Dear Colleagues:
Welcome to the July–August 2013 issue of Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. In this issue, we present two interesting case reports. In the first report, Basu et al present a rare case of paranoid schizophrenia presenting with continuous mutism for about three years. Because the patient did not respond well to antipsychotic medication alone, electroconvulsive therapy was initiated, to which the patient responded well and began speaking normally after 12 sessions. In the second report, Narine et al present a case of a 12-year-old girl who developed anxiety and trichotillomania a short time after initiation of Adderall for treatment of her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. After switching the patient to guanfacine, anxiety symptoms and urge to pull her hair dissipated.
Next, in this month’s installment of Update on Cognition, Strassnig and Harvey review the negative effects that schizophrenia can have on lifestyle behaviors that can increase the risk for obesity. In addition to adipogenic psychotropic medications, sedentary behavior and poor self-care contribute to obesity in individuals with schizophrenia, which, when untreated, can shorten life expectancy by 25 to 30 years. The authors review the importance of simultaneous treatment of cognitive deficits and related deficits in functional skills, as well as interventions targeted at poor physical health in individuals with schizophrenia—all of which lead to improved gains in everyday functioning and thus better quality of life and improved physical health.
Following this, Sansone and Sansone discuss the relationships among psychopathology, sunshine, serotonin, and the skin in this month’s The Interface titled, “Sunshine, Serotonin, and Skin: A Partial Explanation for Seasonal Patterns in Psychopathology?”
Finally, we wrap up the issue with an installment of our Risk Management column. This month, Cash gives some tips on navigating the tricky waters of patient handoff—when a patient is moved to another unit or turned over to a new nurse or doctor during a shift change.
Sincerely,
Amir Kalali, MD
Editor, Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience
