Bones of Contention: A Comprehensive Literature Review of Non-SSRI Antidepressant Use and Bone Health.

Osteoporotic fractures are associated with major morbidity and mortality, particularly among older age groups. In recent decades, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants have been linked to reduced bone mineral density and increased risk of fragility fracture. However, up to one-third of antidepressant prescriptions are for classes other than SSRIs.

The detection, diagnosis, and impact of cognitive impairment among inpatients aged 65 years and over in an Irish general hospital - a prospective observational study.

Background: The diagnosis of dementia remains inadequate, even within clinical settings. Data on rates and degree of impairment among inpatients are vital for service planning and the provision of appropriate patient care as Ireland's population ages.

Methods: Every patient aged 65 years and over admitted over a two-week period was invited to participate.

Diabetes and brain health: implications for practice.

Background: It is widely accepted that people with mental illness have increased risk of cardiometabolic complications such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. What is less well known is that individuals with diabetes have an increased risk of brain health complications including depression, cognitive impairment and dementia. These conditions can adversely influence disease self-management and further increase risk of other diabetes complications.

Refugees, the asylum system and mental healthcare in Ireland.

The number of people seeking refugee status in Ireland is increasing year on year and the burden of mental illness experienced by refugees and asylum seekers is high. The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland has recommended the establishment of a number of specialist refugee mental health teams. In this paper we discuss the Irish asylum system, the Irish evidence regarding mental illness in this population, and current health service policy regarding refugee mental health.

Fornix White Matter is Correlated with Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Thalamus and Hippocampus in Healthy Aging but Not in Mild Cognitive Impairment - A Preliminary Study.

In this study, we wished to examine the relationship between the structural connectivity of the fornix, a white matter (WM) tract in the limbic system, which is affected in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease, and the resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of two key related subcortical structures, the thalamus, and hippocampus. Twenty-two older healthy controls (HC) and 18 older adults with aMCI underwent multi-modal MRI scanning. The fornix was reconstructed using constrained-spherical deconvolution-based tractography.

Depression, subthreshold depression and comorbid anxiety symptoms in older Europeans: results from the EURODEP concerted action.

Background: In the epidemiology of late life depression, few insights are available on the co-occurrence of subthreshold depression and comorbid symptoms of anxiety. The current study aims to describe prevalence patterns of comorbid anxiety symptoms across different levels of depression in old age, and to describe the burden of depressive symptoms and functional disability across patterns of comorbidity.

Methods: Respondents were older adults in the community, age 65-104 (N=14,200), from seven European countries, with in total nine study centres, collaborating in the EURODEP concerted action.

Post-traumatic stress disorder: present and future.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) differ from almost every other psychiatric diagnosis in that they may only be diagnosed with reference to an aetiological event - an external traumatic stressor. ASD occurs immediately after the stressor and is comparatively short-lived, while PTSD is a prolonged abnormal response that may take months to develop. The types of stressor leading to ASD and PTSD are identical and were intended to be tightly defined, involving a perceived threat of death, serious injury or loss of physical integrity.

An Irish case of pulmonary emboli secondary to clozapine therapy.

Background: Clozapine is the prototype atypical antipsychotic used for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, but its use has been limited by the well-established association with agranulocytosis. An increased risk of other serious adverse events such as myocarditis and thromboembolism has also been suggested to be associated with clozapine therapy.

Aims: We describe an Irish case of multiple pulmonary emboli detected by CT pulmonary angiogram thought to be secondary to clozapine therapy.

National context of healthcare, economy and religion, and the association between disability and depressive symptoms in older Europeans: results from the EURODEP concerted action.

Associations between disability and depression have been shown to be consistent across cultures among middle-aged adults. In later life the association between disability and depression is much more substantial and may be amenable to influences by health care facilities as well as economic and sociocultural factors. Fourteen community-based studies on depression in later life in 11 western European countries contribute to a total study sample of 22,570 respondents aged 65 years or older.

Temporal lobe-oriented CT scanning and dementia in Down's syndrome.

Background: Although individuals with Down's syndrome (DS) are uniquely at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, the diagnosis of dementia in DS is problematic because of the difficulty in detecting cognitive decline in individuals with pre-existing learning disability.

Aim: To determine if dementia in DS is associated with Medial Temporal Lobe (MTL) atrophy as measured by temporal lobe-oriented CT scanning.

Method: Ten individuals with DS who were experiencing functional decline had CT scans with temporal lobe-oriented views.

Delusion and desire: erotomania revisited.

Objective: This paper examines the phenomonology in a case of erotomania and reviews classical and contemporary treatment options.

Method: A case of primary erotomania is described.

Results: Treatment with hospitalization and risperidone produced rapid clinical improvement.