Jacob M. Appel, M.D., J.D. The vast majority of physicians will encounter a patient who is unfit to drive an automobile as a result of cognitive impairments, untreated epilepsy, chronic intoxication or other underlying medical conditions. Whether providers are permitted to break confidentiality to report such patients to the authorities—and whether there are certain circumstances in […]
Leo Sher, M.D. Overweight and obesity have become a major public health problem in both developing and developed countries as they are related to a wide spectrum of diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and depression. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify underweight, overweight and […]
María Dolores Braquehais, M.D., Ph.D. From animals to human beings, gathering enough possessions has been a way to survive in difficult periods (1,2). Before winter, a large number of species collect fruits and other foods in order to tolerate the hardest season. In evolutionary terms, collecting is an adaptive behavior. In fact, the food-hoarding paradigm […]
Leo Sher, M.D. On September 23, 2010, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published the report, “Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit not Fat” which comprises 265 pages, 5 tables, and 50 graphs. The report suggests that in the OECD countries one in 2 adults is currently overweight and 1 in 6 […]
Sándor Kalmár M.D. Ph.D. There are several possible reasons for the lack of proper recognition of depression in Primary Care Practice in Hungary: 1. General practitioners, who have graduated several years ago, only formally participate in CME courses, lack a holistic approach and do not possess sufficient knowledge, do not think of depression and do […]
Sándor Kalmár M.D. Ph.D. Every suicide prevention program is based on the findings of the famous Gotland study. Gotland is a famous island in Sweden, in the middle of Baltic Sea. One of the greatest results of this program, besides the decreasing number of suicides, is the recognition of the fact that every short educational […]
Leo Sher, M.D. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with significant neuroendocrine changes including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis abnormalities (1). Several research groups have used the combined dexamethasone suppression-corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation (DST–CRH) test to examine the HPA function in traumatized individuals.
Sándor Kalmár, M.D. Ph.D. Suicide rate has been extremely high in Hungary for years. The Hungarian suicide behaviour is a curious phenomenon and the suicide rate is high among the Hungarian people all over the worlds.
Leo Sher, M.D. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis controls the secretion of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), corticotropin (adrenocorticotropic hormone, ACTH), and cortisol. The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) is the most frequently used test to assess HPA-system function in psychiatric disorders. Dexamethasone is a synthetic steroid that provides negative feedback to the pituitary to suppress the secretion of […]
María Dolores Braquehais Conesa, M.D., Ph.D. Complex systems such as the biopsychosociocultural constitution of the human being need to be approached with new converging explanatory frameworks. Current perspectives in psychiatric research are usually reluctant to include novel ideas coming from other fields such as Anthropology, Sociology, and or Philosophy. What may be the reason for […]
