Ruma Mian, M.D. Introduction Depression is not only the most common mental illness, it’s also one of the most tenacious. Epidemiologically, 50 percent of the population that experiences one major depressive episode will relapse and 80 percent will relapse after experiencing a second episode (1). Although anti-depressive medications may benefit some, a shocking number find […]
Shivani Naik, M.D., Murali K.Kolikonda, M.D., Steven Lippmann, M.D. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is well known by its cardinal motor symptoms of tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, and postural or gait instability. Parkinsonism without tremor is frequently misdiagnosed. That PD can also induce a pain syndrome is less widely recognized. Parkinsonian pain is prevalent in 40-85% of PD […]
Angeline Prabhu, M.D., Bilal Abaid, M.D., Shivani Naik, M.D., Sohaib Khaleel Mohammed, M.D., Melanie Lippmann, M.D., Steven Lippmann, M.D. Opioid overdoses are an emerging crisis in the United States. There is a dramatic increase in the number of deaths due to narcotic overdoses recently. Overdoses can induce obtundation, impaired cognition, and difficulty in breathing. Opioids […]
Shanti Pittampalli, M.D., Steven Lippmann, M.D. Affective illness is a devastating cause of suffering, morbidity, disability, and mortality. Even though there are many different interventions available, a significant number of depressed people initially fail to respond well to conventional therapies. Despite much research, the precise mechanism which results in depression remains unknown. There is recent […]
Leo Sher, M.D. A research paper, “Traumatic brain injury and attempted suicide among veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” has recently been published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (1). The authors examined the associations between deployment-related traumatic brain injury, psychiatric diagnoses, and attempted suicide among 273,591 veterans deployed in support of Operation […]
Leo Sher, M.D. A research report, “Cannabis use disorder and suicide attempts in Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans” has recently been published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research (1). VA researchers from North Carolina studied a relation between the use of cannabis (marijuana) and suicidal behavior. The authors examined the association between a lifetime history of cannabis use […]
Devina Singh, M.D., Steven Lippmann, M.D. The legal and medicinal utilization of marijuana is rising. Similarly, there are efforts at expanding legal markets and a lot of social or recreational use (1). Currently, there is growing popularity at the inhalation of aerosolized marijuana from electronic devices, especially by younger people (2). This means of cannabis […]
Leo Sher, M.D. A research report, “Updated reported distribution of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the United States, 1995–2016” has been published in the Journal of Medical Entomology (1). The paper was written by a research group from the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort […]
Yulin Chu, D.N.P., P.M.H.N.P.‐B.C., R.N. Gaps: A concurrence of depression and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is evidenced, but their association is incompletely understood and probably complex. Late life depression (LLD) in AD is currently under-detected and undertreated. Problems: Patients with LLD are much more likely to develop AD and have more disability and mortality. The elderly […]
Leo Sher, M.D. A group of researchers from Brazil examined whether serum uric acid levels are associated with cognitive performance in apparently healthy middle-aged participants in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ElSA-Brasil) (1). The researchers reported the results of their study in a paper, “Serum uric acid is associated with better executive function […]
