Involuntary Processes: Knowledge Base of Health Care Professionals in a Tertiary Medical Center in Upstate South Carolina.

The involuntary hospitalization law provides a means by which love ones, caregivers and healthcare professionals can intervene when a mentally ill patient is a danger to self or others. Our study assessed the knowledge of professionals in one of the Greenville Health System (GHS) emergency department (ED) about the involuntary hospitalization process of mental health patients in South Carolina (SC). An eight item survey on the South Carolina involuntary hospitalization and commitment process was developed and distributed to GHS ED staff including: physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers and technicians.

New approaches for the management of bipolar disorder: role of sublingual asenapine in the treatment of mania.

Bipolar disorder is a prevalent disorder that tends to become progressive without treatment and with inadequate treatment. Second generation (atypical) antipsychotic drugs have increasingly been used as adjunctive treatment or monotherapy for mania, but they have the potential for significant adverse effects and their role in maintenance treatment remains unclear. Asenapine is a new atypical antipsychotic medication formulated in a sublingual preparation that has been studied for mania but not maintenance therapy.

The reliability of telepsychiatry for a neuropsychiatric assessment.

Objective: To determine whether or not the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), an examination that relies on visual judgments, can be reliably measured via video conferencing equipment.

Methods: AIMS scores were assessed by two independent raters in face-to-face contact with the subject and two raters observing remotely via audio-visual transmission. We determined inter-rater reliabilities using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).

Agomelatine, a melatonin agonist with antidepressant properties.

Agomelatine (beta-methyl-6-chloromelatonin), which is structurally homologous to melatonin, is a potent agonist of melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors as well as an antagonist of serotonin 5-HT(2C) receptors. Agomelatine appears to improve sleep without causing daytime sedation. It has not been found to be associated with sexual side effects and discontinuation symptoms.