339 posts · 239,558 views
I am a physician interested in clinical neuroscience research. I will use this blog to post more detailed analysis of recent studies in addition to my @WRY999 Twitter scientific reading log. I will also post some of my wildlife/sports photography. Aim to educate and amuse. Not selling anything.
William Yates, M.D.
339 posts
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- May 3, 2010
- 12:37 PM
- 840 views
Genetics of Methamphetamine Psychosis
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
I have been working on updating a lecture on substance-induced psychosis. In the last few years a significant amount of research has been published on methamphetamine psychosis. Methamphetamine can produce a psychotic state characterized by paranoia, agitation and behavioral problems. Not all individuals appear to experience this induced state. This leads to the question of what factors might be related to the risk of psychosis in those using methamphetamine. Certain dose and duration of met........ Read more »
Ujike H, Katsu T, Okahisa Y, Takaki M, Kodama M, Inada T, Uchimura N, Yamada M, Iwata N, Sora I.... (2009) Genetic variants of D2 but not D3 or D4 dopamine receptor gene are associated with rapid onset and poor prognosis of methamphetamine psychosis. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology , 33(4), 625-9. PMID: 19275926
Tsunoka T, Kishi T, Kitajima T, Okochi T, Okumura T, Yamanouchi Y, Kinoshita Y, Kawashima K, Naitoh H, Inada T.... (2010) Association analysis of GRM2 and HTR2A with methamphetamine-induced psychosis and schizophrenia in the Japanese population. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology . PMID: 20211215
- April 12, 2010
- 12:51 PM
- 834 views
Deep Brain Stimulation for Depression
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
NARSAD, a leading private funding organization for brain disorders is sponsoring educational symposiums across the United States. One such symposium in the Healthy Minds Across America 2010 series was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 10, 2010. Three internationally recognized researchers presented at the Tulsa symposium: Helen Mayberg, Wayne Drevets and Robert Kowatch. I will present some of my notes for these presentations over the next week. This post will summarize the key points for Dr......... Read more »
Mayberg HS. (2009) Targeted electrode-based modulation of neural circuits for depression. The Journal of clinical investigation, 119(4), 717-25. PMID: 19339763
- May 24, 2011
- 12:51 AM
- 833 views
U.S. Tornado Deaths: Limits of Technology (Updated)
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
An earlier draft of this article first published as Tornado Deaths and the Limits of Tornado-Related Technologies onTechnorati.Deaths in the southeastern United States related to the April 27, 2011 tornadoes and the tornado deaths in Joplin, Missouri prompt an examination of tornado safety. A key question is whether modern tornado detection and warning technology significant reduces risk of tornado-related death.Storm and tornado tracking technology has exploded over the las........ Read more »
Ashley, W. (2007) Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Tornado Fatalities in the United States: 1880–2005. Weather and Forecasting, 22(6), 1214-1228. DOI: 10.1175/2007WAF2007004.1
Simmons, K., & Sutter, D. (2005) WSR-88D Radar, Tornado Warnings, and Tornado Casualties. Weather and Forecasting, 20(3), 301-310. DOI: 10.1175/WAF857.1
Brooks, Harold E. (2002) Deaths in the 3 May 1999 Oklahoma City Tornado from a Historical Perspective. Weather and Forecasting. info:/
Eidson M, Lybarger JA, Parsons JE, MacCormack JN, & Freeman JI. (1990) Risk factors for tornado injuries. International journal of epidemiology, 19(4), 1051-6. PMID: 2083989
- September 13, 2010
- 11:41 AM
- 832 views
Late-Life Alcohol Consumption and Mortality Risk
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
A recent study from Dr. Charles Holahan and colleagues has been posted on the new articles section of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. This study examined the role of alcohol consumption and mortality in a group of men and women between the ages of 55 and 65 followed for twenty years. The media highlighted this study often headlining that heavy drinking was linked lower mortality rates than being abstinent from alcohol. This study deserves further analysis and co........ Read more »
Holahan CJ, Schutte KK, Brennan PL, Holahan CK, Moos BS, & Moos RH. (2010) Late-Life Alcohol Consumption and 20-Year Mortality. Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research. PMID: 20735372
- November 26, 2010
- 12:21 PM
- 829 views
The Epidemiology of Trauma in PTSD
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
PTSD represents a pathological response to a serious trauma. The evolution of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD has included a broadening of the types of trauma exposures felt sufficient to trigger PTSD. The original criteria included combat, concentration camp confinement, natural disaster, rape or physical assault. The current DSM-IV criteria for trauma require that "the person experienced, witnessed or was confronted with an event(s) that involved actual or threatened death or seri........ Read more »
Breslau N. (2009) The epidemiology of trauma, PTSD, and other posttrauma disorders. Trauma, violence , 10(3), 198-210. PMID: 19406860
- September 23, 2010
- 12:26 PM
- 828 views
Promoting Health: Interval vs Steady Running vs Strength Training
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The optimum physical exercise regimen for promoting health is a key public health issue. Aerobic exercise can be obtained via running either using a steady pace or an interval-based approach. Interval approaches typically includes high intensity exercise over shorter bursts of time. Additionally, strength training provides a variety of health benefits and it’s role compared to aerobic exercise is unclear.A Danish study was designed and recently published to compare the health........ Read more »
Nybo L, Sundstrup E, Jakobsen MD, Mohr M, Hornstrup T, Simonsen L, Bülow J, Randers MB, Nielsen JJ, Aagaard P.... (2010) High-Intensity Training Vs. Traditional Exercise Interventions for Promoting Health. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. PMID: 20195181
- October 19, 2010
- 02:57 PM
- 823 views
Bupropion for the Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
3D Model of Chemical Structure for BupropionBupropion is a drug approved in the United States for the treatment of depression (Wellbutrin) and for smoking cessation (Zyban). In contrast to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class of drugs, i.e. Prozac, bupropion appears to have a predominant effect on blocking the reuptake of dopamine. It appears to also be a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist possibly contributing to it’s effect on nicotine withdrawal sympt........ Read more »
Safarinejad MR, Hosseini SY, Asgari MA, Dadkhah F, & Taghva A. (2010) A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the efficacy and safety of bupropion for treating hypoactive sexual desire disorder in ovulating women. BJU international, 106(6), 832-9. PMID: 20151970
Safarinejad MR. (2010) The effects of the adjunctive bupropion on male sexual dysfunction induced by a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor: a double-blind placebo-controlled and randomized study. BJU international, 106(6), 840-7. PMID: 20067456
- November 2, 2010
- 03:49 PM
- 815 views
Is Bipolar Disorder an Autoimmune Disorder?
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Hemmo Drexhage, M.D. from Erasmus Medical College presented the November lecture in the Warren Frontiers of Neuroscience Series in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His presentation was titled "Immunology Meets Psychiatry" and the lecture covered a series of research efforts examining immunological abnormalities in psychiatric conditions. Here is a summary of my notes from the presentation:Although we know genetic factors account for 60-80% of the variance for the schizophrenia and bipolar disease ri........ Read more »
Drexhage RC, van der Heul-Nieuwenhuijsen L, Padmos RC, van Beveren N, Cohen D, Versnel MA, Nolen WA, & Drexhage HA. (2010) Inflammatory gene expression in monocytes of patients with schizophrenia: overlap and difference with bipolar disorder. A study in naturalistically treated patients. The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology / official scientific journal of the Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum (CINP), 13(10), 1369-81. PMID: 20633309
Drexhage RC, Knijff EM, Padmos RC, Heul-Nieuwenhuijzen L, Beumer W, Versnel MA, & Drexhage HA. (2010) The mononuclear phagocyte system and its cytokine inflammatory networks in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Expert review of neurotherapeutics, 10(1), 59-76. PMID: 20021321
Padmos RC, Hillegers MH, Knijff EM, Vonk R, Bouvy A, Staal FJ, de Ridder D, Kupka RW, Nolen WA, & Drexhage HA. (2008) A discriminating messenger RNA signature for bipolar disorder formed by an aberrant expression of inflammatory genes in monocytes. Archives of general psychiatry, 65(4), 395-407. PMID: 18391128
- December 20, 2010
- 11:39 AM
- 815 views
Epidemiology of Childhood Adversity
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
A variety of adverse childhood experiences are linked to higher rates of childhood, adolescent and adult clinical neuroscience disorders. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently published a summary of the epidemiology of adverse childhood experiences from a survey of five states. Their survey queried adults on their childhood experience with eight adverse experiences.Verbal AbusePhysical AbuseSexual AbuseMentally Ill Household MemberHousehold Member in PrisonSubst........ Read more »
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2010) Adverse childhood experiences reported by adults --- five States, 2009. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 59(49), 1609-13. PMID: 21160456
- December 17, 2010
- 12:14 PM
- 813 views
Getting Off Xanax or Klonopin
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Benzodiazepine drugs such as Xanax, Valium, Ativan, Klonopin and other compounds presents a significant challenge. The benzodiazepines quickly reduce anxiety in a variety of anxiety disorders such as panic disorder and social anxiety disorder. They can also be effective adjuncts to other agents in providing symptom relief.However, these agents to have the potential to produce significant withdrawal symptoms. The withdrawal symptoms appear to be most severe for patients who have........ Read more »
Otto MW, McHugh RK, Simon NM, Farach FJ, Worthington JJ, & Pollack MH. (2010) Efficacy of CBT for benzodiazepine discontinuation in patients with panic disorder: Further evaluation. Behaviour research and therapy, 48(8), 720-7. PMID: 20546699
- January 14, 2011
- 12:07 PM
- 813 views
Brain Trauma: Getting the Best Care
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
An under-reported issue in the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords is availability and access to high level trauma care. If you are going to survive a brain gun shot wound or other serious trauma it is crucial to quickly access specialized trauma hospitals and physicians to maximize your chance of survival.Fortunately for Representative Giffords and the other survivors of the Tucson Arizona shootings, the incident occurred within only a few miles of a level I adult a trauma center. U........ Read more »
MacKenzie, E., Rivara, F., Jurkovich, G., Nathens, A., Frey, K., Egleston, B., Salkever, D., & Scharfstein, D. (2006) A National Evaluation of the Effect of Trauma-Center Care on Mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 354(4), 366-378. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa052049
- July 26, 2010
- 05:17 PM
- 812 views
Why People Believe Weird Things
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Michael Schermer, the publisher of Skeptic magazine recently presented at TED looking at why humans tend to be open to self-deception. Some appear to be more vulnerable. He proposes this vulnerability is related to the brain's role in pattern recognition and detecting meaningful signal against a back drop of noise.I've linked to the TED video here and it is about 19 minutes. It is pretty entertaining along with being informative. If you don't want to view the video, I've ........ Read more »
Krummenacher P, Mohr C, Haker H, & Brugger P. (2010) Dopamine, paranormal belief, and the detection of meaningful stimuli. Journal of cognitive neuroscience, 22(8), 1670-81. PMID: 19642883
- April 21, 2010
- 01:13 PM
- 809 views
Set-shifting as a Biomarker for Eating Disorders
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Significant research focuses on the identification of biomarkers in a a variety of psychiatric disorders. A biomarker can be any biological variable that is associated with an illness. Biomarkers are important because they provide an opportunity to identify high-risk individuals prior to disease onset. Early intervention in these individuals may reduce the risk of illness or reduce the severity and impairment of the disorder. Biomarkers may also be valuable in identifying genes associated wi........ Read more »
Roberts ME, Tchanturia K, & Treasure JL. (2010) Exploring the neurocognitive signature of poor set-shifting in anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Journal of psychiatric research. PMID: 20398910
- August 23, 2010
- 11:37 AM
- 809 views
Neuroscience of Murder and Aggression: Part 1
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
I have been interested in the genetics and environmental factors involved in aggression since working with Dr. Remi Cadoret at the University of Iowa in the 1990s. We published an early study in adoptees that found an interaction between a biological background of antisocial personality and an adverse childhood environment in an additive effect in adoptee agression. Adoptees with a biological relative with antisocial personality (usually fathers) were more aggressive when there were ........ Read more »
Cadoret RJ, Yates WR, Troughton E, Woodworth G, & Stewart MA. (1995) Genetic-environmental interaction in the genesis of aggressivity and conduct disorders. Archives of general psychiatry, 52(11), 916-24. PMID: 7487340
Gunter TD, Vaughn MG, & Philibert RA. (2010) Behavioral genetics in antisocial spectrum disorders and psychopathy: a review of the recent literature. Behavioral sciences , 28(2), 148-73. PMID: 20422643
- November 27, 2010
- 12:25 PM
- 809 views
The Epidemiology of Trauma in PTSD-II
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
In a previous post, I looked at the varieties of traumatic experiences and their risk of inducing PTSD in men and women. Another aspect of the epidemiology of PTSD is a more basic look at the overall prevalence of exposure to individual traumatic experiences. There has been significant discussion and research to define the trauma severity required to increase risk of a PTSD response. Early studies tended to have a lower threshold for severity. They included not only a pers........ Read more »
Breslau, N. (1998) Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Community: The 1996 Detroit Area Survey of Trauma. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55(7), 626-632. DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.55.7.626
Stein DJ, Chiu WT, Hwang I, Kessler RC, Sampson N, Alonso J, Borges G, Bromet E, Bruffaerts R, de Girolamo G.... (2010) Cross-national analysis of the associations between traumatic events and suicidal behavior: findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. PloS one, 5(5). PMID: 20485530
- April 29, 2010
- 09:43 AM
- 807 views
Eating Chocolate and Depression
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
A recent study examined the correlation between chocolate consumption and self-reported depression symptoms. This study used a cross-sectional design and a self-report measure of nutritional intake--the Fred Hutchinson Food Frequency Questionnaire.Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Subjects were stratified into three groups: CES-D score of 16 or less (non-depressed), CES-D score of 16-22 (positive depression screen) and CES-D ........ Read more »
Rose N, Koperski S, & Golomb BA. (2010) Mood food: chocolate and depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional analysis. Archives of internal medicine, 170(8), 699-703. PMID: 20421555
Wolz M, Kaminsky A, Löhle M, Koch R, Storch A, & Reichmann H. (2009) Chocolate consumption is increased in Parkinson's disease. Results from a self-questionnaire study. Journal of neurology, 256(3), 488-92. PMID: 19277767
Strandberg TE, Strandberg AY, Pitkälä K, Salomaa VV, Tilvis RS, & Miettinen TA. (2008) Chocolate, well-being and health among elderly men. European journal of clinical nutrition, 62(2), 247-53. PMID: 17327862
- February 3, 2011
- 09:30 AM
- 807 views
Economic Effect of Depression-Related Early Retirement
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The economic effects of depression and other mental disorders receive limited research attention. One pathway for depression to influence economic status is through early retirement as well as lower rates of employment during the working years. The effects of early retirement are the focus of a recent Australian study by Schofield et al published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.This study examined adults between the ages of 45 and 64 participating a large survey of the economic impact........ Read more »
Schofield DJ, Shrestha RN, Percival R, Kelly SJ, Passey ME, & Callander EJ. (2011) Quantifying the effect of early retirement on the wealth of individuals with depression or other mental illness. The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 123-8. PMID: 21282782
- July 12, 2010
- 12:24 PM
- 806 views
Preschool Eating Problems in Autism Spectrum Disorder
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Eating problems are not a diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Anecdotally, many parents of autistic children report difficulty with mealtime and food selection. A recent study from the University of New Mexico describes the type and extent of eating problems in a group of preschool children with ASD.The research team surveyed 24 parents of children with ASD and compared them with a group of 24 parents with a typically developing child. The primary measure was an instrument........ Read more »
Provost B, Crowe TK, Osbourn PL, McClain C, & Skipper BJ. (2010) Mealtime behaviors of preschool children: comparison of children with autism spectrum disorder and children with typical development. Physical , 30(3), 220-33. PMID: 20608859
- September 22, 2010
- 01:07 PM
- 806 views
Should Every Child with Autism Have an EEG?
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
TED presentation by Dr. Aditi Shankardass brings up an important question--should all children with autism (or those undergoing an assessment for autism) have an EEG. The presenter notes that in her experience in India, up to 50% of children referred with a diagnosis of autism have a seizure disorder or some other neurodevelopmental disorder. The TED talk is posted above (7 minutes) and here are my notes from the presentation.1 in 6 children suffer from developmental disorderMost dia........ Read more »
Kagan-Kushnir T, Roberts SW, & Snead OC 3rd. (2005) Screening electroencephalograms in autism spectrum disorders: evidence-based guideline. Journal of child neurology, 20(3), 197-206. PMID: 15832609
Isler JR, Martien KM, Grieve PG, Stark RI, & Herbert MR. (2010) Reduced functional connectivity in visual evoked potentials in children with autism spectrum disorder. Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. PMID: 20605520
- December 8, 2010
- 01:01 PM
- 806 views
All-Cause Mortality Risk and BMI
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Elevated BMI (body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) increases risk for heart disease and some types of cancer. There is less data on the relationship and effect size on all-cause mortality. A recent pooled study analysis of approximately 1.5 million adults in the U.S. provides important new data.The authors of the study pooled (aggregated) 19 longitudinal studies of white (non-Hispanic) samples. The large sample size allows for controll........ Read more »
Berrington de Gonzalez A, Hartge P, Cerhan JR, Flint AJ, Hannan L, MacInnis RJ, Moore SC, Tobias GS, Anton-Culver H, Freeman LB.... (2010) Body-mass index and mortality among 1.46 million white adults. The New England journal of medicine, 363(23), 2211-9. PMID: 21121834
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