The Weekly Mind Reader: Kisspeptin, Early Alzheimer's, REL-1017

by Staff Writer
February 17, 2023 at 2:05 PM UTC

The Weekly Mind Reader highlights the top psychiatry and CNS stories from the week.

A roundup of all of this week’s studies and news from The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders and Psychiatrist.com.

Monday

An analysis of pharmacy claims records for patients with early-phase schizophrenia suggests long-acting injectable antipsychotic agents should be used earlier in treatment to up their benefits. A hormone injection may someday supercharge libido in both men and women. It’s appropriately named kisspeptin

Tuesday

How many people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in their teens? Exactly one. Learn why researchers find the youngest ever reported case of the condition so puzzling. Also, in a Phase 2a clinical trial, REL-1017 improved subjective measures of cognitive impairment, in addition to improving total MADRS and SDQ scores.

Wednesday

Suicidal ideation predicts suicide attempts in young and middle-aged patients. Now a new study finds it may also have strong predictive power in later life as well. Suicide also came up in a new CDC survey of youth mental health. A distressingly high percentage of high schoolers report feeling sad, hopeful and suicidal. Girls, LGBT+ and minorities appear to be having an especially tough time. 

Thursday

FDA advisors unanimously recommended selling the life-saving opioid overdose treatment Narcan over the counter. Experts hail the opinion, saying it would significantly expand access to the lifesaving drug. 

Friday

We revisited a case report of a young boy diagnosed with delirium. It raised some important questions about treating a condition that’s common among pediatric patients, especially if their hospital stay lasts longer than six days. If you treat hospitalized children, it’s worth a review. 

Looking Ahead

Don’t miss this incredibly timely and relevant overview of PTSD in Turkish earthquake survivors.

Clinical and Practical Psychopharmacology

Towards a Further Understanding of Meta-Analysis Using Gestational Exposure to Cannabis and Birth Defects as a Case in Point

Dr Andrade discusses strengths and limitations of two recent meta-analyses on birth defects associated with cannabis exposure, with a view to providing readers with a deeper understanding of how to read and critically assess meta-analyses.

Chittaranjan Andrade

Case Report

Panic Attacks in the Presentation of COVID-19

This case describes panic attacks that occurred repeatedly as part of the constellation of presenting symptomatology during 2 separate COVID-19 infections.

Tej Joshi and others