Opioid substitution therapy: Legal challenges.

Drug dependence syndrome is a medical condition classified as a multifactorial health disorder that often follows the course of a relapsing and remitting chronic disease. Opioid substitution therapy (OST) is one of the established standard treatments for opioid dependence syndrome. OST, a process in which opioid-dependent injecting drug users, is provided with long-acting opioid agonist medications for a long period under medical supervision along with psychosocial interventions.

Ethical and legal issues in cross-system practice in India: Past, present and future.

Recent changes in policies allowing practitioners of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) to integrate into the mainstream of healthcare and also allowing practitioners of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy to perform medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) under the proposed amendment to the MTP bill have brought crosssystem practice into the limelight. We evaluate cross-system practice from its legal and ethical perspectives. Across judgments, the judiciary has held that cross-system practice is a form of medical negligence; however, it is permitted only in those states where the concerned governments have authorized it by a general or special order.

Disaster Management: Mental Health Perspective.

Disaster mental health is based on the principles of 'preventive medicine' This principle has necessitated a paradigm shift from relief centered post-disaster management to a holistic, multi-dimensional integrated community approach of health promotion, disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation. This has ignited the paradigm shift from curative to preventive aspects of disaster management. This can be understood on the basis of six 'R's such as Readiness (Preparedness), Response (Immediate action), Relief (Sustained rescue work), Rehabilitation (Long term remedial measures using community resources), Recovery (Returning to normalcy) and Resilience (Fostering).

Mortality among inpatients of a psychiatric hospital: Indian perspective.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess mortality and its correlates among psychiatric inpatients of a tertiary care neuropsychiatric hospital. Given the background that such a study has never been undertaken in India, the findings would have a large bearing on policy making from a mental health-care perspective.

Materials And Methods: The medical records of those psychiatric inpatients (n = 333) who died during their stay at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in past 26 years (January 1983 to December 2008) constituted the study population.

Delusional Procreation Syndrome: Report from TURUVECARE Community Intervention Program.

New insights on Delusional Procreation Syndrome (DPS), a sequence of delusions in the cycle of human procreation are emerging in recent times. Till date, most of the data on DPS are reported from the clinical samples. Authors report case series of having delusions related to DPS from a rural community sample of schizophrenia patients.

Psychiatric morbidity among patients with oral submucous fibrosis: a controlled study.

Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the association between oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) and psychiatric morbidity in a controlled manner.

Methods: Matched patients were divided into three groups: Those with areca nut chewing habits with OSF (Group 1; n=50); those with areca nut chewing habits without OSF (Group 2; n=50); those without areca habits and with dental problems other than OSF (Group 3; n=50). The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to assess psychiatric morbidity.

Prolonged reaction to mental arithmetic stress in first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients.

Objective: Several studies have reported abnormal heart rate variability (HRV) in schizophrenia patients, suggesting a pathophysiological link between central autonomic dysfunction and symptoms of schizophrenia and that these could be heritable. This study aimed at evaluating cardiac autonomic response to mental arithmetic stress in first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients (FDRS) employing HRV analysis.

Methods: HRV measures were computed for 25 healthy FDRS and 25 age- and gender-matched controls during rest, mental arithmetic stress task and recovery period.

Why do we prescribe ECT to schizophrenia patients?

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is prescribed for schizophrenia patients for various indications, in our country. However, official guidelines in other countries have been cautious in prescribing ECT for schizophrenia. To study the indications for which patients with schizophrenia receive ECT.

Role of vitamin B12 in depressive disorder--a case report.

Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia may have psychiatric manifestations preceding the hematological symptoms. Although a variety of symptoms are described, there are only sparse data on the role of vitamin B12 in depression. We report a case of vitamin B12 deficiency presenting with recurrent episodes of depression.