Said Shahtahmasebi, Ph.D. You know, when I was at primary school and subsequently high school my teachers used to tell me and other vertically challenged students to play basketball so we would become tall. Well, because I was young and because society at that time had faith in authority, in particular, teachers and doctors, I […]
Jacob M. Appel, M.D., J.D. Concern over “doctor shopping”—the practice of obtaining prescriptions for controlled substance from multiple physicians under false pretenses—has led to a complex patchwork of state laws to track and punish abusers. At the federal level, the Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1970 prohibits patients from obtaining scheduled medication through “misrepresentation, fraud, […]
Bryan S. Cobb, Jess G. Fiedorowicz, M.D., Ph.D For most of us, the term “seasonal affective disorder” – with the apt acronym SAD – likely evokes thoughts of winter blues, of energy and interest levels that fall along with the snowflakes and a rut that only deepens as the days shorten. Indeed, early studies on […]
Said Shahtahmasebi, Ph.D. James Hollings article on suicide reporting rules (The Press http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/perspective/8909431/Suicide-reporting-rules-under-review, 12/7/2013) refers to the Vienna subway built in the late seventies which subsequently became a preferred method of committing suicide. It reports that after a group of researchers and the media got together and stopped detailed reporting of each suicide the use […]
Said Shahtahmasebi, Ph.D. In 2009, Leo Sher and Alex Vilens published two books on suicide in the context of the military and war. In the books, aspects of military life and war were discussed as potential triggers for suicide. As a contributing author, I argued that despite decades of failure to bring down suicide rates, […]
Sándor Kalmár M.D., Ph.D. Suicide is a serious public health problem. However, we need to realize that suicide is preventable. Most suicide are associated with diagnosable mental disorders, mainly treatable depressive disorders but other psychological, psychiatric, cultural, social and spiritual factors also play role in the development of suicidal behavior. For example, negative life events, […]
Leo Sher, M.D. In Fall 2012, Dr. Celia Franco sent an invitation to the Members of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) Section on Dual Disorders/Pathology to attend the Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Association on Dual Pathology on February 21-22, 2013 in Coimbra, Portugal. It was proposed to organize a special session of the WPA […]
Said Shahtahmasebi, Ph.D. The process of policy formation is by default a political one. The main reason is that national and local resources are finite but more importantly controlled by politicians. The fact that politicians are elected by the public and have unlimited access to a wide range of scientific tools and/or scientists to seek […]
Masahito Fushimi, M.D., Ph.D. The Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, was one of the most severe earthquakes ever recorded in Japan. It led to a tsunami that devastated large portions of coastal Japan, particularly Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures. In response to this event, firefighters […]
Jane E. Persons, Jess G. Fiedorowicz, M.D., Ph.D. Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosahexaenoic acid (EPA), have been suggested to have a protective effect on mental health. The United States Institute of Medicine recommends a daily combined intake of DHA and EPA of 100 mg (1); however, it has been suggested that […]
