Dear Colleagues:

Welcome to the April issue of Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. In this issue, we offer two interesting articles that touch on schizophrenia. In a review article by Spiegel et al entitled “Neurosarcoidosis and the Complexity in its Differential Diagnoses,” the authors review an unusual neurological disorder, neurosarcoidosis, that can present with similar symptoms as schizophrenia. The authors review the evaluation and work-up of neurosarcoidosis and discuss the differential diagnoses of these psychotic symptoms. A clinical vignette is also included for illustrative purposes.

Following this, Shrivastava et al present the findings in their study, “Baseline Serum Prolactin in Drug-naive, First-episode Schizophrenia and Outcome at Five Years: Is it a Predictive Factor?” The authors studied drug-naïve patients with schizophrenia in order to assess the relationships between serum prolactin and psychopathology and general functioning. The authors conclude that baseline serum prolactin levels in drug-naive patients with schizophrenia may be used for long-term prognosis, but are not reliable indicators of psychopathology and prognosis in the short term.

I am also pleased to present two excellent columns in this issue. In this month’s The Interface, Sansone and Sansone examine the prevalence and intensity of grief reactions among physicians in response to patient death in their article “Physician Grief with Patient Death.” And Harvey examines the current research literature on cognitive enhancement in psychiatric patients, focusing on new developments that separate previous less successful efforts from recent successes, in his article “Cognitive Remediation in Severe Mental Illness.”
As always, we hope you enjoy the issue and welcome your feedback.

Sincerely,
Amir Kalali, MD
Editor,  Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience

by David R. Spiegel, MD; Kristyn Morris, BS; and Ubha Rayamajhi, MD
From the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia

Innov Clin Neurosci. 2012;9(4):10–16 Read the rest of this article »

by Amresh Shrivastava; Megan Johnston; Yves Bureau; and Nilesh Shah
Dr. Shrivastava is Executive Director of the Mental Health Foundation of India (PRERANA Charitable Trust, Mumbai, India) and currently from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Research Centre, London, Ontario, Canada; Ms. Johnston is from the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Dr. Bureau is Research Scientist (Associate Scientist/Director of Inferential Statistics-Imaging) at Lawson Health Research Institute and Adjunct Professor (Psychology) at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; and Dr. Shah is Professor of Psychiatry at LTMG Hospital, University of Mumbai, India.

Innov Clin Neurosci. 2012;9(4):17–21 Read the rest of this article »

by Randy A. Sansone, MD, and Lori A. Sansone, MD
Dr. R. Sansone is a professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Internal Medicine at Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, and Director of Psychiatry Education at Kettering Medical Center in Kettering, Ohio; Dr. L. Sansone is a family medicine physician (civilian) and Medical Director, Family Health Clinic, Wright-Patterson Medical Center in WPAFB, Ohio. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or US government.

Innov Clin Neurosci. 2012;9(4):22–16 Read the rest of this article »

by Philip D. Harvey, PhD, and Christopher R. Bowie, PhD
Dr. Harvey is from the University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida; Dr. Bowie is from the Queens University, Kingston Ontario, Canada.

Innov Clin Neurosci. 2012;9(4):27–30 Read the rest of this article »

Read the rest of this article »

Read the rest of this article »

Dear Colleagues:

Welcome to the March issue of Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. Innovation in neuroscience may not always be demonstrated in the creation of a novel drug or technologically advanced device. Innovation can be found in using what you know works and does not work and artfully crafting it into a treatment plan that addresses the unique needs of a patient.

This month, we bring you a collection of brief articles that covers a wide range of topics within neuroscience, from data analysis of antipsychotic medication use to risk reduction through the use of REMS in practice. We hope these articles help keep you informed of the latest research and thus help you treat your patients with successful outcomes. Included in this mix, however, are three articles that focus on single patient cases. Two of the case reports (“Refractory Delirium Tremens: A Case Report and Brief Review” by Mattoo et al and “Suprathreshold Duloxetine for Treatment-Resistant Depression, Anorexia Nervosa Binge-Purging type, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Case Report” by Safer and Arnow) are excellent examples of clinicians using the information available to them to artfully craft successful treatment plans to address their patients’ individual needs. The third case, however, is a unique interpretation of the clinical picture of the 19th century Anglo-Indian prince known as Dyce Sombre and his alleged “madness.” In “The Mysterious Illness of Dyce Sombre” Pies et al exemplify the importance of taking the whole patient into consideration before formulating a treatment plan, rather than merely addressing specific symptoms.

We wrap the issue up with some of our regular columns we think you are sure to find of interest. In this month’s The Interface, Sansone and Sansone examine characteristics of borderline personality disorder in the primary care setting in their article, “Borderline Personality and Externalized Aggression.” And in Meymandi at Large, Dr. Meymandi shares his opinion on gambling in, “The Despotic Habit of Gambling.”

We hope you enjoy the issue. As always, please feel free to contact us with your comments.

Sincerely,
Amir Kalali, MD
Editor, Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience

by Ronald Pies, MD; Michael H. Fisher, PhD; and C.V. Haldipur, MD, MRCPsy
Dr. Pies is from SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, and Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; Dr. Fisher is from Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio; and Dr. Halidipur is from SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York.

Innov Clin Neurosci. 2012;9(3):10–12 Read the rest of this article »

by Debra L. Safer, md, and Katherine D. Arnow, BA
Both from Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, California

Innov Clin Neurosci. 2012;9(3):13–16 Read the rest of this article »