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Brain Posts
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- May 1, 2012
- 11:36 AM
- 350 views
Bipolar Disorder, Lithium and Hippocampal Volume
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Brain neuroimaging studies continue to outline the structural and functional abnormalities in disorders of mood. A relatively consistent finding has been a reduced volume of the brain hippocampus in major depressive disorder. Studies of hippocampal volume in the less common bipolar disorder have been inconsistent--some studies have found reduced hippocampal volumes while others have not.The hippocampus is an important brain region to understand in the mood disorders. The hippoc........ Read more »
Hajek T, Kopecek M, Höschl C, & Alda M. (2012) Smaller hippocampal volumes in patients with bipolar disorder are masked by exposure to lithium: a meta-analysis. Journal of psychiatry , 37(3), 110143. PMID: 22498078
- April 30, 2012
- 12:08 PM
- 406 views
Ten Steps to Reduce Your Risk of Alzheimer's Disease
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Alzheimer's disease (AD) presents one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century. The risk for Alzheimer's is most strongly linked to advancing age. As heart disease and cancer treatment improves, more individuals are reaching the age of risk for AD. Prevention is an important topic in AD as effective treatments are yet to be discovered. Although several AD drugs are available, these agents appear only to slow progression rather than reverse or cure the disord........ Read more »
Barnes DE, & Yaffe K. (2011) The projected effect of risk factor reduction on Alzheimer's disease prevalence. Lancet neurology, 10(9), 819-28. PMID: 21775213
- April 27, 2012
- 02:06 PM
- 464 views
Alzheimer's and Brain Imaging: Part II
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
This is the second post on a review of the status of brain imaging research in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The source article for this post is a recent manuscript published in Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine.My first post on this review summarized structural magnetic resonance imaging and functional magnetic imaging. That post can be found here.Two additional methods of imaging provide clinical and research opportunities in AD. These include fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) p........ Read more »
Johnson KA, Fox NC, Sperling RA, & Klunk WE. (2012) Brain imaging in Alzheimer disease. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine, 2(4). PMID: 22474610
- April 24, 2012
- 12:34 PM
- 386 views
Alzheimer's and Brain Imaging: Part I
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Brain imaging research in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is advancing rapidly. Well written reviews of key current research findings and future directions are sometimes difficult to find. A recent review published in Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine fills this gap with a summary of this topic. I will provide some commentary and key elements of their review.The imaging research related to AD can be separated into four areas: structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), func........ Read more »
Johnson KA, Fox NC, Sperling RA, & Klunk WE. (2012) Brain imaging in Alzheimer disease. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine, 2(4). PMID: 22474610
- April 23, 2012
- 12:01 PM
- 267 views
Prevention of Anxiety and Depression in Childhood
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Strategies to prevent the development of mental disorders such as anxiety disorders and mood disorders are urgently needed. Prevention of mental disorders is important for a variety of reasons. First, these disorders cause significant psychological distress and emotional pain. Second, mental disorders impair academic, occupational and interpersonal function. Finally, many individuals with anxiety and mood disorders does not respond adequately to current pharmacological an........ Read more »
Nauta MH, Festen H, Reichart CG, Nolen WA, Stant AD, Bockting CL, van der Wee NJ, Beekman A, Doreleijers TA, Hartman CA.... (2012) Preventing mood and anxiety disorders in youth: a multi-centre RCT in the high risk offspring of depressed and anxious patients. BMC psychiatry, 12(1), 31. PMID: 22510426
- April 20, 2012
- 12:07 PM
- 352 views
ADHD Symptoms and Brain Volume in Adults
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Inattention is a core feature of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For a diagnosis of ADHD, inattention or hyperactivity symptoms must begin during childhood. Many children and adolescents with ADHD demonstrate improvement of symptoms during maturation. However, a significant number of individuals will continue with significant ADHD symptoms into adulthood.The imaging correlates of ADHD and attention symptoms is a research area of significant interest. Unde........ Read more »
Hoogman, M., Rijpkema, M., Janss, L., Brunner, H., Fernandez, G., Buitelaar, J., Franke, B., & Arias-Vásquez, A. (2012) Current Self-Reported Symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Are Associated with Total Brain Volume in Healthy Adults. PLoS ONE, 7(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031273
- April 19, 2012
- 11:18 AM
- 357 views
Frailty as a Risk Factor for Alzheimer's Dementia
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Several traditional risk factors have been identified for the future development of Alzheimer's dementia. These include age, lower premorbid educational level, history of head trauma and family history of Alzheimer's. However, despite discovery of these risk factors they fail to completely explain the risk of developing Alzheimer's.A group of researchers from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada recently published a study exploring novel non-traditional factors that might influence risk........ Read more »
Song, X., Mitnitski, A., & Rockwood, K. (2011) Nontraditional risk factors combine to predict Alzheimer disease and dementia. Neurology, 77(3), 227-234. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e318225c6bc
- March 21, 2012
- 04:06 PM
- 376 views
Risk Factors for Pathological Gambling
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The risk for developing pathological gambling appears to vary among individuals in the population. Risk factors that have been identified include male gender, a substance use disorder including alcohol, drug or nicotine dependence, and a proneness to other impulsive behaviors. Individuals who seek novelty and exposure to risk appear to be more likely to get into pathological gambling behaviors.There may also be some protective factors in risk for pathological gambling. Strong b........ Read more »
Wang, S., Krajbich, I., Adolphs, R., & Tsuchiya, N. (2012) The Role of Risk Aversion in Non-Conscious Decision Making. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00050
- February 27, 2012
- 08:23 AM
- 372 views
Risk Factors for Accidental Overdose Death
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The recent accidental overdose deaths of Whitney Houston and other celebrities highlights the growing problem of prescription drug abuse. I have previous highlighted some recent important clinical research studies in prescription drug abuse including:The Epidemiology of Prescription Opioid AbusePathways to Prescription Opioid OverdosePrescription Opioid Overdose ToxicologyNow there is a recent study that examines some of the risk factors for accidental overdose death. This study by B........ Read more »
Bohnert, A., Ilgen, M., Ignacio, R., McCarthy, J., Valenstein, M., & Blow, F. (2011) Risk of Death From Accidental Overdose Associated With Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.10101476
- February 24, 2012
- 11:34 AM
- 392 views
Genetic Variants and Risk of ADHD
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The search for specific genes contributing to the risk for attention deficit-hyperactivity has failed to demonstrate a consistent result. Genetic factors do appear to be important given the results of family, adoption and twin studies. The failure to find specific gene effects suggest the genetic contribution to ADHD risk is more complex and will require larger samples and more complex genetic research designs.Stergiakouli and colleagues recently published a novel study examining the........ Read more »
Stergiakouli, E. (2012) Investigating the Contribution of Common Genetic Variants to the Risk and Pathogenesis of ADHD. American Journal of Psychiatry, 169(2), 186. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.11040551
- February 12, 2012
- 01:21 PM
- 375 views
Cell Phone Use and Risk of Brain Cancer
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
In my last post I examined the epidemiology of brain tumors using a summary of the latest data from the United States. The summary noted the slight decline in the number of malignant brain cancers over the last twenty years.One area of concern that is receiving increased attention is the potential for cell phone risk to raise the risk of brain cancers.Obviously if cell phone use was a very large effect one might have expected an increase in the rates of brain tumors and cancer over th........ Read more »
Frei, P., Poulsen, A., Johansen, C., Olsen, J., Steding-Jessen, M., & Schuz, J. (2011) Use of mobile phones and risk of brain tumours: update of Danish cohort study. BMJ, 343(oct19 4). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d6387
- January 28, 2012
- 05:38 PM
- 351 views
Epidemiology of Brain Cancer
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
A recent summary of the trends in cancer highlighted the epidemiology of brain and other nervous system tumors. In the United States, 213,500 brain and other nervous system tumors were diagnosed during the four year period from 2004 through 2007.Brain and other nervous systems (ONS) tumors rank fourteenth in the top 15 cancers for men and fifteenth in the top 15 cancers for women in the United States.Overall rates for brain and ONS tumors during this period were 22.37 per 100,000 for men a........ Read more »
Kohler, B., Ward, E., McCarthy, B., Schymura, M., Ries, L., Eheman, C., Jemal, A., Anderson, R., Ajani, U., & Edwards, B. (2011) Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2007, Featuring Tumors of the Brain and Other Nervous System. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 103(9), 714-736. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djr077
- January 23, 2012
- 03:18 PM
- 361 views
Parent Training and Conduct Disorder Outcome
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Three previous posts examined the clinical neuroscience disorder antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). This condition results in high societal costs for crime and incarceration for individuals with ASPD.ASPD appears to have significant genetic contributions and brain imaging studies show abnormal brain maturational patterns in the premotor cortex area as well as impaired processing of facial emotional expression.Antisocial personality is an early age of onset disorder with conduct disord........ Read more »
Drugli MB, Larsson B, Fossum S, & Mørch WT. (2010) Five- to six-year outcome and its prediction for children with ODD/CD treated with parent training. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 51(5), 559-66. PMID: 20015193
- January 20, 2012
- 11:40 AM
- 552 views
Brain Imaging in Antisocial Personality: II
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
This is the second in a series of posts looking at recent imaging findings in antisocial personality. In the first post, I reviewed an fMRI study that found deficits in connectivity maturation involving the premotor cortex in a sample of incarcerated juveniles.In this post, I will review a study looking a emotional face processing. Accurately assessing the emotions of others and adjusting ones own behavior is a key component to social development and appropriate social behavior.Indiv........ Read more »
Passamonti L, Fairchild G, Goodyer IM, Hurford G, Hagan CC, Rowe JB, & Calder AJ. (2010) Neural abnormalities in early-onset and adolescence-onset conduct disorder. Archives of general psychiatry, 67(7), 729-38. PMID: 20603454
- January 19, 2012
- 09:22 AM
- 529 views
Brain Imaging in Antisocial Personality: I
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is linked to a variety of emotional and behavioral abnormalities with significant public health implications.Key components of antisocial personality disorder include irritability with anger dysregulation. Individuals with ASPD are quick tempered with anger outbursts commonly leading to physical or emotional aggressiveness towards others.The emotional and behavioral abnormalities in ASPD may provide a model for studying specific brain regions controll........ Read more »
Shannon BJ, Raichle ME, Snyder AZ, Fair DA, Mills KL, Zhang D, Bache K, Calhoun VD, Nigg JT, Nagel BJ.... (2011) Premotor functional connectivity predicts impulsivity in juvenile offenders. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(27), 11241-5. PMID: 21709236
- January 18, 2012
- 09:40 AM
- 497 views
Twin Study of Antisocial Personality Disorder
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Twin studies provide a valuable method to explore the genetic and environmental contributions to a variety of clinical neuroscience disorders.Twin studies use a method where identical twins (monozygotic) sharing 100% of their genes are compared to non-identical twins (dizygotic) who share 50% of their genes.Disorders that are entirely environmental would be found at the same rates in non-identical twins and indentical twins. Disorders with a strong genetic contribution would be more likely........ Read more »
Kendler KS, Aggen SH, & Patrick CJ. (2012) A Multivariate Twin Study of the DSM-IV Criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder. Biological psychiatry, 71(3), 247-53. PMID: 21762879
- January 17, 2012
- 11:26 AM
- 496 views
The Economic Costs of Brain Disorders
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Clinical disorders involving the brain are common and produce a variety of economic costs to society.Cost analyses provide an overview of the types of disorders and their relative contribution to the overall costs to society. Such types of analyses can aid public health officials in targeting strategies to reduce the burden of brain disorders.Andlin-Sobocki and colleagues recently published an analysis of the costs of brain disorder in Europe. This study included both neurological an........ Read more »
Olesen J, Gustavsson A, Svensson M, Wittchen HU, Jönsson B, on behalf of the CDBE2010 study group, & the European Brain Council. (2012) The economic cost of brain disorders in Europe. European journal of neurology : the official journal of the European Federation of Neurological Societies, 19(1), 155-162. PMID: 22175760
- January 16, 2012
- 10:06 AM
- 446 views
The Neuropsychology of Opioid Abuse
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
This is the last post in a series on prescription opioid abuse and dependence. Prescription opioid overdose fatalities is a growing public health problem in the United States. This problem varies by state of residence. There are effective pharmacological strategies for the treatment of opioid dependence, but relapse rates are high.With this growing problem, an important clinical question is "What are the cognitive effects of chronic opioid use/abuse/dependence?". One of ........ Read more »
Fernández-Serrano MJ, Pérez-García M, & Verdejo-García A. (2011) What are the specific vs. generalized effects of drugs of abuse on neuropsychological performance?. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 35(3), 377-406. PMID: 20451551
- January 13, 2012
- 09:56 AM
- 604 views
Suboxone Treatment for Prescription Opioid Abuse
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Chemical Structures for Buprenorphine and NaloxoneIn three previous posts I have reviewed several aspects of prescription opioid abuse including posts on epidemiology, toxicology and clinical pathways to abuse.Given the growing numbers of individuals with prescription opioid abuse, safe and effective treatment options become increasingly important.Opioid withdrawal can be quite painful and often leads to resumption of opioid use. Treatment of opioid withdrawal can include non-opioid drugs ........ Read more »
Weiss RD, Potter JS, Fiellin DA, Byrne M, Connery HS, Dickinson W, Gardin J, Griffin ML, Gourevitch MN, Haller DL.... (2011) Adjunctive counseling during brief and extended buprenorphine-naloxone treatment for prescription opioid dependence: a 2-phase randomized controlled trial. Archives of general psychiatry, 68(12), 1238-46. PMID: 22065255
- January 5, 2012
- 01:29 PM
- 440 views
Pathways to Prescription Opioid Overdose
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The majority of initial prescriptions for opioid analgesics in acute pain management occur without development of a pattern of misuse or abuse.However, in some individuals, opioid prescriptions produce a pathway for misuse, abuse and risk of opioid overdose death. In two previous posts, I have outlined the epidemiology of opioid overdose death and the toxicology of these compounds.Risk factors for the development of prescription opioid drugs have not been extensively studied. However........ Read more »
Paulozzi, L., Kilbourne, E., Shah, N., Nolte, K., Desai, H., Landen, M., Harvey, W., & Loring, L. (2011) A History of Being Prescribed Controlled Substances and Risk of Drug Overdose Death. Pain Medicine. DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01260.x
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