Psychiatry News
Decreased Hippocampal Volume in Healthy Girls at Risk of Depression
Researchers have documented that the hippocampus is smaller in individuals with depression than in those without. The temporal or causal association of this reduction in hippocampal volume in depression, however, is not known. A study out the Archives of General Psychiatry used magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain structure volume in individuals at high and low familial risk of depression. Compared with individuals at low familial risk of the development of depression, high-risk individuals have reduced hippocampal volume, indicating that neuroanatomic anomalies associated with depression may precede the onset of a depressive episode and influence the development and course of this disorder.
Association Between Cannabis Use and Psychosis
The early use of marijuana increases the risks for schizophrenia, delusions and hallucinations in young adulthood, according to a study published online March 1 in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The Past, Present, and Future of Medical Marijuana in the United States
On October 19, 2009, the Office of the Deputy US Attorney General issued a memorandum, “
Investigations and Prosecutions in States Authorizing the Medical Use of Marijuana.”1 The memo announced a federal policy to abstain from investigating or prosecuting “individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.” The memo made clear, however, that it did not “legalize marijuana or provide a legal defense to a violation of federal law.” Rather, it was “intended solely as a guide to the exercise of investigative and prosecutorial discretion.”
This article seeks to place the attorney general’s action in historical, medical, and legal context.
Brain Dopamine Receptor Density Correlates With Social Status
People have typically viewed the benefits that accrue with social status primarily from the perspective of external rewards. A new paper in the February 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier suggests that there are internal rewards as well.
Long-Chain 
-3 Fatty Acids for Indicated Prevention of Psychotic Disorders
The use of antipsychotic medication for the prevention of psychotic disorders is controversial. Long-chain (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may be beneficial in a range of psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. A Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial from the Archives of Psychiatry found that Long-chain -3 PUFAs reduce the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and may offer a safe and efficacious strategy for indicated prevention in young people with subthreshold psychotic states.
Bipolar diagnosis jumps in young children: study
BOSTON (Reuters) - The number of children aged 2 to 5 who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs has doubled over the past decade, according to research released on Friday.The research suggests that while it is still rare to prescribe powerful psychiatric drugs to 2-year-olds, the practice is becoming more frequent.
Cocaine changes how genes work in brain
Prolonged exposure to cocaine can cause permanent changes in the way genes are switched on and off in the brain, a finding that may lead to more effective treatments for many kinds of addiction, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
Decreased Frontal Serotonin2A Receptor Binding in Antipsychotic-Naive Patients With First-Episode Schizophrenia
Postmortem investigations and the receptor affinity profile of atypical antipsychotics have implicated the participation of serotonin2A receptors in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. To assess in vivo brain serotonin2A binding potentials in a large sample of antipsychotic-naive schizophrenic patients and matched healthy controls. It was shown schizophrenic patients had significantly lower serotonin2A binding in the frontal cortex than did control subjects suggesting that frontal cortical serotonin2A receptors are involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
Increased Mortality in Bulimia Nervosa and Other Eating Disorders
American Journal of Psychiatry
Anorexia nervosa has been consistently associated with increased mortality, but whether this is true for other types of eating disorders is unclear. The goal of this study was to determine whether anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not otherwise specified are associated with increased all-cause mortality or suicide. Crude mortality rates were 4.0% for anorexia nervosa, 3.9% for bulimia nervosa, and 5.2% for eating disorder not otherwise specified. All-cause standardized mortality ratios were significantly elevated for bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified; suicide standardized mortality ratios were elevated for bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified.
Doubts on suicide-anti-smoking drug Chantix
Despite earlier health agency warnings, there is no strong evidence that the anti-smoking drug Chantix raises the risk of suicidal thoughts or depression compared to other stop-smoking products, researchers reported Thursday in the British Medical Journal. Back in July of this year, U.S. health officials ordered strong "black box" warnings be added to Chantix (also called varenicline) as well as anti-smoking drug Zyban, following more than five thousand reports of depression, hostility and other behavioral changes possibly associated with use of these drugs.
