Depression

“Maybe (like me) you just want to know why our colleagues die by suicide at twice the rate of their patients” asks this family physician. Here: results from 4 “psychological autopsies.”

Mr M's diabetes remained stubbornly uncontrolled despite all appropriate clinical interventions. The day I read his first psychiatric hospital admission history I was stunned to see on paper what we had all missed in the flesh. What value is adherence to treatment in the face of sheer hopelessness?

The use of vitamin D decreases pain in women who have type 2 diabetes mellitus and depression, according to a recent study, and more research is in the works.

This case highlights medication errors that can result from drug interactions noted with the use of tamoxifen or other chemotherapeutic agents.

Data from pivotal international phase III clinical trials showed superior efficacy, safety, and convenience for a new wave of direct-acting oral agents. The breakthrough will benefit physicians in all practice settings, including primary care.

The “take home” from this presentation: be cautious with inappropriate use of drugs with or without black box warnings, but maintain a healthy skepticism about some of these warnings. Cases in point: droperidol, antidepressants, clindamycin.

A patient no-shows. What's your gut reaction? Be honest. Relief, right? But after the relief is drowned in a flood of walk-ins and emergencies, I wonder about my role in community medicine.

Identifying and managing unrecognized obstructive sleep apnea before surgery can improve postoperative airway function.

The drive to screen older persons for minor memory changes is leading to unnecessary investigation and potentially harmful treatment, according to some experts.

Pay-for-performance medicine will, eventually judge--and pay--clinicians by the percentage of patients who fill their medications and are adherent to therapies.

What is the relationship between common illnesses and depression? And why is the relationship so strong? What can clinicians do now to manage both the medical illness and the depression?

To gain a better understanding of this national and global epidemic and its impact, consider these key facts and figures.

Incidence of CHD was more than double in twins diagnosed with PTSD than those without the disorder.

Although this study did not show benefits for heart disease, it has shown that weight loss improves many other health problems.

We doctors need to recognize our limitations and do the best we can within them. Confronting the reality of uncertainty almost always beats the creation of a false certainty.

"The patient's report" has long been considered the most valid measure of human pain. Can fMRI replace that?

Physician suicide victims are more likely to have experienced job-related stress prior to death than non-physician victims.

Suvorexant would be the first in a new class of insomnia drugs, called orexin receptor antagonists, that work by blocking brain chemicals that keep persons awake.

CRPS is essentially a clinical diagnosis. Allodynia and hyperalgesia are notable criteria for the diagnosis for type 1 and type 2.

A psychiatrist in Seattle had picked out the bridge. At 3 AM he would swerve across his lane and plunge into the water. Everyone would assume he fell asleep. An airtight suicide plan. But this doc survived. Why?

Young women who report having sleeping difficulties “often” in their early 20s have a 4- to 5-times increased risk of depression within 9 years, according to a new study.

Internal medicine doctors train predominantly in our high-tech academic medical centers, yet most will provide outpatient care. Here, Dr Andrew Morris-Singer frames one of modern health care’s greatest disconnects.

A new study validates online delivery as an effective means of promoting dietary adherence in celiac disease, and this method may prove effective across diets for patients with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.

PCPs for sleep apnea?; mental illness and obesity; norovirus on the rise; global sodium overdose

Patients with serious mental illness tend to be overweight; interventions are successful if they account for cognitive and psychiatric challenges.