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The Carlat Psychiatry Report

Women’s Psychiatry (February) | 2014

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PMS and PMDD: Mood Changes During the Menstrual Cycle

February 1, 2014

Of all the factors that contribute to mood, hormonal variations, such as those found in premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) can have a particularly strong effect. I’ve heard some people, for instance, describe PMS as a “powerful spell” that women are put under once every month. Read More

Treating Pregnant and Lactating Women

February 1, 2014

Madeleine Becker, MD, FAPM

Dr. Madeleine Becker explains the many considerations in in treating psychiatric illness in pregnant and lactating women. Read More

Should We Prescribe Meditation to Our Patients?

February 1, 2014

Many people claim that meditation helps them reduce stress, anxiety, or depression, but little quality evidence exists to support those anecdotes. Add to that the difficulty in designing a controlled trial of meditation—eg, how can people be blinded to their treatment group?—and it’s hard to know how to counsel patients on the effectiveness of this strategy. Read More

CBT for Schizophrenia: Is Talk Cheap?

February 1, 2014

Schizophrenia, a condition that is thought to affect 1% of the world’s population, remains one of the most challenging psychiatric disorders to treat. Read More

New Schizophrenia Drug Fails Two Phase III Trials

February 1, 2014

Roche Pharmaceuticals’ potential new medication for schizophrenia, bitopertin (RG1678), failed its first two phase III trials. In both trials, adding bitopertin to antipsychotics for 24 weeks failed to improve persistent negative symptoms of schizophrenia as measured by PANSS (Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale) scores when compared to placebo, according to a report released by the company in January. Read More

J&J Starts Sharing Clinical Trial Information

February 1, 2014

Johnson & Johnson will begin providing all clinical trial data gathered through its Janssen pharmaceuticals arm to Yale School of Medicine’s Open Data Access (YODA) Project. Physicians and researchers will be able to request access to the anonymized data through YODA, and not the drug company. Read More

CDC: Only 1 in 6 Has Ever Talked about Alcohol with Doc

February 1, 2014

A January 2014 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that alcohol screening and brief counseling by physicians can significantly reduce weekly alcohol consumption and binge-drinking episodes, but that only one in six people has ever talked with their doctor or other health professional about alcohol use. Read More