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What Is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? What Is PTSD? What Causes PTSD?
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is triggered by a traumatic event - it is a kind of anxiety. The sufferer of PTSD may have experienced or seen an event that caused extreme fear, shock and/or a feeling of helplessness. Most of us experience a brief period of difficulty adjusting and coping with traumatic events. However, we gradually get better with time and healthy coping methods. On the other hand, there are times when symptoms get worse and may last for several months, or years. This study explains how PTSD can surface two years after a traumatic event. Another study found that one in eight Lower Manhattan residents likely had PTSD two to three years after the 9/11 attacks.

Schizophrenia: A Genetic Basis
Schizophrenia is a severely debilitating psychiatric disease that is thought to have its roots in the development of the nervous system; however, major breakthroughs linking its genetics to diagnosis, prognosis and treatment are still unrealized. Jill Morris, PhD assistant professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University"s Feinberg School of Medicine and a researcher in the Human Molecular Genetics Program of Children"s Memorial Research Center studies a gene that is involved in susceptibility to schizophrenia, Disc1 (Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1). Two recent publications by Morris and colleagues focus on the role of Disc1 in development, particularly the migration of cells to their proper location in the brain and subsequent differentiation into their intended fate. During development, cells need to properly migrate to their final destination in order to develop into the appropriate cell-type, integrate into the corresponding network of cells and function properly. Disruption of cell migration can lead to inappropriate cell development and function, resulting in disease.
News of the day
Nondrug Interventions May Comfort Children Having An Anesthetic
Parental acupuncture, clown doctors, hypnotherapy, low sensory stimulation and hand-held video games are promising non-drug interventions that are likely to help reduce children"s anxiety during the onset of their anaesthetic, is the main conclusion of a new Cochrane Systematic Review.
Mental Health

E-health Enables More Personalized Medicine; Group Fights For Digital Patient Rights

Tonia Odom, a 35-year-old patient with rheumatoid arthritis, a sick father and a young son, each of whom has multiple health problems, has found some relief to the problems of managing her families" array of illnesses in at a Duke University clinic that"s a model of the "medical home" approach to medicine, the New York Times reports. "As President Obama and Congress try to create a national system that provides better care for more people at lower cost, you are likely to hear a lot more about this idea. The term, coined by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1967, is admittedly confusing. It does not mean a return to house calls. Nor need it apply only to people with complex health problems like those of the Odom family." "Rather, it is an approach in which each person has a primary care doctor who heads a team of professionals - perhaps including a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner, a dietitian, a social worker and a pharmacist - to provide round-the-clock access to care." One attribute that makes the "medical home" approach so successful for patients like the Odoms is the use of electronic medical records to coordinate care between their primary care doctor and the specialists required to treat their diagnoses that range from a seizure disorder and sleep apnea to kidney failure and the arthritis. In addition, Tonia Odom is able to access the "clinic"s online health portal to get the family"s medical information, make appointments and check the lab results..." (Brody, 6/22). Meanwhile, as more and more health providers are using digital tools to provide care - something the Obama administration has pressed for - a small coalition of software companies, doctors, bloggers and others "is seeking to firmly inject the rights of patients" in the e-health landscape, the New York Times" blog, Bits, reports. The group, which includes Microsoft, launched a Web site yesterday, HealthDataRights.org, to further its cause. The group wants the administration to ensure that patients have a legal right to control and ownership of their health information, and that health data will enable patients to "take a more active role in managing their own health" (Lohr, 6/22). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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