Dr. Jeff's and Dr. Tanya's Blog

Can Light Therapy Improve Your Sexual Performance?

2010-01-10T08:10:03-08:00

Mental health professionals have long wondered about the relationship between bright lights and sexual performance. An article published in Medical News Today June 15, 2009, “Can Light Therapy Improve Your Sexual Functioning? New Promising Data,” examines this issue. The findings of this research were published in the December 2008 issue of Child Development. The researchers studied, “….9 male patients with nonorganic sexual dysfunction. Subjects (age 39 - 60) were consecutively recruited in the outpatient clinic of the Urology Department of the University of Siena Medical Center on the basis of a diagnosis of primary (i.e. not due to another illness or to a medication or a drug of abuse) hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD, n = 2), sexual arousal disorder (SAD, n = 6), and orgasmic disorder (OD, n = 1) and the absence of a mood disorder, as assessed via the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Subjects were randomly assigned to active light treatment (ALT) or placebo light treatment (L-PBO) and assessed at baseline and after 2 weeks of ALT/L-PBO treatment via the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-Sexual Disorders (SCID-S) and via a sexual satisfaction self-report, which asked them to rate on a scale from 1 to 10 their level of sexual satisfaction. The ALT consisted of daily exposure to a white fluorescent light box (Super-Lite 3S, fitted with an ultraviolet filter and rated at 10,000 lx at a distance of 1 m from screen to cornea) for 30 min as soon as possible after awakening, between 7.00 a.m. and 8.00 a.m. The L-PBO was an identical light box fitted with a neutral density gel filter to reduce light exposure to 100 lx.” The results of this study were very interesting. “………After 2 weeks of treatment, 3 of the 5 patients randomized to ALT no longer met the SCID-S criteria for a sexual disorder whereas the sexual disorder was still present in all the 4 patients in the L-PBO group. A significant (p = 0.001) improvement in sexual satisfaction was observed in the ALT group, whereas no improvement was observed in the L-PBO group (p =0.39).” There are a number of important implications of this study. First, individuals who are experiencing sexual dysfunction should consult there health care provider to see if they are a candidate for light therapy. Second, mental health professionals who treat patients with sexual dysfunction should consider light therapy. Third, patients who are diagnosed with SADD should monitor their sexual functioning to determine if there has been any improvement. And, last of all, public health professionals should educate the public about the advantages of light therapy for the treatment of sexual dysfunction.

The Bottom Line: The results of this study suggest that individuals who have sexual dysfunction should light therapy as a possible treatment.

Reference: Original article

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Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

Can You Reduce Your Risk of Death by Having a Higher Purpose in Life?

2010-01-10T08:06:59-08:00

Mental health professionals have long wondered about the relationship between life expectancy and having a higher purpose in life. An article published in Medical News Today June 16, 2009, “Having A Higher Purpose In Life Reduces Risk Of Death Among Older Adults,” examines this issue. The researchers studied, “…..studied 1,238 community-dwelling elderly participants from two ongoing research studies, the Rush Memory and Aging Project and the Minority Aging Research Study. None had dementia. Data from baseline evaluations of purpose in life and up to five years of follow-up were used to test the hypothesis that greater purpose in life is associated with a reduced risk of mortality among community-dwelling older persons…Purpose in life reflects the tendency to derive meaning from life's experiences and be focused and intentional…” The results of this study were very interesting. “….After adjusting for age, sex, education and race, a higher purpose of life was associated with a substantially reduced risk of mortality. Thus, a person with high purpose in life was about half as likely to die over the follow-up period compared to a person with low purpose. The association of purpose in life with mortality did not differ among men and women or whites and blacks, and the finding persisted even after controlling for depressive symptoms, disability, neuroticism, the number of medical conditions and income….Significant associations with mortality were found with three specific items on the purpose of life questionnaire to determine the study participants' agreement with the following statements: "I sometimes feel as if I've done all there is to do in life;" "I used to set goals for myself, but that now seems like a waste of time;" and "My daily activities often seem trivial and unimportant to me." There are several important implications of this study. First, older individuals who are considering retirement should aim for retirement activities that give true meaning to one’s life. Second, mental health professionals who treat older patients should screen all of these patients for the quality of their lives. Third, public health professionals should educate the public about the importance of having a higher purpose to life. The researchers concluded, “….finding that purpose in life is related to longevity in older persons suggests that aspects of human flourishing particularly the tendency to derive meaning from life's experiences and possess a sense of intentionality and goal-directedness contribute to successful aging….having a sense of purpose in life is important across the lifespan, measurement of purpose in life in older persons in particular may reveal an enduring sense of meaningfulness and intentionality in life that somehow provides a buffer against negative health outcomes."

The Bottom Line: The results of this study suggest that older individuals should seek a higher purpose in life to decrease their mortality risk.

Reference: Original article

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Dr. Jeffrey Speller

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Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

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Does Changing Residences Increase Risk Of Suicidal Behavior Among Children?

2010-01-10T08:03:01-08:00

Mental health professionals have long wondered about the impact of changing residences on children. An article published in Medical News Today June 5, 2009, “Changing Residences Associated With Increased Risk Of Suicidal Behavior Among Children,” examines this issue. The results of this study were published in the June 2009 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. The researchers studied, “…..data from Danish national registries to identify all children born between 1978 and 1995. Between 11 and 17 years of age, 4,160 of these children attempted suicide based on hospital records, and 79 completed suicide. For each suicide attempt or completion, the researchers selected 30 control children who were the same sex and age.” And the results? “….Compared with the control children, those who attempted suicide were more likely to have changed residences frequently-55.2 percent of suicidal children and 32 percent of controls had moved more than three times, and 7.4 percent had moved more than 10 times (compared with 1.9 percent of controls). Frequent moves were also more common among children who completed suicide….A dose-response relationship was observed for both attempted and completed suicide, meaning that the more often a child changed addresses, the more likely he or she was to have attempted or completed suicide. The associations remained significant after the researchers controlled for other factors, such as birthplace and parents' mental health.” There are several important implications of this study. First, parents of adolescent children should greatly minimize the number of times that they change residences during the children’s adolescent years. Second, school professionals who have new children in their classroom who have reported frequent family moves, should be alert to the possibility of suicidal thinking. Third, mental health professionals who treat suicidal adolescents should investigate how many times these patients have changed residences. And, fourth, public health professionals should educate parents about the risks of frequent moves on their adolescent children’s mental health. The researchers conclude, “…..The breakdown of connections with peers, discontinuation of group activities, distress and worries related to the new environment are potentially psychologically distressing events for young children. Frequent exposures to these events can be stressful and confusing and may affect their psychosocial well-being, thus increasing their intention toward ending their life if they are unable to cope…In addition, moving is stressful for parents and may result in their inability to attend to their children's emotional needs….Children may feel ignored and have no one to communicate with. A suicide attempt may, to some extent, express the need for more attention from their parents."

The Bottom Line: The results of this study suggest that adolescents who change residences frequently may be at risk of suicidal behaviors.

Reference: Original article

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Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

Does Shaming Children Have the Opposite Effect?

2010-01-10T07:59:47-08:00

Mental health professionals have long wondered about the relationship between shaming children and their subsequent behavior. An article published in Medical News Today December 28, 2008, “Shaming Some Kids Makes Them More Aggressive,” examines this issue. The findings of this research were published in the December 2008 issue of Child Development. The researchers studied, “…..163 children ages 10 to 13, from Michigan middle schools. Almost all were white, and slightly more than half (54 percent) were males…A few weeks before participating in the on-line experiments, the young people filled out a questionnaire designed to assess their levels of self-esteem and narcissism…….For the experiment, children were told they would be competing on an Internet reaction-time game called FastKid! against an opponent of the same sex and age from a school in Columbus, Ohio (where the Buckeyes live!). In reality, there was no opponent; the computer controlled all events. Those who were randomly selected for the "shame condition" were told that their opponent was one of the worst players in the supposed tournament, and they should easily win; when they lost, their last-place ranking was displayed on a website they believed that everyone could see. Children were told they could blast their opponent with a loud noise after winning a trial.” And the results of the study? “ … The narcissistic kids were more aggressive than others, but only after they had been shamed….Narcissists seem highly motivated to create and maintain a grandiose view of self…They tend to interpret social situations in terms of how they reflect on the self, and they engage in self-regulatory strategies to protect self-esteem when they need to. As shameful situations constitute a threat to grandiosity, narcissistic shame-induced aggression can likely be viewed as defensive effort to maintain self-worth…[the researchers] …found that high self-esteem increased narcissistic shame-induced aggression.” There are several important implications of this study. First, parents of children with high degrees of narcissism should not engage in shaming as a way to control their child’s behavior. Second, school professionals should also avoid shaming their students with high levels of narcissism. Third, mental health professionals who treat children and adolescents who exhibit aggressive behaviors should screen these patients any past events of shaming. And, last of all public health professionals should educate both parents and school professionals about the negative consequences of shaming.

The Bottom Line: The results of this study suggest that shaming narcissistic adolescents may lead to aggressive behavior.

Reference: Original article

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Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com

Does Smoking as an Adolescent Cause Adult Depression?

2010-01-10T07:56:33-08:00

Mental health professionals have long wondered about the relationship between adolescent smoking and adult depression. An article published in Medical News Today February 1, 2009, “Possible Link Between Teen Smoking And Adult Depression,” examines this issue. The findings of this research were published in 2009 online in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, The researchers “……injected adolescent rats twice daily with either nicotine or saline for 15 days. After the treatment period ended, they subjected the rats to several experiments designed to find out how they would react to stressful situations as well as how they would respond to the offering of rewards.” And the results? The researchers found, “…that behavioral changes symptomatic of depression can emerge after one week of nicotine cessation and -- most surprising -- that even a single day of nicotine exposure during adolescence can have long-lasting effects….the rats who were exposed to nicotine engaged in behaviors symptomatic of depression and anxiety, including repetitive grooming, decreased consumption of rewards offered in the form of sugary drinks and becoming immobile in stressful situations instead of engaging in typical escape-like behaviors. The researchers were able to alleviate the rats' symptoms with antidepressant drugs or, ironically, more nicotine.” The researchers conclude, “…..Scientists have long known there is a connection between smoking and mood disorders, but they have not been able to say for sure that one causes the other because there are so many factors influencing human behavior. This study provides support for the idea that smoking can induce symptoms of depression, and paradoxically, can also be a way of managing those same symptoms and enhancing the risk for addiction….The message to young people of course is don't smoke and don't even try it….If they do smoke, they need to be aware of the potentially long-term effects that recreational or even occasional cigarette smoking can have on their systems."

The Bottom Line: The results of this study suggest that adolescent smoking may lead to adult depression.

Reference: Original article

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Sources: See blogposts in Psychiatric Disorders: General, Depression

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Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England