasize the importance of taking subjective attitudes and concerns of patients seriously and including patients, and, if possible, their significant others, into the treatment decision process."
It seems that a good first step for a family member concerned about a loved one's adherance (or lack thereof) to their medications might be to have an open and honest communication about the issue. Many of the most common reasons for medication non-adherance - side effects, difficulty remembering, the complexity of many medications, the stigma of taking them in public - can be addressed with help from the treating psychiatrist and/or a little creative problem-solving.

For more ideas on how to deal with medication non-compliance (particularly if it is caused by lack of insight on the part of the person with schizophrenia), see Dr. Xavior Amador's book "I Am Not Sick! I Don't Need Help!" at http://www.schizophrenia.com/media/

For the full article, see "Variables predicting antipsychotic treatment adherance revealed" (Sept 17, 2004). Available from PsychiatrySource (http://www.psychiatrysource.com)

 

Women May Need Different Medication Doses

According to an article in the American Journal of Psychiatry (2004:161:1324-1333), women may need different doses of antipsychotic medications than men. Although current prescription guidelines do not distinguish between males and females, this article points out that drug metabolism in general can vary based on gender. Morevoer, the normal fat ratio of women's bodies can affect how drugs are distributed to different organs.

With schizophrenia in particular, previous research has indicated a difference in the general disease course between men and women.

The article argues that due to these factors, women may need lower doses than men, particularly during pregnancy. The authors urge healthcare providers to pay special consideration to the dosing requirements of their female patients.

For the abstract, please see "Women need different dosing of antipsychotics", Sept 2004. (available at http://www.psychiatry24x7.com).

Read a Johns Hopkins Medical School article about Why Schizophrenia Hits Men Harder (2000). Available at http://www.schizophrenia.com/research/szmen2000.htm

 

 

 

 

Talk Therapy is Important to the Treatment of SZ

Dr. Peter Weiden and colleagues at SUNY Downstate Medical Center (NY) are implementing an approach to schizophrenia treatment that British doctors are already using with success - a treatment plan that includes both medication and talk therapy as essential elements.

 

Medication is vital for stabilizing some symptoms of the disease; however, many people have trouble achieving a full recovery using medications alone. The current antipsychotics may only reduce symptoms in 60-80% of patients, and even among these, medication might not always control all symptoms adequately. For others, medications that have helped in the past may stop working.

 

Says Weiden: "The new medicines have been a breakthrough, but at the end of the day, the patients still have schizophrenia. We want to understand how abnormal thoughts guide behavior."

 

The idea of talk therapy is not only to reinforce positive behavior patterns, but also to allow the doctor to understand exactly how the illness is affecting the lives of his/her patients.

 

This strategy has already proven to be successful in Europe. Since 1990, British psychiatrists have used cognitive behavioral therapy to benefit people with schizophrenia. According to their research, it reduces hallucinations and delusions in people who haven't responded to medications.

 

According to one study, doctors reported that patients receiving 20 hours of cognitive behavioral therapy over 10 weeks had a 50% reduction in symptoms, and spent less time in the hospital.

 

Through cognitive behavioral therapy, which explores with the patient how the illness affects their lives and what specific coping strategies can help, doctors can focus on helping specific troubling issues. For example, insomnia is a common problem among people with schizophrenia, and the stress caused by lack of sleep may worsen psychotic symptoms. Sleep difficulties is a contained problem that can be focused on and addressed by cognitive behavioral therapy.

 

Doctors are optimistic that recovery from schizophrenia is achievable. Rather than a progressively degenerative disorder, current thinking classifies schizophrenia as symptoms that can appear and disappear, or diminish with effective treatment.

 

Stigma, and a lack of social integration programs focused on housing and work, are all barriers to schizophrenia recovery. Perhaps cognitive behavioral therapy can address some specific coping strategies that will help patients re-integrate themselves back into a community.

 

For the full story, see: "Putting stability in schizophrenia: Talk therapy reinstated as part of treatment" (Sept 28 2004). Available at Newsday.com (http://www.newsday.com).

 

See another recent story on cognitive rehabilitation for schizophrenia, available in the Schizophrenia.com Newsblog (Sept 10, 2004 entry).
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Different SZ Treatment Goals of Patients, Doctors

A recent survey from researchers at the Wisconsin Psychiatric Institute (Madison, WI) highlighted a significant difference of opinion between psychiatrists and schizophrenia patients concerning the most important treatment goals.
 

While the survey had some notable limitations - the patients surveyed were not actually being treated by the psychiatrists that were surveyed, and the patients were also fairly stable and high-functioning - patients had significantly different goals for their own treatment, as well as different expectations of what is possible to achieve with current medications.

The surveyed patients indicated increased ability to think clearly, improvement in physical health, and the ability to return to favorite hobbies as the most important outcomes for their treatment plans. Doctors rated improved ability to perform daily activities as a more important outcome, and stressed the need for hospitalization.

Doctors also had more faith in the ability of medications to decrease certain symptoms (such as suspiciousness and paranoia), while patients were less optimistic.

The study itself points out that if the patients were actually being treated by the doctors participating in the survey, increased communication and collaboration between them might make their goals less disparate. The doctors may be working with much more severe cases of schizophrenia, a fact that could influence their answers about overall treatment goals.

However, an important conclusion of the study that applies to anyone under a psychiatrist's care highlights a lack of communication between doctors and their patients. 30% of the surveyed patients reported that they did not discuss their unmet treatment goals with their own doctors, mostly due to lack of faith in the available medications.

Good psychiatrists know that there are many components that make up an individual treatment plan, with medication being only one. However, patients need to communicate their needs before these doctors can begin to meet them with other services. Talk to your doctor about your own treatment goals, and whether or not your needs are being met by your current treatment plan. There may be many unexplored options for you, and your doctor can help guide you in your decisions.

For the full article, see "Patients, Docs Differ on Schizophrenia Treatment" (Oct 13, 2004). Available at WebMDHealth (http://www.webmd.com).

For more information about finding a good psychiatrist, or communicating well with your current psychiatrist, see "Working With a Psychiatrist" in the schizophrenia.com FAQ section (available at http://www.schizophrenia.com/family/FAQgen.htm#pdoc )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pilot Anti-Stigma Programs Launched in Some U.S. Public Schools

In 2003, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health recommended (among many other things) a national initiative to reduce stigma against people with mental illness. In the report, President Bush identified stigma as one of the main barriers preventing people living with mental illness from getting the excellent treatment they deserve.
 

One of the recent results of these recommendations is the federal Elimination of Barriers initiative. Under this program, eight states will launch pilot anti-stigma campaigns in certain public schools.

 

In Massachussets, one of the participating states, the State Dept of Mental Health is overseeing the educational component of the campaign. Teachers and administrators at four high schools will receive intensive training sessions on mental illness.

 

When given a choice by government personnel at SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration) between initiating the campaigns in workplaces or in schools, the State Department chose to target school-age adolescents.

 

"Mental illness very often shows itself first in children and adolescents," says Lester Blumberg, chief of staff to State Mental Health Commissioner Elizabeth Childs. "Early intervention works. If you can recognize trouble early, you can stop it before it gets worse."

 

The federal Initiative program also includes a national advertising campaign (via television, radio, and print) dedicated to reducing stigma.

 

Whether simple public education can effectively reduce the high levels of fear and stigma that currently surround mental illness in society remains to be seen. Certainly it is one essential component (although the program described above might consider extending their educational components to the student body - the community in which adolescents with mental illness must interact every day - as well as to adult employees). However, spokespersons from the Treatment Advocacy Center and other related organizations have suggested that reducing the high-profile criminal and crisis situations that result from untreated mental illness is also key.

 

In an editorial response to the original Commission report, TAC president Dr. E. Fuller Torrey stated: "The most effective way to reduce stigma is not a public information campaign - it is to help people BEFORE they become a headline. Yet absent from the report are interventions for those crises that directly lead to headline-making tragedies. These tragedies won't go away by ignoring them; they will go away by treating the cause." (Source: Commission Report Offers Little for Severest Mental Illnesses - Treatment Adocacy Center Statement, July 23 2003).

 

Others, such as NAMI advocate Robert Lundin, say that those with mental illnesses have the most powerful stigma-busting effect by having positive connections and conversations with others in the larger community. "There is no more powerful way to change attitudes than to make positive contact with people with mental illnesses," Lundin says. (Source: Schizophrenia.com newsblog, June 29 2004).

 

Original Source Article: "Natick High to be part of mental illness program" (Oct 1 2004). Available at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preventing Suicide on College Campuses

Last week the Wall Street Journal had a good article on how colleges are working to aggressively prevent suicides with counselling programs for students.

 

In the article, it mentioned an example of a young woman who had indicated that she might commit suicide. Her boyfriend dialed 911 and got help. The story reports that "When later confronted by the police, the student claimed that she had never intended to take her life, arguing that she was simply trying to rile her boyfriend. At many universities, that might have been the end of the story.

 

But at the University of Illinois, it was just the beginning. Administrators promptly presented the student with a stark choice: Meet with a mental-health counselor for four sessions, or don't bother coming back to school the following semester
.
 

In an approach that is controversial among college administrators, the university has a zero-tolerance rule with suicidal behavior. In almost every case, students who threaten or attempt suicide are automatically required to see a counselor for four sessions if they want to remain at the school.

 

In the two decades the program has been in place, more than 1,800 students have been through it, and not one has committed suicide while enrolled at the school. Only one student chose to leave school rather than enter the program. (She later completed the sessions off campus, was allowed to re-enroll, and graduated with honors.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids Left Out of Support Networks

Researchers from the University of Alberta have highlighted a troublesome lack in our support progams - specifically, a lack of any programs that address the unique needs of children affected by the mental illness of a brother, sister, grandparent, or parent.

 

Schizophrenia has many troubling or frightening symptoms - among them hallucinations, delusions, intense paranoia, mood swings, emotional withdrawal, and apathy - that some, and particularly children, might assume are part of the ill person's natural personality. Children can suffer from the lack of a warm, nurturing relationship with their parent without ever realizing that it is caused by a brain disease instead of personality traits.

 

Anyone who has had firsthand or personal experience with mental illness in the family already knows what this and other studies have indicated - namely, that such damaging emotional effects often linger as the child grows up, causing interpersonal difficulties later in life.

 

For the full story, see "Researchers find troubling offshoot of schizophrenia" (Sept 21, 2004) at EurekaAlert ( http://www.eurekalert.org ) .

 

Support group suggesions for younger children:

 

The Sibling Project (http://www.thearc.org/siblingsupport/) is "the only national effort dedicated to the interests of over six million brothers and sisters of people with special health, mental health, and developmental needs." They have programs in all fifty states and in some countries overseas. The workshops are geared mainly towards children ages 8-13, but some are modified to be helpful to older/younger children as well.

 

Read about some of the common emotional issues/concerns that children of parents with schizophrenia often deal with (compiled from our own members at schizophrenia.com, and other sources as well): http://www.schizophrenia.com/family/FAQoffspring.htm#related

Check out excellent books written by and for siblings and other family members of people with mental illness: available at http://www.schizophrenia.com/media/#sibling

 

 

 

 

 

 

NAMI Training Police Officers on Mental Illness

A recent story came out of "The Mansfield News Journal" on how NAMI (the US-based National Alliance for the Mentall Ill) is working to train police officers on how to address people who have schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
 

It's great to see some programs like this being started - but you have to wonder why the police aren't trained like this as part of their standard schooling since the problem is such a huge issue in the US and other countries.

Following is a short summary of the story:

 

Richland County law-enforcement agencies have 61 officers trained to deal with calls involving the mentally ill -- calming the person and easing tensions so the person can be taken for treatment, instead of to jail.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Richland County wrapped up a 40-hour intensive training class this week with graduation ceremonies Friday afternoon at the Richland County Fairgrounds. NAMI's goal is to get one-fourth to one-third of all police officers in the county trained.

 

 

New police officers who complete state peace officer training get only one hour's instruction on mental-illness issues as part of their standard training -- even though 10 percent of all the calls they'll respond to are mental-illness related.

The 40-hour NAMI course helps officers recognize the symptoms of schizophrenia and other serious illnesses, and shows how officers can bring incidents to a peaceful resolution, he said.

 

Officer Petrycki said he already has used his training several times.

 

One incident involved a father who reported his adult son outside his apartment with a knife, threatening him. When Petrycki arrived, "you could tell he (the son) was in crisis. He was agitated, pacing back and forth, not talking rationally..."

 

Petrycki asked what he could do to help and told the man he wasn't there to hurt him. Eventually, the boy calmed down and dropped the knife. The officer then gave the man money to call his caseworker. "He didn't end up in jail. I didn't up getting hurt. My partner didn't end up getting hurt. He didn't end up getting hurt," the officer said.

 

For More Information See:

 

NAMI Criminalization of the Mentally Ill Web Information (available at: http://www.nami.org/legal/crim.html)
 

News Source:
 

60 Minutes II Investigates Police Training and Mental Illness

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two New Films on Schizophrenia

New Documentary Film from the BBC on Schizophrenia - "LOVING CHRISTIAN"

This month sees the broadcast of a ‘fly-on-the-wall’ documentary about what it’s like for a family to live with schizophrenia. Part of a five-programme series on BBC 2 about families coping with disabilities of various kinds, ‘My Family: Loving Christian’ features Paul and Georgina Wakefield and their younger son Christian, now aged 30, who has had schizophrenia for almost half his life. Christian’s older brother Stephen did not want to take part.

The documentary was directed and produced by Ewan Marshall, who produced the tv drama ‘Every Time You Look at Me’ about the relationship between two physically disabled people, and who has a physical disability himself. To make the 50-minute programme Marshall, his co-producer and his cameraman spent a week with the Wakefields, filming Christian and his parents Georgina and Paul as they went about their ordinary lives.

For more information, see the schizophrenia.com newsblog entry from Oct 13, 2004
 

New Movie "Tarnation" about Mother's Schizophrenia

This is a new movie by filmmaker Jonathan Caouette. Its a documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother - and is a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films and more, culled from the 19 years of his life.

A recent review of the movie in the San Francisco Chronicle had this to say:

""Tarnation," an impassioned documentary about a damaged American family, includes moments that seem to cross the line of what is emotionally acceptable to show onscreen. In the end, you might be tempted to dismiss it as an exercise in self-therapy and self-pity, since the family depicted is the filmmaker's own.

That would be a mistake. Director Jonathan Caouette has put together a remarkable film that's as full of pain and disorder as his Texas childhood appears to have been. Caouette's mother, Renee, a child model, was diagnosed as mentally ill and subjected to a long course of shock therapy. Young Jonathan, who had a flair for histrionics and an early realization that he was gay, was raised sometimes by his grandparents and at other times in abusive foster homes. "

More Information:

The Tarnation web site: http://www.wellspring.com/movies/movie.html?movie_id=56

Internet Video Trailers of the Movie:
http://www.hollywood.com/movies/mm/nav/1/id/2417799
www.apple.com/trailers/independent/tarnation.html

Other Reviews of the Movie: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/10/15/DDG0I99M5J1.DTL#tar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New, Possibly Restrictive Medicare Benefits to Appear in 2006

This is a follow-up to a previous article (Schizophrenia newsblog post, Sept 27 2004) about new Medicare drug benefits, to be enacted in 2006.

 

According to the formula that is currently on the table, the number of prescription drugs covered by Medicare will be severely limited. The insurance plan will only be required to include two medications in each therapeutic drug class. There are currently no guidelines that specify how many classes a plan must cover.

 

This will potentially eliminate costlier (but possibly efficacious) medications in favor of cheaper ones.

 

Responses to medications are highly individualized, particularly in the realm of brain disorders. Psychiatrists and can spend weeks or months finding a regimen of medications that controls a particular set of symptoms. Under this new coverage, such flexibility may no longer be possible.

There is not enough current knowledge, clinical data, or specificity of action for most psychiatric drugs. This leaves doctors prescribing for their patients on a case-by-case, trial-and-error basis. In this sort of system, having many different options to try may be vital to finding a successful combination.

"You're basically tying the hands of your best clinicians," says Darrel A. Regier, director of research at the American Psychiatric Association. "You'd basically set psychiatry back 30 years" to a time when doctors had very few options for treating severe disorders.

Their are other concerns for people with psychiatric disorders who are currently covered under Medicaid. They are due to be switched to Medicare benefits in the near future (assuming that they qualify for both programs), and the new prescription drug benefits may not include their particular medications.

"Patients with state coverage now could run into trouble if they are forced to stop or switch their drugs when Medicare takes over in 2006," says Michael F. Hogan, PhD, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health.

For the full article, see "Mental Illness Drugs Battle Medicare Plan" (Sept 27, 2004). Available at http://my.webmd.com

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently soliciting public commentary on these new draft regulations. The number and quality of comments recieved could make an impact in which provisions are accepted or rejected in the final draft. Please submit your own comments, and/or encourage your state affiliate to submit comments that reflect your particular interests or concerns. See NAMI's page on "Comments to CMS on Medicare Regulations" for more details.

Read the original schizophrenia.com newsblog report on changing medicare benefits (Sept. 7, 2004).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Higher Risk of Suicide Among Elderly SZ Patients

 

A study out of the Tel-Aviv University in Israel identified a 5% suicide attempt rate among a pool of 792 elderly (defined as those over 60 years of age) patients who were admitted to the hospital for schizophrenia over a 10-year period. More alarming still is the ratio of attempted to completed suicide for this population - within the range of 1:4 - which is higher than in any other age group.

Men appeared to be more prone to suicidal behavior than women (57% of attempts were made by men, as opposed to 43% by women).

For the full story, please see "Suicide attempts relatively common in elderly schizophrenia patients" (Sept 22 2004). Available at PsychiatrySource (http://www.psychiatrysource.com).

The research is published in Schizophrenia Research 2004:71:77-81.

For more information and resources related to suicide, please see our Suicide Prevention section on the schizophrenia.com website (http://www.schizophrenia.com/suicide.html).