Resource Tag: DRUG THERAPIES

The suicide rate remains more than three time higher among HIV-positive persons than in the general population. This finding highlights the need for an integrative conceptual model to inform clinical intervention & research in this population. In this editorial, the author proposes a stress & coping model of suicide risk in which vulnerability & resilience […]

When treating teenagers with self-harming thoughts & behaviour, it may be difficult to distinguish suicide attempts from self-injury without intent to die. Understanding adolescent self-harm, suicide risk assessment, & treatment options guides clinicians to appropriate interventions. Recognizing the need for aggressive treatment – including psychiatric hospitalization – is essential to keeping self-harming teenagers safe. (28 […]

The reviewer states that this book “is not only a textbook on treatment of borderline personality disorder… it is also a synthesis of our knowledge concerning the syndrome, its nosology, epidemiology, etiology, outcome research, & so on”. The book is said to be an invaluable asset for anyone working in psychiatric care & suicide prevention.

This cross-sectional study evaluated the role of several variables hypothesized in prior research to be associated with suicide in older adults. A psychological autopsy study of 99 elderly suicide victims, age 65 & older, in the province of Parma & Piacenza who died between 1994-2004 was done. 134 younger suicide victims (younger adults, aged less […]

In this editorial, the authors briefly review articles appearing in this journal issue including one on the effects of a community-based intervention program in Nurnberg. The number of suicide attempts and suicides dropped significantly comparing the baseline year & the control region. The sustainable effects could still be seen one year later. (7 refs.)

The full results of a placebo controlled prophylactic study of suicidal behaviour were discussed in this presentation. A 6-month follow-up study of patients who had attempted suicide more than once & who were not overtly depressed or schizophrenic was conducted. A double-blind controlled trial compared the effect of flupenthixol or a matching placebo. Implications of […]

This presentation discussed the presuicidal syndrome which comprises: constriction of the personality; aggression turned towards oneself, & suicidal fantasies. Psychotherapy, sociotherapy, & pharmacotherapy were all recommended, in combination, as being necessary to treat patients.

This book provides practical ways for families to help adolescents with bipolar disorder. Information is provided on working the child’s physician to find the right balance between medication & psychotherapy, recognizing & responding to early warning signs of an oncoming episode, & collaborating effectively with school personnel. The book also includes a chapter on dealing […]

This presentation discussed specific clinical pharmacological profiles of anti-psychotic drugs in relation to the symptomatology of patients with schizophrenia. Indications & contraindications for the use of antidepressants in combination with anti-psychotic drugs during the depression phase of schizophrenia were also elucidated. The importance of research to better understand & treat suicidal behaviours in patients with […]

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This study assessed the effect of the UK Committee on Safety of Medicines’ announcement in January 2005 of withdrawal of co-proxamol on analgesic prescribing & poisoning mortality. An interrupted time series analysis for 1998-2007 was done. A steep reduction in prescribing of co-proxamol occurred in the post-intervention period, 2005-2007, such that the number of prescriptions […]

Clients at 2 outpatient facilities who self-identified as having expressed suicidal thoughts or engaged in suicidal behaviours during some point in their counselling treatement were invited to participate in a survey to assess their perception of the relative effectiveness of 22 treatment methods in order to determine the perceived efficacy of no-suicide contracts as compared […]

Letters are from Bowden & Fawcett and Yerevanian, Koek, & Feusner.

The Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study evaluates the effectiveness of fluoxtine hydrochloride therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, & their combination in adolescents with major depressive disorder. Randomized, controlled trials were conducted in 13 sites in the United States. 327 patients, aged 12-17 years, participated. Suicidal ideation decreased with treatment, but less so with fluoxetine therapy than […]

406 hospitalised patients with affective disorders were followed prospectively for 22 years or more. Later, mortality was assessed for 99% of them at which time 76% had died. Standardised mortality ratios were elevated expecially for suicide & circulatory disorders in both men & women. Women actually had higher suicide rates but that did not take […]

Although suicide is a rare & difficult-to-predict event, psychiatrists can make an important impact on patient mortality by identifying & reducing both acute & chronic risk factors for completed suicide. This article first discusses acute risk factors & treatment for same & then discusses chronic risk factors & treatment. (20 refs.)

This study examined whether treatment setting, length of treatment, & availability/use of psychiatric services are associated with a reduced likelihood of a suicide attempt during & 1 year after treatment. A national sample of 3,733 patients was assessed at the start of an episode of substance use disorder treatment & again at discharge &/or 1 […]

This article discusses body dysmorphic disorder, its prevalence, clinical features, diagnosis, & treatment. Treatment may include drug & psychological therapies. The cause of “Mr. H”, a 33-year-old single white male, with body dysmorphic disorder is used as illustration. Mr. H. had passive suicide ideation & had attempted suicide in the past. (42 refs.)

In this letter to the editor, the authors discuss a cross-national study they did to examine the relationship between elderly suicide rates & the affordability of psychotropic medications. Contrary to earlier reports which found a decline in elderly suicide rates with an increase in prescription rates of antidepressants, an absence of correlation between the affordability […]

This study sought to determine if varenicline, a smoking cessation product, is associated with an increased risk of suicide & suicidal behaviour compared with alternative treatments bupropion & nicotine replacement therapy. A cohort study was done with 80,660 patients, aged 18-95 years, who were prescribed a new course of a smoking cessation product between September […]

This article examines the relationship between low serum cholesterol & mood disorders as well as the relationship between cholesterol & suicide ideation, suicide attempts, & parasuicide. (60 refs.)

Borderline personality disorder is a chronic psychiatric condition characterized by a pervasive pattern of instability in affect regulation & impulse control. These maladaptive coping strategies predispose individuals with borderline personality disorder to suicidal behaviour & this diagnosis increases the risk for completed suicide. Psychopharmacological interventions, including the use of antidepressants, anti-psychotics, & mood stabilizers, are […]