| SAFETY SCHOOL Bucking Privacy Concerns, Cornell Acts as Watchdog
ITHACA, N.Y. -- For 19 years as a custodian at Cornell University, Sue Welch has been taking out the garbage and mopping the floors of residence halls. Recently, she added a new responsibility: trying to prevent student suicide. Ms. Welch noticed during a recent semester that she was repeatedly having to clean up after a particular student's apparent bouts of nausea, and told her supervisor she feared the young woman had an eating disorder. The supervisor told the residence-hall director, who encouraged the student to go to the university health center. Counselors there arranged for her to get treatment for bulimia nervosa. Ms. Welch credits the training sessions that she and other custodians attended on how to spot students with mental-health problems. "These kids are looking to us to provide care," she says.
Science Could Erase Stigma of Anorexia
FRIDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- When people understand the genetics and biology of anorexia nervosa, they are less likely to blame those with the eating disorder for their illness, says a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) study. "This is a potentially important finding because it suggests that wide dissemination of information about the biological and genetic underpinnings of anorexia nervosa could help decrease the blame-based stigma that is associated with the disorder," study author Michele A. Crisafulli said in a prepared statement. It's believed that stigma creates additional difficulties for people with anorexia, including making them more reluctant to seek treatment. In people with anorexia nervosa, obsessive fears of being fat lead to abnormal and dangerously low body weight.
Socialization May Be Key To New Treatment For Anorexia Nervosa
Understanding how individuals with anorexia nervosa interact with others may lead to entirely new approaches to treating the disease which affects up to 10 million adolescents.Current treatments focus primarily on managing symptoms like starvation and low body weight. Although that's important, it is not always enough to result in lasting health, says Nancy Zucker, Ph.D, Director of Duke University Medical Center's Eating Disorders Program.In a comprehensive review of data published in the November issue of Psychological Bulletin, Zucker pinpoints many patterns of social dysfunction among individuals with anorexia nervosa. She and her colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill believe treatment focusing on these areas may help patients engage better with their family, friends, and health care providers.
New Guidelines Proposed for Preschoolers on Antidepressants
With the number of preschool-age children being prescribed stimulants, antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs on the rise, a group of researchers has suggested a standardized approach to treatment. Child mental health professionals from Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center in Rhode Island and 11 other institutions have developed recommendations for specific disorders to help clinicians who are considering medications for children ages 3 to 6. The guidelines are published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Click here for the full study (subscription required) "These guidelines emphasize the importance of a family-focused assessment by clinicians with experience working with young children, the use of psychotherapy as the first line treatment for young children with severe psychiatric disorders, and the value of careful monitoring of symptoms and side effects when treating young children," said lead author Dr.
Dispense with TV Drug Ads
As many Americans enter rehabilitation centers for prescription drug abuse as for ecstasy, cocaine/crack, methamphetamine, and heroin addictions, according to a recent study from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Too many people have dangerously casual attitudes toward legal medications. For the general public, TV advertising makes use of these drugs seem like an everyday convenience rather than an important decision worthy of serious consideration. Except for New Zealand, no other country in the world allows manufacturers to market prescription drugs directly to consumers. The dangers are especially worrisome with newer prescription drugs whose long-term side effects may still be in question, hence Representative Henry Waxman's (D-Calif.) legislative effort to restrict TV ads for drugs that have been on the market for less than three years.
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