Internet and Psychiatry

Leo Sher, M.D.

The VII World Congress on Depressive Disorders and the International Symposium on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder will be held in Mendoza, Argentina, on August 19-21, 2010. The Congress is organized by the Institute of Neuroscience and Medical Humanities, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National University of Cuyo, Argentina. Dr. Jorge Nazar is the President of the Congress and the Chairman of the Organizing Committee. Mrs. Ana María Festa is the Executive Coordinator of this event. Simultaneous translation from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish will be provided. Drs. Alexander Neumeister, Renato Alarcon, Ruby C. Castilla Puentes, Angelos Halaris, Matig Mavissakalian, Susana Mendez, Pedro Ruiz, and Ekaterina Sukhanova are among the invited speakers. The abstract submission deadline is May 30, 2010.

Leo Sher, M.D.

The book, "Terror and Suicide" edited by Leo Sher and Alexander Vilens has just been published by Nova Science Publishers in New York. Terrorism is a form of warfare that has become a global concern in the contemporary world. This book is mostly dedicated to suicidal terrorism. The impact of terrorist attacks on suicidal behavior in the general population is also discussed. This is the first book on this subject in the world. Experts from the United States, India, Italy, Great Britain, Israel and Slovenia have contributed chapters to this groundbreaking book.

Said Shahtahmasebi, Ph.D.

Environmental changes including global warming over recent decades have stressed the reality that the earth’s resources are not infinite. Depleting resources has given additional importance to the idea of ‘sustainability’. To slow down global change world leaders have met and decided on targets and actions. We have seen sustainable housing, sustainable farming, and sustainable energy and so on. I guess the idea is that designing houses that run on renewable energy uses less power from the national grid thus leading to saving of resources.

This assumption will probably hold if our world was static, if the theory of evolution didn’t hold, if there were no social, environmental and economy processes, but then if that were the case we wouldn’t be discussing sustainability!

Leo Sher, M.D.

Suicidal behavior among war veterans may frequently be related to depression and/or PTSD (1-5). The risk of suicide attempts among the PTSD population is six times greater than in the general population (2) and even higher among treatment seeking war veterans with PTSD (3). Several years ago, I proposed that some or all individuals diagnosed with comorbid PTSD and MDD have a separate psychobiological condition that can be termed "posttraumatic mood disorder" (PTMD) (4,5). This idea was based on the fact that a significant number of studies suggested that patients suffering from comorbid PTSD and MDD differed clinically and biologically from individuals with PTSD alone or MDD alone.

Leo Sher, M.D.

February 27, 2010. The 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit the coast of Chile around 3:30 am today killing a lot of people, flattening buildings and triggering a tsunami. The earthquake is one of the strongest on record in Chile. The U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors seismic data around the world, warned that a large vigorous aftershock sequence can be expected from this earthquake. The U.S. has contacted government officials in Chile and offered help. Today’s earthquake in Chile and the recent earthquake in Haiti remind us again about the fragility of life and the need for people to help each other. Our hearts and prayers go to all the people of Chile and Haiti.

Leo Sher, M.D.

The book, "Suicide in the Military" edited by Leo Sher and Alexander Vilens has just been published by Nova Science Publishers in New York. Suicidal behavior in the military is considered a major clinical and social problem in many societies. The leading experts in psychiatry, psychology, suicidology, and public health from many countries have contributed chapters to this book.

“I am constantly amazed by man’s inhumanity to man”
Primo Levi (1919-1987)

War can be defined as a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations. About 30 armed conflicts are occurring now around the globe involving more than 25 countries (1). The majority of war-related violence is non-fatal and results in a variety of physical and mental health problems (2) (3) (4) (5) (6).

Leo Sher, M.D.

The VI Baltic Symposium of Biological Psychiatry will be held in Palanga, Lithuania, on April 23, 2010. The topic of the symposium is "Paraphilias and Sexual Abuse." Professor Florence Thibout, the President of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP), and Professor Robertas Bunevicius, a Vice-President of the WFSBP will be among the Symposium speakers.