Using high-resolution MRI brain scans, researchers found evidence of reduced gray matter in the brains of 10 male college soccer players, compared with 10 young men who had never played the sport.Gray matter refers to the brain tissue that controls thinking and memory. The significance of the relatively smaller gray matter volume and density seen in these players is not yet clear, the researchers say.This may be due to repeated knocks on the front of the head called "heading". More research is needed to flesh out the potential long-term brain injury risks associated with soccer.The brief report can be found .....read more »

This is the title of an article in the Washington Post online. Another with opinions from different professionals, psychiatrists and psychologists alike as well as patients view. This article put's ECT in a historic perspective and also discusses a recent article in the JAMA which is described in this blog a few day ago.Related posts: Dr Shock’s popular posts from 2008 and a look ahead for 2009. Evolution of Life in 60 Seconds Read patients records between 1852 and 1914 ..read more »

Discovered my learning style in a modern outfit online. From Lifehacker I did a survey on DVC learning Style Survey.These are my results from the survey:You learn best when information is presented visually and in a written language format. In a classroom setting, you benefit from instructors who use the blackboard (or overhead projector) to list the essential points of a lecture, or who provide you with an outline to follow along with during lecture. You benefit from information obtained from textbooks and class notes. You tend to like to study by yourself in a quiet room. You often see .....read more »

There was no evidence of a protective effect on suicidal thinking or action with the addition of CBT to an antidepressant in depressed adolescents. In contrast to an earlier study in the United States cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) does not improve outcome of treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). On second look the US study also did not show additional benefit of CBT added to a SSRI (fluoxetine). Moreover the results of the US trial limits generalisability since it excluded adolescents with active suicidal intent, self harm, severe conduct disorder, and active substance abuse. Certainly suicidality is a .....read more »

Acomplia (rimonabant) from sanofi-aventis has serious psychiatric side effects, namely depression. The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) recommends not prescribing this drug to patients with a depression or on antidepressants.More information medicalnewstoday.Related posts: 5 Blogs with critical view on drugs and drug companies New type of Drug for Schizophrenia Scientology, Muslims and Drug Warnings ..read more »

This blog about depression and it's treatment especially with ECT is in the air for a while. I hope a lot of readers benefit from these scribbles. The truth be told, I learn a lot from writing these articles. Mostly I gather a lot of information for my work as a psychiatrist which end somewhere in a drawer or the "round archive" without being read at all. Since writing this blog I actually read them and when appropriate post the information on my blog. Surfing on the net nowadays is always accompanied by the question: Is this information relevant, blogable?Now .....read more »

New article with proponents and antagonists of ECT, objectively written by Sibile Morency at ABC news.No related posts. ..read more »

"If you have the capacity to respond to reward, then you have the placebo effect," says neuroscientist and radiologist Jon-Kar Zubieta, senior author of the new study published this week in Neuron.In this study they used brain imaging techniques. The 14 volunteers were told they would receive painful injections of saltwater in their jaw muscles. This shot would be followed by a painkiller. Half of the volunteers would receive the painkiller and the other half would be injected a fake painkiller, so they were told. However all volunteers were injected with the fake painkiller (placebo). During this procedure they were .....read more »

A commentary in the JAMA by Prof Max Fink. In this commentayr he sumarizes the most important recent topics in ECT.1. Remission for depressive illness with ECT: 55%-86%, these results compare favorably to the response rates in the STAR*D trial.2. Relapse prevention after ECT, nortriptyline with lithium is first choice, continuation ECT for patients who relapse despite this treatment and for those who may not tolerate medication.3. ECT is a primary treatment for psychotic depression.4. ECT reduces the acute risk for suicide.5. Medication resistance does not bare relation to treatment efficacy with ECT.6. He still favours bilateral electrode placement.7. Important .....read more »

These are the words of a wise old man. George W. Comstock, an epidemiologist renowned for proving both what worked and what didn’t in the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis. He died last sunday of prostate cancer on the age of 92 and he had never retired:Comstock said of his career: “I never really thought too much of it in terms of achievement. It’s been fun. While there are people in science, of course, who are shooting for the Nobel Prize, who are shooting to be the top dog in this field, but I think most of us are just .....read more »