Black Children and the Pressing Need for Antiracism in Child Psychiatry.

The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly upended American children's lives as schools, libraries, daycare centers, and parks closed to prevent further viral spread. The effects of the pandemic were not distributed equally. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrated COVID-19's disproportionate impact on Black communities in terms of both infection rates and mortality.

Therapeutic and Prophylactic Vaccines to Counteract Fentanyl Use Disorders and Toxicity.

The incidence of fatal overdoses has increased worldwide due to the widespread access to illicit fentanyl and its potent analogues. Vaccines offer a promising strategy to reduce the prevalence of opioid use disorders (OUDs) and to prevent toxicity from accidental and deliberate exposure to fentanyl and its derivatives. This study describes the development and characterization of vaccine formulations consisting of novel fentanyl-based haptens conjugated to carrier proteins.

The association between leptin and weight maintenance outcome in anorexia nervosa.

Objective: Relapse after weight restoration in anorexia nervosa (AN) is a critical problem. Higher body fat percentage after weight gain has been shown to predict better weight maintenance outcome. Leptin, a fat-derived hormone, has been associated with progress during weight gain, but its association with weight maintenance is unknown.

The Need for a Clinically Useful Schema of Social Communication.

The recent Translations article by Bishop et al. draws much-needed attention to social communication (SC) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to the need in autism research for treatment-sensitive measures of this key domain. In this context, the authors define SC ability as "the appropriate use and modulation of verbal and nonverbal behaviors during interactions with others"(p.

Trends in Antipsychotic Medication Use in Young Privately Insured Children.

Objective: To estimate trends of annual antipsychotic medication use by privately insured young children (aged 2-7 years) in the United States, and to describe the clinical and treatment characteristics of these children.

Method: The study population included young children from a nationwide commercial claims database (2007-2017). We estimated annual antipsychotic use by age and sex, defined as the number of children dispensed an antipsychotic per year divided by the number enrolled.

Supporting the well-being of health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: The CopeColumbia response.

Objective: COVID-19 is an international public health crisis, putting substantial burden on medical centers and increasing the psychological toll on health care workers (HCW).

Methods: This paper describes CopeColumbia, a peer support program developed by faculty in a large urban medical center's Department of Psychiatry to support emotional well-being and enhance the professional resilience of HCW.

Results: Grounded in evidence-based clinical practice and research, peer support was offered in three formats: groups, individual sessions, and town halls.

Mortality risk of antipsychotic augmentation for adult depression.

Importance: Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated increased all-cause mortality in elderly patients with dementia treated with newer antipsychotics. It is unknown whether this risk generalizes to non-elderly adults using newer antipsychotics as augmentation treatment for depression.

Objective: This study examined all-cause mortality risk of newer antipsychotic augmentation for adult depression.

A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a cross-systems service delivery model to improve identification and care for HIV, STIs and substance use among justice-involved young adults.

Background: Justice-involved young adults (JIYA) aged 18-24 are at significant risk for HIV and problematic substance use (SU) but are unlikely to know their HIV status or be linked to HIV or SU treatment and care. Intensive efforts to increase screening and improve linkage to HIV and SU services for JIYA are needed that address youth as well as justice and health/behavioral health system-level barriers.

Methods: MoveUp is a four-session intervention that integrates evidence-based protocols to promote HIV and STI testing, HIV and SU behavioral risk reduction and engagement in treatment for JIYA.

Cognitive performance of patients with opioid use disorder transitioned to extended-release injectable naltrexone from buprenorphine: Post hoc analysis of exploratory results of a phase 3 randomized controlled trial.

Background: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is associated with cognitive dysfunction. Understanding how pharmacotherapy may affect cognition is an important treatment consideration.

Methods: This was a hybrid residential-outpatient, randomized trial assessing transition regimens (naltrexone/buprenorphine [NTX/BUP] vs placebo-NTX/buprenorphine [PBO-N]/BUP) to extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) in patients with OUD seeking BUP discontinuation.

Advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP): advances, challenges, and opportunities to accelerate progress.

It is increasingly accepted that higher levels of excellence and innovation in research can be achieved by organizations that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion across several domains including ethnicity and gender. The purpose of this commentary is to provide an overview of the methods used to increase diversity within ACNP, as well as recommendations for accelerating progress. Annual membership surveys confirm increases in female membership and leadership positions, slower but encouraging signals for “Asian” and “Hispanic” members, and less progress for African American and other ethnic populations.

Experiences of American Older Adults with Pre-existing Depression During the Beginnings of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicity, Mixed-Methods Study.

Objective: To determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of older adults with pre-existing major depressive disorder (MDD).

Participants: Participants were 73 community-living older adults with pre-existing MDD (mean age 69 [SD 6]) in Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, and St Louis.

Design And Measurements: During the first 2 months of the pandemic, the authors interviewed participants with a semistructured qualitative interview evaluating access to care, mental health, quality of life, and coping.

Developmental pathways from preschool irritability to multifinality in early adolescence: the role of diurnal cortisol.

Background: Early irritability predicts a broad spectrum of psychopathology spanning both internalizing and externalizing disorders, rather than any particular disorder or group of disorders (i.e. multifinality).

Binge alcohol use is not associated with alterations in striatal dopamine receptor binding or dopamine release.

Background: Previous imaging studies using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) have shown that alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with a decrease in dopamine type 2/3 receptor (D) binding and dopamine transmission. Although binge drinking is a risk factor for future AUD, little is known about the neurobiology of binge drinking in young adults. This study measured D receptor binding and stimulant-induced dopamine release using PET and [C]raclopride in binge drinkers without an AUD.

Reward related ventral striatal activity and differential response to sertraline versus placebo in depressed individuals.

Medications to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) are not equally effective across patients. Given that neural response to rewards is altered in MDD and given that reward-related circuitry is modulated by dopamine and serotonin, we examined, for the first time, whether reward-related neural activity moderated response to sertraline, an antidepressant medication that targets these neurotransmitters. A total of 222 unmedicated adults with MDD randomized to receive sertraline (n = 110) or placebo (n = 112) in the Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response in Clinical Care (EMBARC) study completed demographic and clinical assessments, and pretreatment functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a reward task.

Treatment of Common Mental Disorders in the United States: Results From the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III.

Objective: This study analyzed past 12-month disorder-specific mental health treatment patterns of common DSM-5 disorders in the United States.

Methods: Nationally representative face-to-face household survey data from structured diagnostic interviews of the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) (n = 36,309) were used to estimate percentages of respondents with 12-month DSM-5 mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders who received disorder-specific treatment during the 12 months before the interview.

Results: The percentage receiving treatment was highest for mood disorders (37.

Time-Dependent Effects of Exposure to Physical and Sexual Violence on Psychopathology Symptoms in Late Childhood: In Search of Sensitive Periods in Development.

Objective: Exposure to interpersonal violence is a known risk factor for psychopathology. However, it is unclear whether there are sensitive periods when exposure is most deleterious. We aimed to determine whether there were time periods when physical or sexual violence exposure was associated with greater child psychopathology.

Antipsychotic Use Among Youth in Foster Care Enrolled in a Specialized Managed Care Organization Intervention.

Objective: Little is known about whether interventions implemented by specialized Medicaid managed care organizations (MMCOs) contributed to recent stabilization of antipsychotic prescribing to youths in foster care. This study examined a multimodal antipsychotic intervention implemented by a specialized MMCO for youths in foster care with routine mental health screening, health passports, elective psychiatric consultation line, and retrospective drug utilization reviews to determine whether this multimodal intervention significantly reduced antipsychotic dispensing for youths with conditions without US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indications.

Method: Employing a difference-in-differences design, intervention effectiveness for youths in foster care (age 6-17 years) compared with adopted youthss was examined.