this week, Psychiatric Times® discussed a wide range of psychiatric issues and industry updates, from drug use in adolescents and young adults to managing the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Here are some highlights from the week.
Understanding and managing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia
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DFAPA, DFAAGP Rajesh R. Thampi, M.D., Ph.D., M.D., at the well-attended 2023 APA Annual Meeting Session “A Clinician’s Guide to Managing Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia in the Age of Boxed Warnings” discussed new data such as: Various key aspects of dementia, the most common neurodegenerative condition in humans.
As Tampi said, there are more than 5 million people with dementia in the United States, and that number is expected to rise to more than 11 million over the next 30 years. Despite their increasing prevalence, the diagnosis and management of these disorders are not standardized. How can clinicians address behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD)? keep reading
Drug Use in Adolescents and Young Adults
Puberty is a developmental stage characterized by rapid physical and psychosocial growth and maturation. Along with these dynamic neurobiological and social changes comes a unique vulnerability to risk-taking and drug use. The limbic reward-mediated pathway develops before the executive control centers in the prefrontal cortex mature and may provide a neurobiological explanation for adolescents’ propensity for risk-taking behavior.
Compared to other age demographics, adolescents have the most access to substances and the lowest perception of substance-related risks. This is an important point because the perceived harm that a substance can cause is generally inversely proportional to its use in adolescents and young people. keep reading
State of Health Equity and Diversity in Children’s Mental Health
Over the past few years, our field has joined others in making strides toward equity. In 1998, Fellitti et al.’s study clearly linked adverse experiences that occurred in childhood with later serious health problems. This unique body of research has linked how multiple adverse childhood experiences additively lead to significant deterioration in health conditions in adulthood, from cardiovascular health to mental health. .
The list of adverse experiences grew from the first three categories and multiple subcategories used in the original CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE study and included others that incorporated various forms of racism, including structural and interpersonal. childhood adverse events. keep reading
The Debt Crisis and the Biopsychosocial Financial Model of Psychiatry
Recently, there has been much debate in our field about whether the biopsychosocial model of traditional medicine is still a good fit. Some feel that the bio-bio-bio model is better suited to the current focus of our discipline. Some people, like me, want to add “eco” to mean ecology and spirituality. Now that we’re emphasizing the social determinants of health and mental health, the theme of this year’s American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting, there’s a better word for it. Emphasis on social neglect in models.
When our country’s recent debt crisis surfaced, I wondered what parallels psychiatry might have. Although the crisis was just averted, there were many concerns about how defaulting on debt would threaten the financial well-being of many people. In the case of psychiatry, many treatments are government-funded, so the deadline was related to whether the state had enough financial cushion to pay the bills and continue funding. . keep reading
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