On A Meaningful Life

Decoding Schizophrenia Scientific American provides an overview of schizophrenia incorporating the most recent discoveries in brain imaging and in neurobiology. The hope is that increased understanding of how signalling works in the brain will improve pharmacotherapy options.

The Disability Gulag NY Times magazine features a superb first person account by a lawyer who also just happens to have a physical disability. Harriet McBryde Johnson's article falls in the required reading category. What she calls "The Gulag" has relevance for all of us. It's difficult to think about these things, but most of us have parents who will age, not to mention that we all will age one day.

Mild Cognitive Impairment: Risk Factors I'm linking to this post about Risk Factors for Mild Cognitive Impairment over at Psychscape . Mild cognitive impairment was associated with race (African American), low educational level, low Modified Mini-Mental State Examination and Digit Symbol Test scores, cortical atrophy, MRI-identified infarcts, and measurements of depression. The MCI amnestic-type was associated with MRI-identified infarcts, the presence of the APOE 4 allele, and low Modified Mini-Mental State Examination scores. The study's primary author pointed out that it is important to note that African Americans have more cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease risk factors than whites, which may explain the increased prevalence of MCI in this group of subjects. The consistently excellent Psychscape is written by the Psychiatry Editor for Medscape and should be a regular stop for mental health professionals.

Delirium in the LA Times LA Times covers this under diagnosed medical problem this week in the Health section (requires free registration to view; need to view in the next week because it will be archived). Interventions include the following: In a March 1999 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Inouye showed that several simple changes reduced delirium by 40% among 852 hospitalized, non-ICU patients 70 and older. For example, the program reduced the use of sleeping pills by having volunteers provide back rubs, relaxation tapes, warm milk and tea. Other interventions included providing cognitive stimulation through games, discussion of current events and memory aids designed to jog recollections; by helping get patients out of bed and walking three times daily; by improving surroundings to minimize sleep disruptions, and by giving enough fluids to prevent dehydration.

Stress, Health and the Urban Environment Here is another New York Times Magazine article, "Enough To Make You Sick" by Helen Epstein. While I know there is a larger political context to this story, I think that the writer makes it clear how intertwined the influence of an urban environment is on one's health. Her writeup at the end about a program placing people from poor urban environments to a middle class environment is interesting. Followup of this group would be important. Please catch this article before it goes into the archives.

The Minimally Conscious State No, it's not a new term for not enough sleep. This New York Times Magazine article, titled "What if There is Something Going On in There?" by Carl Zimmer, explores "a new category of consciousness: the minimally conscious state". New PET evidence that some individuals with traumatic brain injuries previously considered "vegetative' exhibited significant levels of brain activity. Zimmer explores some of the issues involved including ethical and practical policies. Caution: this article requires free registration for viewing. Unfortunately, it's necessary to catch this article before next week, when it goes into the archives.

Given that this blog had the same title as a wonderful book written by Jack Kornfield, in deference to his book I changed the blog title. This URL, however, remains the same. His book is entitled A Path With Heart: A Guide Through The Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life .

In Psychology Today online, a quick easy to read review about bipolar affective disorder and treatment options, especially new approaches is found here .

New Insight On How Lithium Works BioMedNet News (warning: requires registration), in the News Archives July 31, 2003, has a summary of exciting new British research throwing fresh light on how mood stabilizers used in treatment of bipolar affective disorder affects cellular pathways. (Article is entitled: “Slime Mould Gets Moody” by Laura Spinney). Although the organism in the spotlight is Dictyostelium discoideum , the slime mold, the pathways being studied are present in both mammals and slime mold. Adrian Harwood and his lab at the Medical Research Council Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology of the University College London have been focusing on the inositide signaling pathway and the Wnt-signaling pathway in slime mold. The most important implication of this work is stated here: "…Their latest findings add more detail to the picture, indicating that lithium and valproic acid exert their effects at different stages of the inositide-signaling pathway. "Dictyo

Hypnosis in the Scientific American Scientific American online has an easy to read review of hypnosis here . My only disappointment: where are those references? With so many interesting results cited, I’d like to see the sources. And a quick neuropsychology refresher: which part of the brain is activated under hypnosis? According to this article, the answer is this: “…The tests showed that a region of the brain called the right anterior cingulate cortex was just as active while the volunteers were hallucinating as it was while they were actually hearing the stimulus. In contrast, that brain area was not active while the subjects were imagining that they heard the stimulus. Somehow hypnosis had tricked this area of the brain into registering the hallucinated voice as real...”

Knowing A Wee Bit More About How Cancer Works New Scientist writes about recent research published in Clinical Cancer Research. By interfering with how a specific type of protein attaches to another protein, a team of scientists at UCSF and the University of Lund noted slower growth of tumors as well as fewer tumors overall in mice. Although this is a long ways away from an actual cure to be used in people, it seems as though this is an important piece of information about how cancer cells may grow and proliferate. (Note: The title of the New Scientist article was, I thought, a bit misleading).

New Treatment for Wounds In the Hartford Courant, Hilary Waldman reports on a new paradigm for wound treatment pioneered by Dr. Kenneth Dobuler at the Comprehensive Wound Healing Center at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticutt. What's new is the use of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on intransigent cases. Routine use of Betadine and hydrogen peroxide may not be the state of the art treatment, the reason being this kills healthy tissue. Rather, use of moisturized bandages is emphasized. This article reports on a new skin treatment for non healing wounds related to lupus. But read the article to find out the details.

Peace, calm and serenity When you need a breather, try the famous Interview with God (click on the VIEW PRESENTATION button) and begin to breathe again. If you need even more oxygen, try "Right Now" .Thank you, Kristin, for these links.

24 Hour Hotlines in Los Angeles L.A. County Mental Health/Crisis Line, 1-800-854-7771 Sojourn Services for Battered Women and their Children , referrals, 310-264-6644 Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles , referrals, 818-505-0900 or 310-858-9344 Center for the Pacific-Asian Family, referrals, 800-339-3940 or 323-653-4042 National Domestic Violence Hotline , referrals, 800-799-7233 Info Line , referrals, 800-540-4000 Suicide Prevention Crisis Center, 310-391-1253 To report only: LA County Child Abuse Hotline, 800-540-4000 LA County Elder Abuse Hotline, 800-992-1660