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.

Commentary

Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs for Transgender and Gender Diverse Patients

The authors discuss responsiveness of transgender and gender diverse patients to SUD treatment at different care levels (eg, outpatient, residential, inpatient), as well as how to reduce stressors and make treatment programs more inclusive.

Anshul V. Puli and others

Case Report

Cisplatin-Etoposide–Induced Hyperammonemic Encephalopathy in a Lung Cancer Patient

A 68-year-old cancer patient experienced delirium during the third cycle of treatment with cisplatin-etoposide.

Tanvi Mittal and others