Dear Colleagues:
Welcome to the March issue of Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. We start with an installment of our “Interface” column by Sansone and Sansone. This month, authors investigate the relationship between personality disorders and eating disorders and explore these high rates of comorbidity.
Next, in this month’s “Ethics in Psychiatry” column, Howe presents five core skills psychiatrists need to be able to address ethical problems they likely will encounter when treating patients
Following this, Tavakoli and colleagues provide results from a literature search regarding laboratory abnormalities in alcohol dependence. The authors review options available that may complement taking a thorough patient history and physical, and provide a brief overview of future biomarkers for detection of alcohol use.
Next, Anderson and West examine several studies dealing with the precipitants of violence in the mental health setting, including the patient populations more likely to become violent and the mental healthcare staff at the greatest risk of becoming their victims. The authors also discuss possible methods of preventing such acts of violence and techniques for both staff and patients to cope with violent behavior.
We wrap up the issue with three of our regular columns. In this month’s “Research to Practice” column, Targum describes the purpose of opposing patient interview styles—research interviews and clinical interviews—and provides some guidelines for clinicians conducting research. Following this, Melonas describes risk management and patient safety considerations that protect the patient and the physician. And finally, Dr. Meymandi muses on the history of psychiatry and the evolution of man.
Sincerely,
Amir Kalali, MD
Editor, Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience
