This case report describes a patient with reportedly new onset of tics, beginning at 21 years of age, in the context of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid alcohol abuse, with no known head injury. The setting is an American Society of Addiction Medicine intensive outpatient substance abuse rehabilitation program in an United States Army Medical Center. The patient is a 22-year-old male diagnosed with alcohol abuse and delayed PTSD who presented to the program's medical officer due to insomnia. We discovered he had a reportedly new ocular tic of ∼9 months duration, which he claimed developed at 21 years of age soon after returning from 1 year of combat duty. The patient was thoroughly evaluated, and we surmised the tic was a symptom of PTSD. After achieving full remission from alcohol, the tic persisted. However, as his PTSD symptoms remitted, so did his tic symptoms. At 6-month follow-up, the patient reported he was essentially free from PTSD symptoms, and his tic was significantly reduced.

Optimal management of depression remains a long-term challenge. Long-term maintenance treatment with antidepressants has been shown to be effective for preventing or delaying recurrence for many patients with a history of previous multiple episodes. However, aside from a history of multiple recurrences, it remains difficult to identify patients who are most likely to experience recurrence and when. Thus we do not really know who might particularly benefit from maintenance therapy and what type may be efficacious. In patients with depression, research has shown there are structural and functional alterations in the brain, particularly in patients with recurrent or chronic depression. These changes have been generally viewed to be consequences of the disease, which are seen to worsen with a longer duration of untreated illness and with a greater number of depressive episodes. However, these neurobiological characteristics may also represent risk factors or vulnerabilities that predispose some patients to chronic or recurrent depression. Additional research has demonstrated that antidepressant treatment may reduce or modulate these functional and structural changes, suggesting that long-term treatment may, in fact, benefit patients not only by controlling symptoms but also by managing these underlying vulnerabilities. A new treatment paradigm, which focuses on identifying patients with risk factors and managing the disease process rather than suppression of symptoms, is needed for recurrent depression.

Suicide risk assessment is now a core competency requirement in the residency training of psychiatrists.The purpose of suicide risk assessment is to identify modifiable or treatable acute, high-risk suicide factors, and available protective factors that inform patient treatment and safety management.The standard of care varies according to state statutory definitions. Heretofore, most states adopted an average physician or “ordinarily employed standard.” Currently, more states are adopting a “reasonable, prudent physician” standard. No single source or authority defines the standard of care for suicide risk assessment. Evidence-based psychiatry can inform clinicians' suicide risk assessments. Carefully documented risk assessments will assist the courts in evaluating clinicians' decision-making process.

Objective: To assess the impact of childhood conduct disorder (CD) and intelligence quotient (IQ) on later substance use in adolescence.

Methods: Neuropsychological and structured diagnostic evaluations were initially administered to 32 children with disruptive behavior disorder when they were 7–11 years of age. They were then re-evaluated on average 6.7 years later using an array of interviews and rating scales with a focus on substance use.

Results: Early CD and IQ scores together accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in later substance use (R2=.248). In addition, there was a significant CD and Verbal IQ interaction (R2=.164) such that high Verbal IQ was linked to increased substance use in adolescents who had childhood CD.

Conclusion: These data indicate that the presence of conduct disorder may interact with high Verbal IQ during childhood in such a way as to predict later adolescent substance use in disruptive behavior disorder populations.

Wegener granulomatosis (WG) is an uncommon, idiopathic disorder that is characterized by granulomatous inflammation of the upper and lower respiratory tract, disseminated vasculitis involving small and medium-sized vessels, and focal segmental glomerulonephritis. Approximately 25% to 50% of patients have nervous system involvement. The brain is less frequently involved. We report a case of a 74 year-old previously well woman who presented with rapidly progressing WG that culminated in subarachnoid hemorrhage. Only six cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage in the setting of WG have previously been reported. We review the common presenting signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and complications of WG.

More than a decade of failure to find disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s dementia has driven the field back to finding better symptomatic treatments for behavioral symptoms of dementia, especially psychosis and agitation.

Los Angeles County’s Office of Diversion and Reentry (ODR) has removed over 3800 people from the largest jail system in the country. Across various diversion programs, ODR’s fundamental goal is to provide permanent, lifetime care for each diverted person. This article describes ODR’s various diversion programs, and elucidates the types of elaborate clinical and court-related interventions that are necessary to remove persons with serious mental disorders from jail custody. As Los Angeles continues to build the necessary community-based continuum of mental health care, ODR’s model proves that thoughtfully removing persons with serious mental disorders from jail is possible and necessary for the health of both patients and community.

Patients with involuntary emotional expression disorder (IEED) have impaired social and occupational functioning and there is currently no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment. Treatment options include tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), dopaminergic agents, and a combination of dextromethorphan and quinidine. Studies of monaminergic agents have typically been small and executed in single-center settings. Assessment measures generally show significant symptomatic improvements, including a reduction in the number of laughing or crying episodes and improvements in patients' clinical condition. The tolerability profiles of these agents are well defined, and include dizziness, tachycardia, and QTc prolongation (TCAs), and sleep and sexual disturbances (SSRIs). The combination of dextromethorphan and quinidine has also been assessed in two large multicenter studies in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis. Compared with placebo and either agent alone, there were significant improvements in symptoms, quality of life, and relationships. The most common side effects were dizziness and nausea, and potential drug interactions with quinidine should also be considered. Choice of treatment should be evidence-based, taking into account both efficacy and tolerability.

Although psychotic symptoms are a recognized manifestation of epilepsy, these are more often associated with seizures of the temporal lobe type. While 10% of children with temporal lobe epilepsy develop a psychotic disorder by adulthood, the literature does not report any cases of psychotic disorders associated with frontal lobe seizures in children. This article presents a unique case of a girl whose frontal lobe seizures were associated with delusional psychotic symptoms. Once her seizure disorder was identified through electroencephalography (EEG) and appropriate anticonvulsant therapy was initiated, her associated psychotic symptoms resolved.

Genetic anticipation refers to an inheritance pattern within a pedigree showing a decrease in age of onset or an increase in disease severity or both in successive generations. This phenomenon has become the focus of important research in schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder. The results to date have been controversial and far from conclusive. To attempt to resolve some of the earlier findings, we compared age at onset and disease severity between two generations in 24 Portuguese families ascertained for genetic linkage studies of bipolar mood disorder. There was a significant decrease in age of onset (P<. 00001) and increase in frequency of episodes (P<.0001)from the first to the second generation. This difference was significant under each of the four data-sampling schemes, one of which excluded probands. The second generation experienced onset 12.4 to 15.9 years earlier and illness 2.3 to 2.6 times more severe than did the first generation. We found no evidence for a specific effect in anticipation related to the transmitting parent's sex. Results of the present study, analyzed carefully for a variety of possible biases, suggest evidence for genetic anticipation in these Portuguese bipolar families.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) could be considered a neurodevelopmental disorder, from several lines of evidence. One of the most widely studied genes in these disorders is the apolipoprotein E gene, particularly allele 4. We analyzed for association among patients with OCD versus normal controls and cognitively impaired patients. There were no significant differences between OCD probands compared with population controls. However, the cognitively impaired group showed a higher frequency of allele apolipoprotein E gene compared with normal controls and patients with OCD.

Trauma-informed approaches offer a new perspective for understanding how and why individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) become entangled in the criminal justice system. There is growing awareness that many individuals with SMI have experienced significant life trauma, and factors beyond SMI that contribute to criminalization are being identified; however, the role of trauma continues to be overlooked in many formulations. In trauma-blind systems, trauma-related behaviors are often misunderstood and met with responses that exacerbate psychiatric and behavioral problems. Trauma-informed approaches provide a richer understanding of underlying drivers of behavior, and view trauma as an integral component of risk management, case formulation, relationship-based care, and referral. Embedding trauma-informed principles across organizations promotes continuity of care, safety, and more compassionate cultures that help reduce the flow of individuals with SMI into the criminal justice system. An expanded view of the criminalization hypothesis is offered, which incorporates all factors addressed in current research.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is almost exclusively recurrent. The vast majority of patients who experience one episode of MDD will eventually experience at least one more episode during their lifetime. The recurrent nature of MDD increases the burden to both the individual and society. Hence, it is imperative that treatment strategies focus on achieving remission acutely, as well as maintaining of remission and preventing recurrence. The articles in this supplement are based on presentations and a dialogue among a group of experts who convened for a roundtable discussion on improving long-term outcomes with antidepressant therapy.

Improving long-term treatment of MDD begins with understanding the clinical course of recurrent depression and the ability to recognize those patients who are at greatest risk for recurrence. James H. Kocsis, MD, reviews the course of recurrent depression, emphasizing the tendency for it to progressively worsen. He also discusses patient characteristics and other risk factors for recurrence as well as current recommendations for long-term management of recurrent depression.

Although long-term antidepressant maintenance treatment studies are somewhat limited in number, they provide the evidence base that shapes existing guidelines for long-term management of recurrent depression. Michael E. Thase, MD, examines this evidence for the different classes of antidepressants. In addition, Thase reviews evidence for the efficacy of psychotherapy and discusses its potentially important role in long-term depression management.

Many commonly prescribed drugs exist as a mixture of two distinct chiral isomer forms (enantiomers), each with its own unique chemistry, receptor affinity, and pharmacokinetic profile. Much is unknown concerning the clinical utility of these single enantiomers. This review of the stereoisomers of two commonly used drugs—albuterol for asthma and omeprazole for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and peptic ulcers—examines the improved efficacy, pharmacokinetics, decreased adverse effects, and fewer drug-drug interactions associated with single enantiomers.

This monograph summarizes the proceedings of a roundtable meeting convened to discuss the role of carbamazepine in the treatment of bipolar disorder, in light of new data and the recent indication of carbamazepine extended-release capsules (CBZ ERC) for use in the treatment of acute manic and mixed episodes. Two lectures were presented, followed by a panel discussion among all 6 participants. A summary of the two pivotal trials of CBZ ERC and their pooled data along with other relevant data is presented first. Next, historical trends of carbamazepine and the agent's use in acute mania, bipolar depression, and maintenance are reviewed, emphasizing clinical implications of efficacy, safety, tolerability, and drug interactions. Finally, the panel discussion provides recommendations for the use of carbamazepine in different phases of the illness, taking into account adverse effects and drug-drug interactions.

Panel discussants agree that current data confirm the utility of CBZ ERC as an effective treatment for acute manic and mixed episodes in bipolar disorder. Carbamazepine may also prove to be an option for maintenance treatment. Tolerability of the drug is related to dose and titration, and overall safety limitations regarding carbamazepine usage are comparable to other medications. For some patients, the main challenges to use of carbamazepine may be common drug-drug interactions and increased side effects related to aggressive introduction during treatment of acute manic and mixed episodes. Thus, carbamazepine may be a lower priority option for patients who are taking multiple medications, such as elderly individuals with medical comorbidity, due to the potential for drug interactions. Important benefits of carbamazepine include the low propensity toward weight gain and evidence of good tolerability with long-term treatment. (At present there are no available data from long-term, placebo-controlled studies evaluating the effects of carbamazepine or CBZ ERC on weight.) Thus, carbamazepine may be a good option for patients who are concerned about weight gain or who are intolerant of or respond poorly to other medications. Further efforts are needed to update physicians on the use of carbamazepine relative to other medications in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

When patients do not respond to an initial course of antidepressant treatment, clinicians may opt for a number of alternatives. First, re-evaluating the diagnosis to make sure that no comorbidities were missed, and that the diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) is accurate, particularly with respect to recognition of clinical features that might suggest previously unrecognized bipolarity or psychotic features. Secondly, clinicians should ensure that the patient has adhered to the recommended medication. When finally reaching the point of certainty or near certainty that the patient has not benefited from a truly adequate course of treatment lasting ≥8 weeks, the next major considerations usually are to either switch antidepressants or to augment the original choice of treatments. Lastly, selection of the most appropriate “next choice” strategy should take into account the tolerability of and degree of improvement observed with the initial antidepressant medications. Many clinicians prefer to switch patients who have poorer tolerability and minimal symptom improvement and try to augment therapy when the initial antidepressant has been well tolerated and resulted in some degree of symptom improvement.

Dosing patterns with second-generation antipsychotic medications (SGAs) are dynamic, with some SGAs surpassing current recommendations while others are declining in dose since their initial regulatory guidelines. Pertinent recent studies and available pharmacoepidemiologic reports, information, and expert consenses are reviewed herein to illuminate current thinking on the topic of dosing with SGAs. There is a need for fixed-dose studies of each SGA. Additionally, dosing should be a primary consideration when designing and subsequently interpreting comparative studies between SGAs.