Giving the lie to the common assertion that Congress accomplishes nothing, in the 110th Congress, in 2007, Rep. Albert Wynn, a Democrat from Maryland who represented the 4th district from 1993 to 2008, brought to the floor a bill for which… Continue Reading
Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia and the fifth leading cause of death for those 65 and older write Casey, Antimisiaris, and O’Brien in their 2010 article in Pharmacy and Therapeutics, “Drugs for Alzheimer’s Disease: Are They Effective?” I imagine… Continue Reading
On Sunday begins the 41st Annual National Suicide Prevention Week. The American Association of Suicidology is behind the week, and I just love their mission statement, with absolutely no messing around: “The goal of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) is to… Continue Reading
Frankly, I’m anxious. (I’m also Rhona.) I spent a good amount of time trying to think of a way to put it that involved less brutal honesty, perhaps some more word craft–a bit of extra verbiage that might distract from… Continue Reading
Eating disorders can seem the domain of the rich and famous, the models and the actresses, of Victoria Beckham and Princess Diana, in reality they are widespread–across financial groups, ethnicities, and genders (would you believe that nearly 1/4 of preadolescent cases… Continue Reading
It’s an unpleasant question, and it doesn’t usually come up in casual conversation, but if you were to ask who was the group in the U.S. most likely to suicide, you’d get a variety of answers. Had you asked my… Continue Reading
Today begins Mental Illness Awareness Week. Established by Congress in 1990 thanks to efforts by the tireless National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), it occurs every year during the first week of October to raise awareness about mental illness. According… Continue Reading
About one in every 10 Americans takes an antidepressant these days. A Center for Disease Control and Prevention Data Brief, “Antidepressant Use in Persons Aged 12 and Over: United States, 2005–2008,” shares some interesting statistics about how usage has grown,… Continue Reading
You might think mental illness (MI) affects only a small few–but you’d be thinking wrong. According to Kessler et al in the “Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication,” published in 2005, 26.2% of Americans… Continue Reading
ECT, TMS, antidepressants, Ketamine–ever thought you’d heard of just about every way there is to treat depression? Well here’s one I bet you haven’t heard of: Sleep deprivation. That’s right: doctors have found that depriving patients of sleep can ease… Continue Reading
My father has a phenomenal memory. Truly out of this world. For example, he remembers the 10 best meals he ever ate (Meal #1: Zalacain in Madrid, 1971, he and my mother, Young Pigeon Salad with Apple Vinegar). About 15 years… Continue Reading
“Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.” ~ Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin knew a lot on an extensively large… Continue Reading
