Dr Muhammad Arshad and Prof Michael FitzGerald look at neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a rare side-effect of certain antipsychotic medications Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a rare, life-threatening neurological disorder due to antipsychotics characterised by severe rigidity, tremor, fever, altered mental status, autonomic dysfunction and elevated serum creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) and white blood-cell count. Antipsychotics can [...]

The College of Psychiatry of Ireland issued the following press statement last week, entitled ‘Anti-depressant Medication – Clarification’, which clarified its position on antidepressants and violent acts Untreated depression can have a fatal outcome. Those experiencing moderate to severe depression frequently describe having thoughts of suicide. Suicidality (a spectrum of thinking and behaviour, from the [...]

Chronic diseases can often be treated effectively with lower doses of medication than are commonly used, according to a ‘Viewpoint’ in the Medical Journal of Australia. “Optimal drug dose – the best balance of benefit and risk – varies between individuals and may change over time,” Professors Simon Dimmit and Hans Stampfer from the University [...]

Dr Mary Clarke, Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Clinical Lecturer in Psychiatry at St John of God Hospital, examines the impact that psychosis can have on physical health People with serious mental illness have conditions such as schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder or bipolar disorder. The annual prevalence of serious mental illness is estimated at approximately two per [...]

Rory Hafford looks at the history, manifestation and future treatment options for epilepsy Epilepsy is caused by abnormal functioning of brain tissue that may arise from traumatic injury, from infections, or as a result of ischemic damage to the brain during birth. Furthermore, there may be no obvious precipitating cause and some cases of epilepsy [...]

Black and Hispanic patients appear less likely than white patients to have access to high-quality surgical care for brain tumours in the United States, according to a new study. “Over the past decade, numerous studies have examined the association between treatment at high-volume hospitals and improved outcomes,” the authors of the study wrote as background [...]

Dr Muhammad Arshad and Prof Michael Fitzgerald look at the detection and management of the conditions associated with serotonergic excess and toxicity Serotonin syndrome is a potentially life-threatening condition following a therapeutic drug dose, drug interactions or overdose of certain drugs, due to excess of serotonin in the brain. Lithium with serotonergic agent and fluoxetine [...]

Psychologists and psychiatrists should not be expected to participate in torture as they do not have the expertise to assess individual pain or the long-term effects of interrogation, according to leading psychiatrists. The psychiatrists, from the University of New South Wales in Australia, noted that some senior members of the US military have argued that [...]

Mary Anne Kenny reports from the Cephalon Fourth Annual Sleep Disorders Symposium, where experts updated delegates on the latest developments in treating sleep issues Delegates at the Cephalon Fourth Annual Sleep Disorders Symposium heard from renowned UK sleep experts about the latest diagnostic and treatment developments and how sleep disorders can occur in a range [...]

Patients who continue to receive the full risperidone dose used for their acute episode of schizophrenia had fewer relapses than those who had dose reductions after four weeks or 26 weeks during the maintenance period, a new randomised, controlled trial has determined. In the study, patients with schizophrenia who were clinically stabilised following an acute [...]