Michael Posternak, MD.
Psychiatrist in private practice, Boston, MA
Dr. Posternak has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.
Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are widely used, rarely studied, and much maligned. So where exactly do they fit in today’s medication arsenal for treating anxiety? This article discusses when BZDs are appropriate and when they are not, and how to choose among the various BZDs. But before doing so, let’s first address the elephant that always seems to be lurking in the BZD room: their addictive potential.
Mark Zimmerman, MD
Director of the Partial Hospital Program and Adult Outpatient Psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital
Dr. Zimmerman has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.
There’s a new diagnosis in the DSM-5 called anxious distress. But is this truly a new diagnosis, or just another way of defining depression? This month, we spoke with Mark Zimmerman, MD, a clinician and leading researcher on the topic of anxious distress, to get some answers.
Rehan Aziz, MD.Dr. Aziz disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.
With neurofeedback, patients are hooked up to an EEG and shown images through various forms of media. The idea is that the EEG can detect brain waves that are associated with improvement in various symptoms, and then the patient can be taught to produce “healthier” brain waves.
Adam Strassberg, MD. Dr. Strassberg has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.
Over the last several years, there’s been a lively debate about the efficacy of antidepressants. Meta-analyses have shown that antidepressants do outperform placebo in most studies. However, active medications cause more side effects than placebo pills.
The post-test for this issue is available for one year after the publication date to subscribers only. By successfully completing the test you will be awarded a certificate for 1 CME credit.
Is it useful for psychiatrists to order EEGs on their patients? That’s a perennially controversial question, and one that’s worth revisiting from time to time.
Remko van Lutterveld, PhD
Senior Research Scientist, Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts
Dr. van Lutterveld has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.
Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback that uses an EEG to provide feedback to patients. While hooked up to an EEG, patients are shown different images through various forms of media, including video and other tools.
There’s a lot of discussion in the medical journals about nutritional psychiatry, which is the concept that certain diets can prevent or treat psychiatric disorders (Marx W et al, Proc Nutr Soc 2017;76(4):427-436).