The Macro View – Health, Economics, and Politics and the Big Picture. What I Am Watching Here And Abroad.
September 29, 2022 Edition-----The world seems to be lurching to be overwhelmed by issues around most of the major powers being in conflict for a real risk of a global recession affecting the UK, Europe, the US and much of Asia. We seem to be in some pretty difficult times right now …In OZ Parliament is now back after the death of the Queen and it will be interesting to see how things play out and what the Budget looks like in the face of an upcoming recession.-----Major Issues.-----https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/a-nation-shorn-of-britishness-is-still-waiting-for-the-republic-20220915-p5bi90A nation shorn of Britis...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - September 29, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs

Children, teens, and the safety of psychotropic medicines
Medicines prescribed for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders — known as psychotropic drugs — have largely been studied in adults. This concerns many parents whose children take these drugs regularly. Studies have most often looked at the effectiveness of these medicines in teens and children. Now a recent systematic review of multiple studies done in children and adolescents offers new guidance on safety for commonly used medicines. What did the study look at? The aim of this study was to comprehensively synthesize current evidence on the safety of four major c...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - August 6, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Hyun Jung Kim, MD Tags: Adolescent health Anxiety and Depression Behavioral Health Children's Health Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs

As the War on Drugs Relentlessly Grinds On, Overdose Deaths Relentlessly Mount
Jeffrey A. SingerWhen the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionannounced last January that drug overdoses in 2018 declined by 4.1 percent –from 70,237 in 2017 to 67,367 in 2018 –many in thepress took that as a sign of possible progress in America ’s longest war, the war on drugs. However, a deeper look at the data painted a very different picture.The CDC report stated:The age ‐​adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which include drugs such as fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol, increased from 0.3 per 100,000 standard popula...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 16, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs

Struggling with attention and organization as you age? It could be ADHD, not dementia
As we get older, occasional forgetfulness may become more worrisome. Is this the start of dementia, or are we just stressed? Has the loss of structure due to retirement led to this change? Or could we be suffering from another illness, maybe the same illness as our son or granddaughter, who also struggle with attention and organization? What are the symptoms of ADHD in older adults? Although the diagnosis of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is often associated with school-age children, this condition may persist throughout adulthood and into old age. Older adults with ADHD struggle with attention, memory, an...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 21, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Stephanie Collier, MD, MPH Tags: Healthy Aging Memory Mental Health Source Type: blogs

Top 25 Psychiatric Medications for 2018
Psychiatric medications are an important part of treatment for many people with mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, anxiety, and others. They play an important role in helping to alleviate the most serious symptoms, allowing people to better focus on their lives and on other treatment types, such as psychotherapy. Psychiatric medications are an important part of many people’s treatment plans for obtaining the most effective treatment for a mental health concern or mental illness. It’s good to know what drugs are being prescribed most often for mental disorders in the U.S...
Source: World of Psychology - December 15, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Medications Psychiatry psychiatric meds psychiatric prescriptions Source Type: blogs

8 Nootropics to Stimulate Your Brain This Fall
You're reading 8 Nootropics to Stimulate Your Brain This Fall, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles. Nootropics is a term coined by Dr. Corneliu E. Giurgea to describe a class of drugs, supplements, and other synthetic and naturally occurring compounds that improve cognitive function in our brains. They’re often called “smart drugs,” as they can help us think faster and more efficiently. Although used by pretty much everyone, these nootropic supplements are especially popular among younger and olde...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - September 26, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Nadav Dakner Tags: featured health and fitness self improvement nootropics pickthebrain Source Type: blogs

Neurofeedback or medication to treat ADHD?
CONCLUSION: Neurofeedback is a promising alternative treatment for ADHD in children who do not respond to or experience significant adverse effects from ADHD medication. (Source: SharpBrains)
Source: SharpBrains - October 17, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. David Rabiner Tags: Attention and ADD/ADHD Cognitive Neuroscience Education & Lifelong Learning Health & Wellness brainwave medication methylphenidate Neurofeedback Ritalin Source Type: blogs

True Confessions On Why I Prescribe Things Without'Evidence '
by Drew RosielleWe have a ' required reading ' list for our fellowship, which includes a bunch of what I think are landmark or otherwise really important studies. One of them is thisvery well done RCT of continuous ketamine infusions for patients with cancer pain, which showed it to be ineffective (and toxic).We also recently have seen another high-quality study published with negative results for ketamine. This was a Scottish, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, intention-to-treat, and double-blinded study oforal ketamine for neuropathic pain in cancer patients. The study involved 214 patients, 75% of whom were ...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - July 6, 2018 Category: Palliative Care Tags: fatigue ketamine methylphenidate neuropathic pain research research issues rosielle The profession Source Type: blogs

True Confessions On Why I Prescribe Things Without'Evidence '
by Drew RosielleWe have a ' required reading ' list for our fellowship, which includes a bunch of what I think are landmark or otherwise really important studies. One of them is thisvery well done RCT of continuous ketamine infusions for patients with cancer pain, which showed it to be ineffective (and toxic).We also recently have seen another high-quality study published with negative results for ketamine. This was a Scottish, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, intention-to-treat, and double-blinded study oforal ketamine for neuropathic pain in cancer patients. The study involved 214 patients, 75% of whom were ...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - July 6, 2018 Category: Palliative Care Tags: fatigue ketamine methylphenidate neuropathic pain research research issues rosielle The profession Source Type: blogs

Oliver North ’ s Ritalin Myth
The incoming NRA President, Oliver North, recently offered his theory for the spate of school shootings in this country, blaming “a culture of violence“ and the drug methylphenidate (Ritalin). “If you look at what has happened to the young people, many of these young boys have been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten,” North said. 1 As a psychiatrist, I partly agree with North: there are cultural factors in the U.S. that may increase the risk for aggression or violence — including but not limited to bullying, gangs, and substances of abuse. But Col. North is way off base in blaming Ritalin for school s...
Source: World of Psychology - May 24, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Ronald Pies, M.D. Tags: ADHD and ADD Anger Children and Teens Disorders Medications Mental Health and Wellness Psychiatry Stimulants Treatment Violence and Aggression Adderall Child Development drug myths mass shooting Methylphenidate myths about AD Source Type: blogs

Initial study finds promise and limitations in using virtual reality (VR) to treat ADHD
In conclusion, while I commend the authors for this initial effort to examine the use of VR in ADHD treatment, there is much work remaining to establish whether this a viable approach. Taking a cue from the VR treatments developed for anxiety disorders, where VR is used to expose clients to ‘environments’ that elicit anxiety, it may be fruitful to use a virtual classroom environment to train attention during more meaningful academic tasks. For example, it may be possible to combine neurofeedback with a virtual classroom to provide feedback to children on their attention level as the ‘teacher’ presents an actual les...
Source: SharpBrains - May 9, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. David Rabiner Tags: Attention and ADD/ADHD Education & Lifelong Learning Health & Wellness Technology AD/HD-treatments anxiety attention-training behavior-therapy Cognitive-Training medication methylphenidate Neurofeedback psychiatric disorders Psyc Source Type: blogs

Consistent use of ADHD medication may stun growth by 2 inches, large study finds
Conclusions Three broad conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, there was substantial persistence of ADHD symptoms into adulthood. Although not mean youth with ADHD continue to struggle with ADHD as adults, this is not a condition that most children simply outgrow. Rather, it is likely to be a chronic condition that must be managed effectively over time. Keeping effective treatment in place over many years, while extremely challenging, may often be necessary. Second, although the benefits of medication treatment on ADHD symptoms dissipate, the impact on adult stature persists. Consistent medication treatment throu...
Source: SharpBrains - March 16, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. David Rabiner Tags: Attention and ADD/ADHD Cognitive Neuroscience Education & Lifelong Learning Health & Wellness ADHD-symptoms ADHD-Treatment behavior-therapy Community Care medication-treatment MTA Study psychosocial stature Source Type: blogs

Consistent use of ADHD medication may stunt growth by 2 inches, large study finds
Conclusions Three broad conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, there was substantial persistence of ADHD symptoms into adulthood. Although not mean youth with ADHD continue to struggle with ADHD as adults, this is not a condition that most children simply outgrow. Rather, it is likely to be a chronic condition that must be managed effectively over time. Keeping effective treatment in place over many years, while extremely challenging, may often be necessary. Second, although the benefits of medication treatment on ADHD symptoms dissipate, the impact on adult stature persists. Consistent medication treatment throu...
Source: SharpBrains - March 16, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. David Rabiner Tags: Attention and ADD/ADHD Cognitive Neuroscience Education & Lifelong Learning Health & Wellness ADHD-symptoms ADHD-Treatment behavior-therapy Community Care medication-treatment MTA Study psychosocial stature Source Type: blogs

Psychology Around the Net: December 16, 2017
Has cabin fever struck you yet this winter? Find out ways to beat it, plus the latest on a new scientist-created version of oxytocin, how orange light therapy might help mental illness symptoms, why global teamwork might be helpful for psychological studies, and more in this week’s Psychology Around the Net! How to Beat Cabin Fever When You’re Stuck Inside This Winter: Try a couple — or all — of these ideas for combating cabin fever (or, in some of our cases, the funk that comes along with shorter days and less sunshine). Can Teamwork Solve One Of Psychology’s Biggest Problems? Psychologist Chri...
Source: World of Psychology - December 16, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Alicia Sparks Tags: ADHD and ADD Anxiety and Panic Bipolar Health-related Medications Psychology Around the Net Research Schizophrenia Technology amphetamines Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder cabin fever Christopher Chartier Light therapy Source Type: blogs

Top 25 Psychiatric Medications for 2016
Most people understand that the role of psychiatric medications is to help alleviate the symptoms associated with different types of mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, anxiety, and more. Psychiatric medications are an important part of a comprehensive treatment plan for effectively treating people who have a mental health concern or mental illness. It’s good to know what drugs are being most-often prescribed for mental disorders in the U.S. These are the top 25 psychiatric medications by number of U.S. prescriptions dispensed in 2016, according to QuintilesIMS, a global infor...
Source: World of Psychology - October 12, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Medications Psychiatry Treatment medications for mental illness Psychiatric Drugs Psychiatric Medications psychiatric meds top psychiatric medications Source Type: blogs