Current Psychiatry Reviews - Volume 2, Issue 1, 2006

I am delighted to assume the helm as Editor-in-Chief of Current Psychiatry Reviews and would like to use this editorial as both a brief introduction and to outline my vision for CPSR. I have focused my career on academic psychiatry for the assessment and treatment of mood disorders, both unipolar and bipolar. For the past decade, my primary research activities have been centered on various topics in therapeutics, including Read More

The experience of cancer represents a unique challenge to both the physical and psychological health of the individual. High levels of distress are common in cancer patients irrespective of the type of pathology. However, the physiological aspects of the disease process may be a source of confound in the psychiatric screening process, thereby reducing the accuracy of case identification. The current review examines the sa Read More

Neuropsychological studies have shed light on several important aspects of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Along with neuroimaging and information processing approaches, it has contributed to delineate some of the most instigating pathophysiological models of OCD and to strengthen its diagnostic validity. Lately, neuropsychological studies have also emerged as a potentially relevant research area for thera Read More

In recent years transgenic studies in mice, in particular those utilizing gene knockout techniques, have greatly contributed to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of drug reward and drug abuse. Many of the initial gene knockouts that have been created focused on the initial molecular targets of drugs of abuse such as the μ opiate receptor (MOR) for morphine, the dopamine transporter (DAT) for cocaine and Read More

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is still the most effective treatment not only for psychotic depression, but also for treatment of resistant or other severe forms of major depressive episodes. Nevertheless, the exact nature of the therapeutic effect of ECT is unknown. Modern theories of depression suggest changes of synaptic plasticity especially within the hippocampus. It was hypothesized that such changes may be refl Read More

Suicide is a major public concern and in the teenage population it is the third leading cause of death. Its neurobiology is not well-understood, but recent postmortem brain studies have provided greater understanding of the neurobiological abnormalities associated with suicide. Earlier postmortem brain studies focused on monoamine receptor subtypes, namely, serotonin, e.g., (5HT)1A, 5HT2A, and adrenergic receptor Read More

Despite the availability of a wide range of different drug classes for the management of psychiatric disorders, the efficiency of drug treatment is far from optimal. Regardless of the initial choice and dose of standard psychiatric medication, about 30-50% of patients will not respond sufficiently to acute treatment while others suffer from severe adverse drug reactions. The patient-to-patient differences in drug response can be expl Read More

Sex-based pharmacotherapy is a new research and clinical area which could be characterized by the inclusion of sex-related variables in clinical, research and educational issues with respect to pharmacotherapy. In this article we will review the studies that evaluate the treatment of schizophrenia with respect to sex considerations. First we will report the findings about sex differences in response to treatment: pharm Read More

Dopamine and noradrenaline in the prefrontal cortex modulate superior cognitive functions and are implicated in the aetiology of depressive and psychotic symptoms. Experimental evidence reveals parallel variations in extracellular concentration of both catecholamines in the cerebral cortex. In this review, data are presented suggesting that extracellular dopamine in the cerebral cortex originates not only from dopaminergic t Read More

Nuclear medicine imaging techniques like positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) apply radiolabeled drugs that bind selectively to specific neurotransmitter receptors and transporters such as the serotonin transporter (SERT) in the living human brain. They can help overcome certain limitations of postmortem, platelet and genetic studies of the SERT. This review co Read More

Biological, psychological as well as sociocultural changes occur during the postpartum period and it is a highrisk time for significant psychiatric illness. Postpartum psychiatric disorders had been described for centuries yet these disorders today are still poorly recognized and under-treated. They are currently categorized into postpartum blues, postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Panic disorder, Obsessive-Com Read More

Alcohol abuse and dependence are among the most common psychiatric disorders occurring in adolescents. This article will examine clinically relevant research on the development, diagnosis, course, treatment, and adult outcomes of adolescent alcohol use disorders (AUDs). A developmental history of childhood mental disorders reflecting psychological dysregulation predicts adolescent AUDs. The DSM-IV AUD Read More