1,721,027 research outputs found
Herbals and natural dietary supplements in psychiatric practice.
No full textThere is some evidence that links the increase of mental disorders' prevalence with a deterioration of Western countries' nutritional habits and it is found that the use of herbal and "natural" food supplements to treat different disorders is increasing. With factors such as chronic illness, poor health, emotional distress, and quality of life influencing the desire for complementary medicine, patients with comorbid medical and psychiatric problems seem likely to turn to this approach. We reviewed the most commonly used herbal and dietary supplements for which a certain efficacy on psychiatric symptoms or disorders has been claimed, checking current Pubmed-indexed literature (the most important being St. John's wort, Omega-3 fatty acids, valerian, Kava, Ginkgo, folate, B vitamins, SAMe, Inositol). There is an evidence of efficacy for some of these herbs an supplements, but current studies are often insufficient to reach a final conclusion; still patents are being requested and registered. Many different areas (including efficacy, tolerability, optimal dosing, adequate shelf life, drug and non-pharmacological interactions) need to be thoroughly studied; moreover political decisions need to be scientifically guided in order to best serve psychiatric patients' interests and to prevent the usage of expensive and sometimes un-useful therapies. This implies that a scientific strategy has to be used to rule out any third-part economical interest which could in any way influence therapeutic choices
Psychological Therapy in Adolescents with Chronic Daily Headache
No full textChronic daily headache is a serious disease, causing significant problems in terms of reduced quality of life and disability, with pain localized to the head (headache) occurring 15 or more days per month for more than 3 months (>180 days per year). Drugs, both used as preventive medications or as pain-killers, are insufficient for the management of these patients; a more global approach has been advocated. This paper reviews existing data concerning different psychological approaches, with a focus on adolescence. This leads to evidence still unanswered questions but also the importance to include psychological treatments in the management of this potentially disabling condition
Corpus callosum agenesis and rehabilitative treatment
No full textAbstract Corpus callosum agenesis is a relatively common brain malformation. It can be isolated or included in a complex alteration of brain (or sometimes even whole body) morphology. It has been associated with a number of neuropsychiatric disorders, from subtle neuropsychological deficits to Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Etiology and pathogenetic mechanisms have been better understood in recent years, due to the availability of more adequate animal models and the relevant progresses in developmental neurosciences. These recent findings are reviewed (through a MedLine search including papers published in the last 5 years and most relevant previously published papers) in view of the potential impact on children's global functioning and on the possible rehabilitative treatment, with an emphasis on the possibility to exploit brain plasticity and on the use of the ICF-CY framework.</p
Recent Advances in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
No full textThe field of child and adolescent psychiatry is receiving growing attention, although a number of local differences still exist in terms of academic curricula, board certifications and even definitions of what is to be considered part of this field or not [...
Importance of a critical reading of neuropsychological testing.
No full textNeuropsychological testing has become an important part of the diagnostic tools available to assess children's functioning. Tests are routinely use to establish diagnosis, measure patient's impairment and drive rehabilitation. The authors present the clinical case of a eight-year-old girl, sent to our Child Neuropsychiatry and Rehabilitation Unit for a suspected Specific Learning Disorder. Peculiar findings regarding attention and reading ability became evident during the initial evaluation; a mistaken diagnosis of dyslexia was avoided by carefully examining her global functioning (in particular sight, as she suffered from hyperopia but more importantly she had an insufficient control of vertical saccadic movements) and the strategies she used during testing. This constitutes a good example of the need to take into consideration the patient as a whole during any assessment, including neuropsychological testing
Child visuomotor skills : preliminary findings using a new low-cost movement analysis method
No full textisuomotor skills are obviously important in activities of daily living. In school-aged children they are particularly important in writing and reading processes. The assessment of these skills is usually performed through neuropsychological or complex neurophysiological tests.
We present our preliminary findings in 21 healthy children in whom visuomotor assessment was performed using a new, non-invasive method, based on quantitative video analysis of arm movement during a maze task. This low-cost method seems promising because it is easier to perform than other neurophysiological techniques, does not involve the fixing of markers on the child’s body and allows accurate evaluation of joint angles. The major drawbacks are the single plane used for the video recording and the need for a well lit environmen
Main diagnosis, comorbidity and functional impairment at admission in the rehabilitative wards of Lombardy region. A survey on 6 671 patients.
No full textLombardy is one of the northern regions of Italy. Its public health service, which aims to cover the whole populationa, was completely reorganized at the beginning of the 90s mainly with the introduction of the Diagnoses Related Groups (DRG) reimbursement system
Nutraceuticals in psychiatric practice.
No full textNutraceuticals can be defined as food components or active principles present in aliments which have positive effects for health and quality of life, including preventing or treating disorders. Herbal and "natural" food supplements are increasingly used to treat different psychiatric disorders, often as "self-prescribed" therapies. With factors such as chronic illness, poor health, emotional distress, and quality of life influencing the desire for complementary medicine, patients with comorbid medical and psychiatric problems seem likely to turn to this approach. We reviewed the most commonly used herbal and dietary supplements for which a certain efficacy on psychiatric symptoms or disorders has been claimed, checking current Pubmed-indexed literature (the most important being St. John's wort, Omega-3 fatty acids, valerian, Kava, Ginkgo, folate, B vitamins, S-Adenosylmethionine, inositol, alfa-lactoalbumin and passionflower). There is evidence of efficacy for some of these herbs an supplements, proved also by Cochrane's meta-analysis. However many different areas (including efficacy, tolerability, optimal dosing, adequate shelf life, drug and non-pharmacological interactions) need to be thoroughly studied; moreover political decisions need to be scientifically guided in order to best serve psychiatric patients' interests and to prevent using of expensive and sometimes un-useful therapies. This implies that a scientific strategy is needed to rule out any third-part economical interest which could in any way influence therapeutic choices. The article presents some promising patents on nutraceuticals in psychiatric practice
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