Psychiatr News February 15, 2008
Volume 43, Number 4, page 15
© 2008 American Psychiatric Association
Annual Meeting Highlights
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NIMH Explains How Research Is Poised to Alter Practice
Jun Yan
A research track sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health
will convey cutting-edge research findings that will significantly shape
psychiatric practice in the future.
At the 2008 APA annual meeting, the National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH) will present a research track of sessions on the latest advances in
clinical, genetic, and neuro-psychiatric research covering a range of
psychiatric disorders. These sessions will allow attendees to tap into
cutting-edge scientific findings that will have significant impact on the
understanding and treatment of mental illness.
The NIMH-sponsored track will include symposia and workshops on violence in
the mentally ill, posttraumatic stress disorder, devices that permit
measurement of deep brain stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation,
child and adolescent psychopharmacology, and neurodevelopment.
A prominent feature in this year's track will be several symposia on
genetic research in psychiatric disorders.
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Thomas Insel, M.D.: "We will discuss how neuroscience and genomics
provide a new set of tools for the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric
disorders."
Credit: David Hathcox
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Steven Zalcman, M.D., chief of the Clinical Neuroscience Research Branch at
NIMH, and colleagues will present genetics research into the mechanisms and
treatment of mood disorders, schizophrenia, and other disorders. "We are
beginning to understand mental disorders and brain disorders in a fundamental
way," Thomas Insel, M.D., the director of NIMH, said in an interview.
"Neuroscience and genetics are undergoing a revolution. We will discuss
how neuroscience and genomics provide a new set of tools for the diagnosis and
treatment of psychiatric disorders."
One symposium will discuss how epigenetics, the study of variations in the
expression of certain genes, has been linked in neurological and psychiatric
disorders. Other sessions will describe how genetic differences can influence
patients' response, in terms of efficacy and adverse reactions, to the same
drug.
In another symposium, Benedetto Vitiello, M.D., chief of the Child and
Adolescent Treatment and Preventive Intervention Research Branch at NIMH, and
colleagues will present updates on four specific safety concerns in pediatric
psychopharmacology. The presentations will discuss practical approaches to
managing risks, particularly regarding antidepressants, stimulants, and
anti-psychotics.
In addition, workshops will cover such topics as depression treatment in
the primary care setting, examining mental health issues after recent
devastating hurricanes, and the impact of recent NIMH-funded clinical trials
on real-world patient care.
Insel stressed that NIMH scientists plan to bring the most recent and
relevant breakthroughs in genomic and neuroscience research to psychiatrists
at the meeting. "It is an extraordinary time in psychiatry," he
emphasized.
The list of sessions to be included in the NIMH track had not been
finalized by press time. It will be published in a future issue of
Psychiatric News. 
Related Article:
-
When Our Voice Is Raised, Treatment and Science Benefit
- Carolyn Robinowitz
Psychiatr News 2008 43: 3.
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