Current Psychiatry Reviews - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2012

This issue marks the beginning of the eighth year of Current Psychiatry Reviews and it is hard to believe that the time has passed so quickly! Thinking back to our beginning efforts in 2004-05, our overarching goal was to fill a major void in the psychiatric literature, namely to become the first journal devoted to rapid publication of comprehensive reviews of the most interesting and important topics in psychiatry, psychopat Read More

Introduction: Depression is a common disorder associated with significant disability and is a substantial burden on the individual, their relatives and friends, and on society as a whole. Sleep disturbances are key features of depressive symptomatology, with more than 80% of depressed patients complaining of poor quality sleep Methods: The range of available antidepressants is here reviewed in relation to mechanisms of action Read More

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a pervasive condition among youngsters around the globe, which has particular pungency in countries where the socioeconomic context favors delinquency. Several behavioral genetics studies have linked the disorder to the presence of copies of a polymorphic variation of the MAO-A gene that leads to enzymatic hypofunction. An emerging tendency in this literature is to also associ Read More

Pathological gambling (PG) is an impulse control disorder with prevalence estimates in the range of 0.2-2% in the general population. PG can significantly impact one's ability to function as it may negatively influence social, financial, and occupational aspects of life. Historically, PG has received relatively little attention from researchers and clinicians, and few treatments, particularly pharmacological, have been both vali Read More

Pharmacological treatments for serious mental illness (SMI) can cause weight gain and adverse metabolic effects. Many second generation antipsychotics and mood stabilizers appear to be particularly problematic in this regard. Several studies have investigated interventions for antipsychotic-induced, or less commonly mood stabilizer-induced, weight gain. Both lifestyle and pharmacological interventions have de Read More

The hormone oxytocin plays a major role in relationship formation and social functioning in animals and humans. We review theory and research examining the potential for intra-nasal oxytocin as an adjunctive medication for several mental health problems and risks: autism, schizophrenia, developmental precursors of psychopathy, social phobia, anorexia nervosa, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression (especially postn Read More

Early clinical trials had suggested a better safety profile for the second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs; e.g. risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, aripiprazole) compared to the older first-generation agents (FGAs; e.g. haloperidol and phenothiazines); however, new long-term studies have determined that important adverse events are associated with the use of the SGAs and that their safety profiles differ significantly. This Read More

Bulimia nervosa (BN) is a serious eating disorder characterized by recurrent binge eating episodes and dysfunctional compensatory behaviours, with a prevalence rate of up to 3%. Epidemiological studies show that BN and alcohol use disorder (AUD) co-occur very frequently in both clinical and community settings. Considering that eating disorders with comorbid AUD are associated with serious medical complications, poor t Read More