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Stanford Schizophrenia/Bipolar Education Day - Change in Location

NOTE: Stanford has just changed the venue for this upcoming event. It is now at the Sherman Fairchild Auditorium - details and a pdf map below.

Stanford University (California) is hosting a schizophrenia (and bipolar) education day at the end of July. This is something that every university focused on schizophrenia should do every year for its local community. It's great to see Stanford starting this annual event.

1st Annual - Schizophrenia and Bipolar Education Day

When: Saturday, July 30th, 2005, 8 am to noon

Where: Sherman Fairchild Auditorium
Stanford University School of Medicine
291 Campus Drive, Stanford University

CLICK ON LINK BELOW FOR MAP TO FAIRCHILD AUDITORIUM (.pdf document)
Download file
 

About the Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Education Day:

Presented by the
Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. Ira Glick, MD
Director, Schizophrenia Clinic

and

Dr. Terence Ketter, MD
Director, Bipolar Clinic

Who Should Go: Individuals with Schizophrenia or Bipolar disorders, family members, caregivers, friends and all community members are invited to attend.

Continental Breakfast will be provided

Please RSVP to Jennifer Nam at 650.724.4795 or at: jnam@stanford.edu

For more information: Stanford University Schizophrenia Research programs

Also - I don't know if this is still valid, but last year Stanford announced: No Cost Schizophrenia Support Groups - Support Groups for Patients and Families at Stanford University

Call for Personal Success Stories

Based on our user feedback survey, we have discovered that the personal success stories are one of the most popular areas of the site. In light of this, we would like to ask for more of them from any and all members of our community. If you have a hopeful, inspiring story to tell about how you cope with a brain disease like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in your own life, please email us a draft (in .rtf format) to szwebmaster@yahoo.com. We will review your story and, barring any necessary changes, publish it in our Success Stories section.

See examples of success stories from mental health consumers at http://www.schizophrenia.com/success.html, or http://www.moodswing.org/stories/index.htm

We are especially in need of Bipolar Disorder success stories!

Antipsychotic Meds in India - the advocacy efforts of a schizophrenia.com member

It seems that there are a number of battles (in Florida, and more recently, in California) over prescription drug benefits for the poor in the U.S., and similar issues are facing people with brain diseases all over the world. We received a notification from an advocate in India (a doctor, and a vocal mental illness advocate) regarding potential patents of psychiatric drugs in India. In her fight to prevent such patents from passing, which would raise the prices of second-generation antipsychotics for patients in India who cannot otherwise afford them, she referred to the World Health Organization Essential Drug List to help make a case that these medicines are essential to the recovery of people with brain diseases. She was appalled to find not a single second-generation (atypical) antipsychotic medication on the list.

She is now calling for action from several prominant leaders of international organizations (for example, the World Psychiatric Association and the World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders), in an effort to get second-generation antipsychotics included on the Essential Drugs List, and hopefully to prevent the passage of patents in India which would bar access for too many patients in need.

[Editors note on background information: India has, until recently, been operating outside of the international patent system and laws - therefore their drug companies could produce generic versions of patented drugs without any legal issues, and sell those drugs at very low costs to their vast populations of poor and ill people.

This year, however, the government of India is joining the international patent system - in part because India now has many very smart, well-educated scientists who can now develop new drugs to sell to a global population. However, to have the financial incentive (that is, to be able to get investors to fund their research) to work on these new drugs, they needed international patent protection. So the Indian government decided that it was time to join the global patent system so as to provide for an encouraging environment for further growth of their small, but growing pharmaceutical and biotech educational facilities and industies. If they did not do this, the fear is that their researchers would continue to leave the country and move to other countries like the US and Europe, as they have traditionally done. India would potentially lose many of its best-trained researchers and scientists. This is a problem that all developing countries have eventually faced as they develop world-class scientific and business communities. At some point it makes sense for the benefit of the country to adopt global standards for patent protection.

Unfortunately its a trade-off, because while the country (and indeed the world) will eventually get the benefit of important new drugs created by their talented researchers, it seems that under the agreement the prices of patented drugs will increase, and thus making them less available to many people in India.

We hope that a better balance between the interests of the growing pharma and biological research community, and the poor mentally ill in India who need the drugs, can be met to a greater level of satisfaction for all].

Below is our Indian Advocate's summary of the situation, and the actions she has taken.

Atypical anti-psychotics excluded from the WHO EDL.
By Dr. SN, Action For mental Illness, Bangalore , INDIA
 

How did it all start?

A Protest March against Patent Ordinance in Delhi , capital city of India, was launched by family groups of persons with MI( Mental Illness), Cancer and HIV/AIDS under the leadership of Lawyers Collective, Delhi on December 21, 2004 . The MI lobby was led by Torchbearers of Delhi and ACMI from Bangalore, provincial capital of the State of Karnataka.

Since then, from ACMI, we have been working in association with Lawyers Collective, Bangalore on devising a strategy to oppose grant of patents for MI drugs along with those of Cancer, HIV/AIDS etc. One such strategy was to get many medicines included in the National Drug List (a list of essential medications in India, modeled after the WHO list), with a view to seek exemption from the inexorable laws of patent royalties.

What happened next?

As a starting point, I referred to the WHO EDL (Essential Drug List, the 13th issue which I believe is the latest). To my utter shock and dismay, I found that not a single atypical anti psychotic was included in this List. By atypical anti psychotics, I mean the SGAs like Respiridon, Zyprexa, Clozapin, and the recent ones like Sertindol, Quetiapin, Abilify etc. [editor: the names of the drugs are slightly different in India, and are frequently available from indian drug companies as generics] We are all aware of the relative advantages of the SGAs as compared with the old drugs like Serenus, Haledol etc. I tried to seek clarifications from WHO and even bolster my arguments with research Reports. WHO said that it is not possible to do anything till 2007 when the next list comes up !

Well, we can assign many reasons and motives underlying this callous omission. Are Pharmaceutical lobbies involved ? One wonders.

Subsequently, I wrote to the WFSAD ( World Fellowship of Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders at Toranto, Canada) President, Dr. Dale Johnson, and also to the Vice President Dr. Radha Shankar. Dr. Dale Johnson’s name even appears in the list of contributors to some WHO publications! Yet he admitted that he was shocked and has written to them twice since last three months. But no reply so far.

The matter was brought to the attention of the Indian Psychiatric Society. Also to the Indian zonal representative Dr.J.K.Trivedi in World Psychiatry Association; WPA has agreed to look into it.

What are the consequences?

India does not have social security benefits for the mentally ill persons; nor any insurance. Under these circumstances, if Patent Law is implemented , the cost of these atypical anti psychotics , most of which are patented in USA, will go up. Lack of affordability will lead to lack of accessibility. Secondly, inclusion of these in WHO EDL would have validated the inclusion of these medicines in the National Drug List. In turn, this would have helped us campaign for exemption of the National List from patents. Now this opportunity is lost. At a more theoretical level, it is pertinent to ask the scientific validity of cross- country application of one single WHO EDL cutting across political and economic and social barriers!

Conclusion

I request the support groups across the world to question WHO on this issue, and help us and others in similar situation. For your kind information, the useful WHO emails are: hogerzeilh@who.int; saracenob@who.int; dljohnson@uh.edu.

More information about the WHO Essential Drug List

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birth Complications Not Linked to Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia

Birth Complications don't lead to Child-onset Schizophrenia (but may lead to later-onset schizophrenia)

Schizophrenia is known for having a plethora of potential causes which makes its origin difficult to pinpoint. One of the links that has been established is the link between schizophrenia and birth complications. "Postnatal obstetric complications" are known for being more frequent in those with early-onset schizophrenia and to those with more severe cases of schizophrenia. Early onset schizophrenia is generally defined as before age 18 or 22.

Researchers decided to look at whether there was a similar link to those with childhood-onset schizophrenia (even more rare than early-onset, diagnosis occurs before age 13). Surprisingly there was not a correlation between children with schizophrenia and obstetric complications. Such complications happened equally to children with schizophrenia as it did to other children their age without schizophrenia.

"'Additionally, parental age, birth weight, head circumference, and pregnancy medical complication score did not differ significantly between sibling and childhood-onset groups,' says the team.

The only obstetric complication that showed a positive association with childhood-onset schizophrenia was vomiting during pregnancy, but the researches[sic] note that this is a nonspecific and frequent complication of pregnancy and therefore difficult to quantify, and necessitates further scrutiny" (Psychiatry News, 2005).

Why this link has been found in those with an early onset of schizophrenia, but not those with childhood schizophrenia is still not greatly understood. Hopefully the link between birth complications and schizophrenia will be explored further in the near future so that this complicated factor will be grasped.

The source of this article was Psychiatry News and came from the Biological Psychiatry 58: 10–15. To find this article go to: http://tinyurl.com/ahxqn

To learn more about the causes of schizophrenia go to: http://www.schizophrenia.com/hypo.html

Identifying Metabolic Syndrome

Those taking antipsychotic medication have a heightened risk of developing metabolic syndromes that can increase their chance of having a cardiovascular disease. As Reuters health states on Medscape.com,

"While individual components of the syndrome such as dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia are known to be associated with the drugs, Dr. David Straker of Columbia University Medical Center and colleagues write, its prevalence in these patients is not clear. Also, the researchers note in the June issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, patients taking second-generation antipsychotics are not routinely screened for the syndrome."

Dyslipidemia is a condition in which you have abnormal concentrations of lipids or lipoproteins in the blood; lipids are fats, oils, and waxes. Hyperglycemia is an excess of sugar in the blood.

An efficient way of discovering whether someone has a metabolic syndrome is to combine their waist circumference (over 40 inches in men and over 35 inches in women) with fasting blood glucose at a level at or above 110mg/dL. When doing this researchers were able to distinguish between those with or without a metabolic syndrome. When researchers combined waist circumference with elevated blood pressure they were able to identify most, but not all of those who had the syndrome. 25 out of the 26 were identified with this method (96.2%).

Both methods are very effective at determining whether one has a metabolic syndrome, and in different scenarios one may be more practical than the other. For example, testing fasting blood glucose and combining the figures with weight circumference is a cost-effective approach. Using the other method in which one looks at elevated blood pressure levels instead, is good for when you do not have the ability to look at fasting blood work.

Those taking antipsychotics should be aware of their health and their potential side effects. It is always good to have a doctor check up on your metabolic status to ensure that you do not have a metabolic syndrome. Being vigilant about check ups is one way to avoid such health risks.

The source of this article was Medscape, Reuters Health. Medscape can be accessed at http://www.medscape.com/homepage

For more information on metabolic syndrome in those with schizophrenia go to: http://tinyurl.com/d7bk9, or see the common side effects of schizophrenia medications

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Study Assesses Antipsychotic Weight Gain

The effect that antipsychotics can have on one's weight are well known, but researchers studied this further recently with the use of mice. "'Weight gain is a prominent effect of most atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAPDs); yet, the mechanisms are not fully understood and no well-established mouse models exist for investigating the mechanisms. Thus, we developed a mouse model to evaluate the effects of AAPDs on eating, body weight (BW), and body composition. Female C57BL/6J mice were used to test olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and risperidone. Mice were acclimated to individual housing, given ad libitum access to chow and water, dosed with placebo peanut butter pills for 1 week, and then dosed daily with AAPD-laced peanut butter pills for 4 weeks,' researchers in the United States report" (NewsRX.com).

The amount of food that mice ate on a weekly basis was measured, their body weight was measured, as well as their body composition.

All four antipsychotics caused weight gain after the 4-week experiment was over. Olanzapine and quetiapine specifically resulted in an increased amount of food intake. The body composition data was also analyzed and yielded interesting results; the mice that were administered olanzapine carried more "relative fat mass", and the mice that were given risperidone had more "relative lean mass" than the mice used as a control. The other two antipsychotics (quetiapine and ziprasidone) did not change the mices body composition to a significant degree, although they still had an increase in body weight.

This study gave interesting and significant information for people taking antipsychotics. The weight gain associated with each individual antipsychotic within this study had its own set of results and therefore gave researchers a look at the surprisingly different effects of each of these medications.

The source of this article is Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week via NewsRx.com

For more information on the side effects associated with antipsychotics go to: http://www.schizophrenia.com/meds.html#side

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quality Checks Improve Hospital Care

Two studies in this month's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine indicate that quality-checkiing hospitals motivates them to improve their care.

Although these particular studies evaluated hospitals on how they routinely handled a few certain medical conditions (heart attack, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia treatment), the general conclusion that quality-checks can lead to improvements in care has implications for people searching for a good psychiatric hospital facility.

JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) is a national hospital-accrediting body for the United States. According to information from "Surviving Schizophrenia" by Dr. E Fuller Torrey (see pp. 180-188):

A JCAHO team, upon invitation by the hospital, surveys patient care and services, therapeutic environment, safety of the patient, and quality of staff and administration. The hospital may receive full 3-year accreditation, full accreditation with a contingency (meaning that a follow-up inspection may be warranted), or no accreditation. Bear in mind that accreditation is given to hospital as a whole, NOT to individual wards. Ask for JCAHO accreditation at the hospital administration office, or look for a certificate by the entryway or in the lobby.

Looking for a JCAHO accreditation (you can check up on specific facilities at the JCAHO website) is just one way to get information about the quality of a hospital facility. For more suggestions, see our FAQ section on hospitalization.

Original source: "Performance reports motivate hospitals to improve, studies find." San Francisco Chronicle, July 21 2005.

 

 

 

Lionel's House - Football Star Charity to Benefit Community

Most people who know the name Lionel Aldridge probably know his outstanding football record. During his tenure as a starting defense end for the Green Bay Packers, he helped lead the team to three straight NFL championships, and two Super Bowls. He was named All-Pro in 1964, and was inducted into the Packer Hall of Fame in 1988.

Many may not know that Lionel Aldridge also suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

As a result, this NFL champion, NBC sports analyst, and family man spent two years homeless on the Milwaukee streets, and 10 years battling with hallucinations, paranoia, and the other devastating symptoms of his brain disease.

After finally receiving beneficial treatment and achieving recovery from his illness, Aldridge became an outspoken mental illness advocate, working with such national organizations as NAMI.

Now, his two daughters are continuing his advocacy legacy with the vision of Lionel's House, a future community facility for support of people with mental illness (specifically schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression) and their families. According to its mission statement, The House will provide "information, education and counseling for children and families living with or supporting a family member with mental illness."

Although the physical house (planned to be completed in the Fall of 2005) will be located in Sherwood, WI, Angela and Michelle Aldridge have a much bigger vision. Through the internet (see the house's website), they plan to make the resources of Lionel's House (to include information on mental illness, support services, and the role of caretakers) available worldwide. Likewise, they hope to create more physical facilities for face-to-face counseling, group discussions, and guest speakers in other cities that desire such support.

The fundraising efforts to build Lionel's House are ongoing. In addition to collecting local and national business sponsors, the House recently completed a 2004 Walk/Run and a Raffle to help raise money to complete the building process. Eventually, they plan to add an auction and fundraising dinner.

The vision of Lionel's House is an appropriate tribute to the man who's name inspired its founding. Lionel Aldridge was an amazing person who turned his struggles of living with schizophrenia into support and hope for countless others. We can only hope to see more community treatment and support facilities like this emerge across the United States.

Thank you to the Aldridge family, and to all who are supporting this effort.

More information about Lionel's House - http://www.lionelshouse.com

More about Lionel Aldridge, football star

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Housing Project in Alberta for People with Mental Illness

A new housing project is being developed in central Alberta, Canada. The Schizophrenia Society of Alberta is buying a building in Red Deer to provide affordable housing to 12 people with schizophrenia and other chronic mental illnesses. This seems like a model that other advocacy groups might pursue also - given that the issue of affordable housing is one of the most difficult challenges that people with schizophrenia face in North America.

"Tenants will be able to live in eight existing suites in the building, while the Schizophrenia Society will occupy a commercial space. Tenants will be able to stay as long as they like. A worker from the Schizophrenia Society will provide support to the tenants. As well, a mentor living on the premises will offer guidance" (The Canadian Press, 2005).

Many people with debilitating mental illnesses struggle with finding affordable housing and a landlord that will be understanding of their situation. In the worst situations those with debilitating mental disorders are forced to live in the streets because of a combination of these factors. The mentally ill comprise about a third of the homeless population.

The Schizophrenia Society has taken out a mortgage and will be raising the funds needed for the renovation that will need to be done on the Lovella building. The total cost of the building is $440,000. Any and all "revenues" that go over the cost needed to maintain and operate this housing facility will go to support programs and future housing such as this.

The source of this article is The Canadian Press

More information about housing options for people with brain diseases - see our FAQ guide

 

Surprise Discharges from Group Homes

Cindy Crippen is 41 years old and suffers from schizophrenia, she lives at a group home in Idaho - or at least she used to. Crippen went home to visit her family for 72 days and upon her return she discovered that she had been discharged from the hospital. Under a new county-wide policy group homes can not hold a bed for a patient unless the group home is willing to pay the tab. Crippen was not notified before or after her discharge, she did not find out until she returned to the group home.

As Shors (2005) states, "Kasey Kramer, the county's director of community services, said state guidelines require that "the person's head has to be on the pillow" for the group homes to be paid with public money. He said Crippen was on vacation for 72 days, which her family confirmed. 'We can't pay for services for a person who is not here,' Kramer said. 'From a public stewardship position, I think it's an appropriate policy to have.'"

This policy has affected others who have taken vacations only to return to a place that is no longer their home. In Crippen's case she was luckily reinstated by Kramer and said that he had not known that United Behavioral Health (UBH) had forced others out due to the policy. The policy even does not allow group homes to hold beds for those who must go the hospital for a brief time.

The county policy is obviously controversial in that it is discharging clients when they may still be in desperate need of a supportive living situation. It does not seem fair to have patients kicked out because they had to go to the hospital for health reasons or because they were visiting their family. Some say that this makes the homes look more like an incarceration. Financially speaking this policy makes sense, but then again, are group homes developed so that they can profit their makers, or are they developed to help those in need?

In any case, this story is a reminder to all to double-check the discharge and time-out policies of any living facilities you are considering.

The source of this article was the Idaha Edition, Spokesman Review, written there by Benjamin Shors. You can find their website at: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/

Call to Eliminate Medicare Waiting Period

The following is an exerpt from a press release found at I-Newswire. Please refer to the original newsblog entry to see the full release.

(I-Newswire) - "At a time when Congress is considering major reforms to Medicare they should not forget some of the most vulnerable of all potential beneficiaries--seriously disabled adults who are unable to work," said Karen Davis, president of The Commonwealth Fund. "Individuals in the waiting period for Medicare suffer from a broad range of debilitating diseases and are in urgent need of appropriate medical care to manage their conditions. Eliminating the two-year wait would ensure access to care for those already on the way to Medicare."

Currently, 1.26 million seriously disabled Americans are in the waiting period for Medicare coverage, and as many as one-third of them ( 400,000 ) have no health insurance, according to the report, Expanding Health Coverage for Seriously Disabled Adults by Eliminating Medicare's Two-Year Waiting Period, by Stacy Berg Dale and James M. Verdier of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. These disabled adults under age 65 must first qualify for Social Security Disability benefits by satisfying the work history requirements and proving that they are too disabled to work, wait five months for these benefits to begin, and then wait an additional two years for Medicare. Adults under 65 who qualify for Medicare based on disability suffer from a range of chronic illnesses: more than nine of 10 have one or more chronic diseases including arthritis, heart conditions, lung disease, cancer, and severe mental illness. All are unable to work. By the time they reach Medicare, most ( 77% ) are poor or nearly poor.

Based on reports from several states, the authors estimate that 40 percent of those in the waiting period are enrolled in Medicaid programs, having qualified as disabled and poor. Eliminating the two-year waiting period for Medicare would benefit states by reducing their costs for Medicare-covered services. The report finds that states would save an estimated $1.8 billion per year if the Medicare waiting period were eliminated. Federal Medicaid expenditures for the disabled would also be reduced, by $2.5 billion, offsetting some of the $8.7 billion increase in federal Medicare expenses that would result from the change.

More information on the Commonwealth Fund, and their coverage of the issue: http://www.cmwf.org

If you are interested in helping to advocate for an elimination of the medicare waiting period, the Medicare Rights Center, an independent organization providing healthcare information and assistance to older adults, has information on how to get involved with this issue.

 

 

 

Schizophrenia Hotline in Germany Gets Lots of Callers
 

 

 

A schizophrenia hotline (a telephone number where people can get their questions related to schizophrenia answered) in Germany has been operating since 2001.

Those who have questions regarding schizophrenia can call the hotline and ask whatever questions they may have relating to the disorder. The German Research Network on Schizophrenia (GRNS) have been maintaining the telephone line and have found that there are an increasing number of people who call the hotline.

"The hotline is manned by clinical experts, psychiatrists, or psychologists once a week. The telephone calls are documented in a systematic manner. From 2001 to 2003, 3,909 calls were registered. This volume exceeds the limit of the hotline's resources. The telephone hotline is mainly used by relatives of psychotic patients. Most questions relate to the symptoms of schizophrenia and pharmaceutical treatment. The need for emotional support is also a high motivational factor for dialing the hotline number" (Wessling et al., 2005).

This hotline is a great and obviously much needed addition to the crisis hotlines that are currently available to the public. Hopefully they will continue to receive public funding far into the future. The US could definitely benefit from having such a hotline because it is often very difficult for families to find a good independent source of information on these topics.

Although it is not staffed by medical professionals, NAMI offers an information and support hotline in the U.S. answered by a staff of trained volunteers. It is available Monday-Friday, 10am to 6pm Eastern Standard Time. Call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)

The source of this article is Pubmed, written by Wessling A, Wolwer W, Heres S, Mayenberger M, Rummel C, Sievers M, Wagner M, Klosterkotter J, Gaebel W. The orignal article is written in German.

You can access this article at: http://tinyurl.com/8ekzx

 

'Voice Awards' Honors Positive Portrayals of Mental Disorders in Media

It's heartening to have attention focused on positive, realistic, and/or dignified portrayals of mental disorders in the popular media, after the spate of comments precipitated by Tom Cruise's attack on psychiatry and psychiatric diagnoses.

The following are exerpts from a press release (found in PR Newswire) about the Voice Awards. Please refer to the original newsblog entry for the full release.

WASHINGTON, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The writers and producers of "The Aviator," "ER," "Monk" and "Scrubs" were honored for their positive portrayals of people with mental health problems at the Voice Awards last night. In addition, actors Brooke Shields and Maurice Benard and Spanish language television network Univision were honored by the federal government for their activities on behalf of mental health awareness, and writer/producer Neal Baer received a special Career Achievement Award at the gala awards ceremony hosted by Mariette Hartley and Kathleen Sullivan.

Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Voice Awards recognized film, TV and radio writers and producers who have created positive, accurate and dignified portrayals of people with mental health problems. The event was held at the Skirball Cultural Center's Ahmanson Ballroom in Los Angeles California.

Writers and producers from more than 50 productions were nominated for Voice Awards. From this group, writers and producers of the following productions were named as Voice Award winners: "The Aviator," "ER," "Huff," "Larry King Live," "Monk," "People Say I'm Crazy," "Scrubs," "Stateside," "Strong Medicine," and "There's No Such Thing As Crazy." Neal Baer, executive producer of "Law & Order: SVU" and former executive producer of "ER," was also presented with a special award for his work in bringing mental health issues into the mainstream. Baer co-created the character of Maggie Lockhart (Sally Field), a woman who faces and ultimately recovers from schizophrenia, on NBC's "ER," and as executive producer of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" has created several characters with mental health problems.

...

SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie and SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services Director A. Kathryn Power participated in the event. "The entertainment industry is a powerful vehicle for helping shape public opinion," said Curie. "Positive portrayals show the nation that people with mental health problems do live, learn, work and fully participate in the American community."

...

"Stigma is one of the major barriers to mental health care in America," said Power. "The Voice Awards also recognize the people who are working to counter stigma and ensure that help is available to those in need of care."

...

The Voice Awards are part of SAMHSA's Elimination of Barriers Initiative (EBI), a collaborative pilot effort between SAMHSA and eight state mental health authorities in California, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. The state EBI initiatives work in partnership with mental health consumers, family members, advocates, providers, and a range of national and state mental health organizations.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment and mental health service delivery systems.

SOURCE Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Web Site: http://www.samhsa.gov
 

Information about the Voice Awards: http://www.allmentalhealth.samhsa.gov/voiceawards
 

 

 

Insight on Hallucinations

Two recent stories have delved into the particulars of hallucinations, a common symptom of schizophrenia or other diseases with psychotic symptoms. Exerpts from the two newsblog entries are included below:

Why Imaginary Voices Tend to be Male

The BBC News reported on the auditory verbal hallucinations that people with schizophrenia very commonly experience. Specifically, they reported that these "voices" (as they are commonly referred to) are typically male. According to the article:

A university research team says it has discovered why most people "hearing voices" in hallucinations say they hear male voices.

Dr Michael Hunter's research at the University of Sheffield says that male voices are less complex to produce than female.

As such, when the brain spontaneously produces its own "voices", a male voice is more likely to have been generated.

Among both men and women, 71% of such "false" voices are male

Access the original newsblog entry on schizophrenia.com (July 12 2005)

Hallucinations that are Musical

Reginald King underwent bypass surgery seven years ago and found that he was experiencing something quite odd while recovering in the hospital. King kept hearing different songs that he had heard in his lifetime, but no one else was hearing them. King is 83 and is experiencing something called musical hallucinations.

King was referred to a psychiatrist last year named Dr. Aziz who explained to him that he was experiencing musical hallucinations, something more common than people think. As Zimmer (2005) states, "Dr. Aziz belongs to a small circle of psychiatrists and neurologists who are investigating this condition. They suspect that the hallucinations experienced by Mr. King and others are a result of malfunctioning brain networks that normally allow us to perceive music. They also suspect that many cases of musical hallucinations go undiagnosed."

Dr. Aziz is currently researching this phenomenon and states that he believes that it will only get more common in future decades. Several musical composers of the past have experienced musical hallucinations, although in those times it was usually thought to come from someone or something other than one's own mind

Access the original newsblog entry on schizophrenia.com (July 12 2005)

OCD and Schizophrenia Overlap

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia have a good amount of things in common. "Although OCD and schizophrenia are distinct diagnostic entities, there is considerable overlap between the two disorders in terms of clinical characteristics, brain areas that are affected and pharmacotherapy" (Price, 2005). Those who have OCD are not more likely to develop schizophrenia, but those with schizophrenia are more likely to develop OCD. Around 8% to 46% of patients with schizophrenia also have OCD, whereas the general population has a 1.2% to 2.4% percentage that develops OCD. Yet the relationship between these two disorders is not fully understood as of yet.

As Price (2005) states, "Patients with "pure" OCD exhibit delayed memory, response inhibition and impaired performance in alternation learning. Such learning impairment in OCD patients has been demonstrated in measures sensitive to changes in orbitofrontal cortex function. Among patients with chronic OCD, the odds of schizotypy are substantially increased with early age of OCD onset, male gender, counting compulsions and a history of a specific phobia. Overlapping brain areas--thalamus, caudate nucleus, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex--have also been consistently implicated in both disorders."

One of the criteria used to diagnose OCD is how aware the patient is of the unreasonable or excessive nature of his/her obsessions and compulsions. Delusional thinking is often associated with a lack of insight in to such things. Those who have both schizophrenia and OCD usually have a more severe functional impairment and other more severe effects of the illnesses.

The relationship between OCD and schizophrenia need to be further studied, but there is no denying that they have and intricate and complex relationship.

The source of this article is Jossey-Bass, an Imprint of Wiley Brown University Psychopharmacology Update, written there by Lawrence H. Price.

For more information on the link between schizophrenia and OCD go to: http://tinyurl.com/a2blg

Common Gene Affects Psychosis in Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder

A gene that has been implicated in the past as a factor in schizophrenia, has in new research been linked again to both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

"Variations in the neuregulin (NRG) 1 gene play a role in not only in the development of schizophrenia but also bipolar disorder, possibly affecting a functional psychosis that has features of both conditions, say UK researchers. It has traditionally been assumed that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are separate diseases and have separate underlying etiologies, following the so-called kraepelinian divide. However, evidence from family and twin studies has suggested that, in addition to genes that affect specifically schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, there are genes that confer susceptibility across the kraepelinian divide" (PsychiatryMatters.MD).

NRG1 lies on chromosome 8p12 and in previous studies has shown that it gives one a vulnerability to schizophrenia. In this study 529 patients who had been diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder participated, as well as 1,011 healthy controls. Prior data on 573 patients with schizophrenia was used.

They looked at the NRG1 haplotype on all of the patients and found that those with bipolar disorder had an odds ratio of 1.37, and those with schizophrenia had an odds raio of 1.22. A haplotype is a group of alternative forms of a gene, for different genes, that are linked closely enough to be inherited as a unit. This was paraphrased from Medline Plus Medical Dictionary.

These findings confirm past conclusions that a predisposition towards psychosis/schizophrenia is something that can be inherited. It also shows that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are even more closely linked than we though; probably because psychosis often comes with both disorders.

Full article: "Gene for both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia identified". Look it up at PsychiatryMatters.MD (http://www.psychiatrymatters.md/)

Brain Scans to Detect Mental Disorders in Children with VCFS

Children diagnosed with VCFS - Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome known also as Shprintzen Syndrome have a one in four chance of developing psychiatric disabilities. VCFS is "linked to the deletion of small piece of chromosome 22 that...can cause cleft palate, heart defects, and abnormal facial appearance and learning problems." It is thought to be the "second most common genetic syndrome in humans." The prevalence of this disorder is 1 in 2,000. Unfortunately, children suffering from this disorder already face a number of medical problems, but now recent studies have shown that they might also have to face the possible development of psychiatric disabilities.

Wendy Kates, Ph.D., and associate professor of psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University and her colleagues are attempting "to advance understanding of the link between VCFS and mental illness."

...

VCFS has not only been linked to pediatric psychiatric disorders in general, but also specifically to the onset of bipolar disorder. Demitri Papolos, author of The Bipolar Child, has conducted studies of VCFS children at the Albert Einstein college of medicine. He found "in a mixed group of twenty-five VCSF children, adolescents, and adults, 68% met DSM-IV criteria for some form of bipolar disorder" (Papolos, The Bipolar Child, p. 172). The researchers observed that many began with mood swings and night terrors, which escalated into full-blown episodes of mania. Papolos comments: "Remarkably, these patients were showing the same developmental patterns of symptoms that we were later to observe in the bipolar children in our study" (p. 173).

One hypothesis for this link between VCFS and bipolar disorder is the fact that one of the genes commonly deleted on chromosome twenty-two in VCSF children is the COMT gene, which codes for an enzyme responsible for the breakdown of three neurotransmitters -norepinephrine, dopamine, and epinephrine. These chemicals are important for regulating mood and emotion in the brain. The COMT gene has also been identified as a candidate gene that predisposes some individuals to schizophrenia. It may be the common link that helps to explain the significant overlap of symptoms between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Full Newsblog Entry: VCFS & Brain Disorders in Children. July 14, 2005

Book by Bebe Moore Campbell Examines Family, Search for Treatment

Bebe Moore Campbell, author of the popular children's book "Sometimes my Mommy Gets Angry" explaining the difficulties of a bipolar parent, has just released a new novel that deals again with the difficulties of mental illness.

In "72 Hour Hold", mom and main protagonist Keri Whitmore struggles to find adequate treatment for her teenage daughter Trina, who begins to show symptoms of bipolar disorder in her senior year of high school. In her quest, Keri encounters other parents in local support groups who are dealing with similar crises. Encouraged by one parent in particular, and frustrated with the inadequacies of the standard health care system, Keri finally decides to make the bold move of entrusting herself and her daughter to a different sort of treatment program.

Full Newsblog Entry (and information on ordering the book): "Book Examines Family, Search for Treatment", July 12 2005.

'Health Buddy' Home Device Helps Patients Manage Bipolar Disorder

A new electronic device named "Healthy Buddy" is helping patients at the South Mississippi Home Care and Hospice. The device which can be plugged into a telephone line and electrical outlet costs nothing to use and is quite convenient in that it can be used "any time of the day." Further, the device provides 16 "different programs individualized to the patient's need." The device currently helps monitor conditions such as "heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, artery disease, bipolar disorder, cystic fibrosis and others."Not only does the device help patients feel more secure by enabling them to easily connect to a case manager, but it also helps them manage their condition.

Full Newsblog Entry: "New Device Helps Manage Bipolar Disorder", July 14 2005.

'Friendship House' in NJ Helps Recovering Mentally Ill Find Employment

A new article discusses the Friendship House. Located in New Jersey, the Friendship House, is a non-profit center which helps the psychiatrically disabled with employment. Such centers seem valuable considering the difficulties psychiatrically disabled people face while attempting to get a job. The center "offers behavioral health services, vocational training and employment support." A large number of the Friendship House's clients have disabilites such as schizoffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and depression. Despite their different disabilities, most clients share the common goal of gaining employment

The Friendship House is located 125 Atlantic Street, Hackensack. Phone: 201-488-2121.

Full Newsblog Entry: "Friendship House, Employment, & Bipolar Disorder", July 20 2005