Tallat Sultana, M.D., Steven Lippmann, M.D. Lofexidine Lofexidine is a newly released drug indicated for attenuating opioid withdrawal in the United States (1). A clonidine analogue and alpha 2-agonist, it has been prescribed in United Kingdom for this indication for decades (2). It reduces the signs and symptoms of withdrawal in animals and humans. With […]
Leo Sher, M.D. A research report, “Attempted suicide and oxytocin-related gene polymorphisms” has recently been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders (1). Oxytocin, a neuropeptide that plays a role in childbirth, lactation and attachment, has been a focus of studies related to suicidal ideation and behavior. It has been reported previously that a single-nucleotide […]
Leo Sher, M.D. Three days ago, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, “Vital Signs: Trends in State Suicide Rates – United States, 1999-2016 and Circumstances Contributing to Suicide – 27 States, 2015” was published (1). Suicide rates in the United States have risen nearly 30% since 1999. In this study, suicide rates […]
Leo Sher, M.D. Our research article, “Dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels in combat veterans with or without a history of suicide attempt” has been published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica online ahead of print (1). The objective of our investigation was to test the hypothesis that combat veterans who have made a suicide attempt postdeployment can […]
Leo Sher, M.D. A RAND Corporation report, “Comparing quality of care in Veterans Affairs and non-Veterans Affairs settings” has been published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine (1). The Veterans Health Administration in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States. The goal of the study […]
Leo Sher, M.D. A research report, “Examination of the indirect effects of combat exposure on suicidal behavior in veterans” has been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders (1). The authors examined whether combat exposure has a significant indirect effect on suicidal behavior among Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans through its effects on PTSD-depressive symptomatology. To be eligible […]
Leo Sher, M.D. On behalf of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Task Force on Men’s Mental Health I am pleased to congratulate Professor Shih-Ku Lin, a Member of the Task Force, an esteemed colleague and a great friend, on becoming a Vice-President of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP). Dr. Shih-Ku […]
Leo Sher, M.D. A poster entitled, “Homicides of physicians and mental health workers” was presented at the 6th Biennual Schizophrenia International Research Society Conference that was held in Florence, Italy on April 4-8, 2018. The author conducted a systematic search for information on homicides of mental health workers between 1981 and 2014, and of physicians […]
Jacob M. Appel, M.D., J.D. Since Thomas Starzl performed the first successful hepatic transplant in 1967, these transplants have become the intervention of last resort for a wide range of patients whose liver failure would previously have led to certain deaths. Since 1988, when the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) began reporting data, more […]
Leo Sher, M.D. About a week ago, the U.S. News & World Report published data on the Medical School acceptance rates (1). In the U.S., the average Medical School acceptance rate for the 2017-2018 school year was 7 percent. This is based on the data submitted by 120 ranked medical schools to the U.S. News […]
