Current psychiatry reports
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Pathological gambling (PG) is a significant public health concern associated with high rates of psychiatric comorbidity and mortality. Although research into the biology of PG is still in an early stage, recent advances in our understanding of motivation, reward, and addiction have provided substantial insight into the possible pathophysiology of this disorder. In addition, over the past 5 years, extraordinary progress has been made in the area of clinical research examining treatments for PG. Although PG is a disabling disorder that continues to represent a clinical challenge for the healthcare professional, our current knowledge of pharmacotherapy and psychosocial interventions offers potentially effective treatment options.
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Major depressive disorder is a potentially debilitating condition that often is unrecognized or undertreated in the elderly. Even when aggressively treated, the course of geriatric depression can be severe. ⋯ Data continue to accumulate in support of various treatment modalities, including medication, electroconvulsive therapy, and psychotherapy. Given the increased risk of adverse outcomes associated with geriatric depression, such as dementia and suicide, it is essential that future investigations continue to build on the evidence base supporting improved diagnosis and treatment of this complex disorder.
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Curr Psychiatry Rep · Oct 2004
Historical ArticleNeurosurgical interventions for neuropsychiatric syndromes.
Psychosurgical procedures have been used for the treatment of intractable mental illness for more than 50 years. With improvements in surgical techniques, including new implantable stimulators, advances in functional neuroimaging, and progress in our fundamental understanding of the pathophysiology of mental illness there is a renewed interest in neurosurgical treatment of refractory psychiatric illness. ⋯ The results of psychosurgery for the treatment of several psychiatric conditions and neuropsychiatric symptoms will be presented, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, depression, anxiety, aggression, self-injurious behavior, and schizophrenia. Lastly, a perspective on the current and future role of psychosurgery for the treatment of mental illnesses will be discussed.
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Curr Psychiatry Rep · Jul 2003
ReviewAcute and transient psychotic disorders: comparison with schizophrenia.
Concept and nosologic status of acute and transient psychotic disorders, as they appear in the tenth edition of the International Classification of Disease, have seen review from the standpoint of validation and delineation from schizophrenia and affective disorders. Current research, particularly on the epidemiology, course, and outcome, and family genetic studies indicate that these disorders are common among women in developing countries, as well as among lower socioeconomic status and rural subjects. These patients have greater frequency of exposure to stress before childbirth, a family history of acute and transient psychotic disorder (and not of schizophrenia), and a course and outcome that is different from that of schizophrenia. The findings so far support the argument that acute and transient psychotic disorders are different from schizophrenia.
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Curr Psychiatry Rep · Jul 2003
Comparative StudySchizoaffective disorder: clinical aspects, differential diagnosis, and treatment.
Schizoaffective disorders are a clinical reality and their concept has a long history, but there are still problems regarding their diagnostic definition and nosologic categorization. The present definitions of the International Classification of Disease and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are not sufficient enough to define schizoaffective disorders, especially because of deficits on the longitudinal axis. Schizoaffective disorders occupy a position between schizophrenia and pure mood disorders, especially regarding prognosis and premorbid and sociodemographic variables. ⋯ Suicidal symptomatology is extremely frequent in patients with schizodepressive episodes. The most severe type of schizoaffective disorders is the schizoaffective mixed type. Schizoaffective patients with mixed episodes retire more frequently and at younger ages than other patients with bipolar disorder.