U.S. high court won't review federal embryonic stem cell funds

By Terry Baynes
Reuters
Originally posted on January 7, 2013

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review a challenge to federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research brought by two researchers who said the U.S. National Institutes of Health rules on such studies violate federal law.

The decision brings an end to a lawsuit that had threatened to hamper stem cell research after a district court judge blocked the taxpayer funding in 2010. But some observers expected the Supreme Court would decline the take the case after an appeals court ruled that the funding could continue.

U.S. law prohibits the NIH from funding the creation of human embryos for research or research in which human embryos are destroyed, but leaves room for debate over whether that includes work with human embryonic stem cells.

Opponents of such research, including many religious conservatives, have argued that it is unacceptable because it destroys human embryos.

Scientists hope to be able to use stem cells to find treatments for spinal cord injuries, cancer, diabetes and diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The entire story is here.

'Protecting' Psychiatric Medical Records Puts Patients At Risk Of Hospitalization

Medical News Today
Originally published January 6, 2013

Medical centers that elect to keep psychiatric files private and separate from the rest of a person's medical record may be doing their patients a disservice, a Johns Hopkins study concludes.

In a survey of psychiatry departments at 18 of the top American hospitals as ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in 2007, a Johns Hopkins team learned that fewer than half of the hospitals had all inpatient psychiatric records in their electronic medical record systems and that fewer than 25 percent gave non-psychiatrists full access to those records.

Strikingly, the researchers say, psychiatric patients were 40 percent less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within the first month after discharge in institutions that provided full access to those medical records.

"The big elephant in the room is the stigma," says Adam I. Kaplin, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and leader of the study published online in the International Journal of Medical Informatics. "But there are unintended consequences of trying to protect the medical records of psychiatric patients. When you protect psychiatric patients in this way, you're protecting them from getting better care. We're not helping anyone by not treating these diseases as we would other types of maladies. In fact, we're hurting our patients by not giving their medical doctors the full picture of their health."

The entire story is here. 

Disclosure and Concealment of Sexual Orientation and the Mental Health of Non-Gay-Identified, Behaviorally Bisexual Men.

Eric W. Schrimshaw, Karolynn Siegel, Martin J. Downing, Jeffrey T. Parsons.
Disclosure and Concealment of Sexual Orientation and the Mental Health of Non-Gay-Identified, Behaviorally Bisexual Men. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2012;
DOI: 10.1037/a0031272

Objective:

Although bisexual men report lower levels of mental health relative to gay men, few studies have examined the factors that contribute to bisexual men's mental health. Bisexual men are less likely to disclose, and more likely to conceal (i.e., a desire to hide), their sexual orientation than gay men. Theory suggests that this may adversely impact their mental health. This report examined the factors associated with disclosure and with concealment of sexual orientation, the association of disclosure and concealment with mental health, and the potential mediators (i.e., internalized homophobia, social support) of this association with mental health.

Method:

An ethnically diverse sample of 203 non-gay-identified, behaviorally bisexual men who do not disclose their same-sex behavior to their female partners were recruited in New York City to complete a single set of self-report measures.

Results: 

Concealment was associated with higher income, a heterosexual identification, living with a wife or girlfriend, more frequent sex with women, and less frequent sex with men. Greater concealment, but not disclosure to friends and family, was significantly associated with lower levels of mental health. Multiple mediation analyses revealed that both internalized homophobia and general emotional support significantly mediated the association between concealment and mental health.

Conclusions:

The findings demonstrate that concealment and disclosure are independent constructs among bisexual men. Further, they suggest that interventions addressing concerns about concealment, emotional support, and internalized homophobia may be more beneficial for increasing the mental health of bisexual men than those focused on promoting disclosure.

Guilt and Moral Character

Academic Minute

Inside Higher Ed

Originally published January 4, 2012

In today’s Academic Minute, Carnegie Mellon University's Taya Cohen analyzes why our moral nature may depend on our response to guilt. Cohen is an assistant professor of organizational behavior and theory in the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon. Find out more about her here.

Access To Electroconvulsive Therapy In Decline: A Clinical Choice Or An Economic One?

MedicalNewsToday.com
Originally published January 12, 2013

Here are some excerpts:

A new study in Biological Psychiatry suggests that reductions in ECT treatment have an economic basis. From 1993 - 2009, there was a progressive decline in the number of hospitals offering ECT treatment, resulting in an approximately 43% drop in the number of psychiatric inpatients receiving ECT.

Using diagnostic and discharge codes from survey data compiled annually from US hospitals, researchers calculated the annual number of inpatient stays involving ECT and the annual number of hospitals performing the procedure.

Lead author Dr. Brady Case, from Bradley Hospital and Brown University, said, "Our findings document a clear decline in the capacity of US general hospitals - which provide the majority of inpatient mental health care in this country - to deliver an important treatment for some of their most seriously ill patients. Most Americans admitted to general hospitals for severe recurrent major depression are now being treated in facilities which do not conduct ECT."

This is the consequence of an approximately 15 year trend in which psychiatric units appear to be discontinuing use of the procedure. The percentage of hospitals with psychiatric units which conduct ECT dropped from about 55% in 1993 to 35% in 2009, which has led to large reductions in the number of inpatients receiving ECT.

The entire story is here.

Vignette 21: A Phone Call from a Friend

Dr. Goodfriend receives a call from Buddy, his very close high school friend. Dr. Goodfriend speaks with Buddy about once every six to nine months. During those calls, the conversations typically focus on careers, family members, and the whereabouts about other classmates.

Buddy phoned Dr. Goodfriend in an apparent emotional anguish by the tone of his voice.  Buddy states that he has been feeling "stressed" over the last month. He explains that he recently lost his job and has been worrying about the financial impact that this is having on his family. Buddy adds that he has had trouble sleeping, has stopped exercising, has little energy, and fleeting thoughts of hurting himself.  Buddy also shares that he has been short tempered with his wife and kids.

During the 90-minute call, Dr. Goodfriend tries to be a good listener, empathizes with Buddy's difficult situation, offers advice on ways that Buddy can better manage his stress, provides him with general encouragement, and suggests a book that outlines stress management and anxiety reduction strategies.

At the end of the call, Buddy tells Dr. Goodfriend that he is feeling much better. Just as he is about to hang up, Buddy says, "Thanks. My wife told me that I should see a therapist but I told her that I could talk with you and that it would be much cheaper."

Dr. Goodfriend is unclear whether Buddy is serious or joking.

If you were Dr. Goodfriend, how do you feel about the phone call?

Does Dr. Goodfriend need to phone his high school friend to clarify his last comment?

Does Dr. Goodfriend need to encourage Buddy to become involved in therapy if symptoms persist?

Should Dr. Goodfriend call Buddy and offer a few referrals?

What factors influence this decision?

Is college football doing enough about head injuries to protect players?

By Jon Solomon | jsolomon@al.com
on January 03, 2013
Alabama.com

Some chilling images of head injuries loom over this college football season.

There was the huge hit USC wide receiver Robert Woods took against Utah while blocking for a teammate. Woods got up, staggered around and fell to the ground. He was checked on the sideline and returned after missing one play.

There were two hits to the head Arizona quarterback Matt Scott received on one play against USC. He vomited on the field as the television announcers almost pleaded for Scott to be taken out. Scott stayed in the game to throw the winning touchdown.

There was the hit Connecticut quarterback Chandler Whitmer sustained against Cincinnati that he would later describe as a "bullet to the head." Whitmer, who had suffered a concussion the previous week, missed one play. He soon took another hit, needed help getting to the Connecticut sideline, and this time his day was over.

As college football reaches its national championship game Monday night, a question is being asked publicly with more frequency: Is college football doing enough to keep players safe?

The entire article is here.

Aaron Swartz, Reddit Co-founder, commits suicide

By Anne Cai
The Tech, Online Edition
Originally posted January 12, 2013


Computer activist Aaron H. Swartz committed suicide in New York City yesterday, Jan. 11, according to his uncle, Michael Wolf, in a comment to The Tech. Swartz was 26.

“The tragic and heartbreaking information you received is, regrettably, true,” confirmed Swartz’ attorney, Elliot R. Peters of Kecker and Van Nest, in an email to The Tech.

Swartz was indicted in July 2011 by a federal grand jury for allegedly downloading millions of documents from JSTOR through the MIT network — using a laptop hidden in a basement network closet in MIT’s Building 16 — with the intent to distribute them. Swartz subsequently moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he then worked for Avaaz Foundation, a nonprofit “global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.” Swartz appeared in court on Sept. 24, 2012 and pleaded not guilty.

The story is here.

Intellectual property law and the psychology of creativity

By Jessica Bregant, JD, and Jennifer K. Robbennolt, JD, PhD, University of Illinois
The Monitor on Psychology - The Judicial Notebook
January 2013, Vol 44, No. 1
Print version: page 21

Creativity and the process of innovation are fertile grounds for psychological research, with applications spanning education, the arts, business and science. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the topic of creativity in the context of patent law. The case, Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., revisited a long-observed legal prohibition on patenting the "laws of nature" and illustrates one of the many ways in which law, particularly intellectual property law, can be informed and shaped by psychological principles.

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The court, in Mayo, identified the competing incentives created by the availability of patents: The rights granted by patents are intended to provide an economic incentive for innovation but may also restrict the flow of information and cross-fertilization of ideas among inventors. To balance these interests, patents are generally issued only for inventions that are novel, not obvious and useful. The court also recognized the breadth of the fields to which patent law (and, more broadly, intellectual property law) applies. Different types of creative activities may involve different aspects of creativity.

Psychologists have much to contribute to an understanding of the cognitive processes by which people engage in creative activity, how those processes are similar and different across substantively different fields, what motivates creative activity, whether and how the rules of intellectual property can encourage or stifle innovation, and what else might be done to cultivate innovation.


The entire article is here.