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Article Date: 10 Aug 2010 – 2:00 PDT
One underlying cause that surprises many women during treatment for an eating disorder is the relationship an adolescent girl has with her mother, according to Catherine Weigel Foy, a family therapist at Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, a leading eating disorder center.
Young girls suffering with eating disorders often think the physical aspects of their disease call for the most healing, but in most all instances, girls have to recognize the psychological and emotional damage caused by anorexia or bulimia, too. It’s during this process that they often uncover unexpected root causes of their disease.
“The mother-daughter relationship can be a complicated one. While relationships with friends and husbands begin in adolescence and adulthood, a mother’s love begins before a child is born, and can create an unrealistic expectation that the connection between mothers and daughters will be as strong and free from limitations in adulthood as it was in early infancy,” said Weigel Foy, LCSW, LMFT.
A clinical lecturer at Northwestern University, where she is affiliated with both the Family Institute and the Department of Psychology, Weigel Foy endorses an introspective look at this unique relationship and believes temporary distance from family members allows many adolescent and teenage girls to feel safe exploring the mother-daughter relationship in ways they haven’t been able to during prior treatment for anorexia or bulimia. Weigel Foy and her colleagues at Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center work together to foster a nurturing environment that helps teen girls gain a realistic view of their relationship with their mothers. In turn, the girl and her mother are better equipped to support each other on their path to recovery.
Exploring relations with her mother in a residential setting also equips a young woman to place the relationship in a healthier social context. “In reality, an individual’s needs and fears are often informed by society’s needs and fears, making this one of the most maligned of all human relationships. By identifying societal myths commonly found in these relationships, mothers and daughters can begin to build a stronger foundation and one of recovery for those suffering from eating disorders and substance abuse,” said Weigel Foy, who also serves on the consulting editorial board for the Journal of Feminist Family Therapy.
Weigel Foy identifies several “perfect mother” myths that can create unrealistic standards for behavior that often strain the relationship and trigger feelings of shame:
— the measure of a perfect mother is a perfect daughter
— constant nurturing comes naturally to all mothers
— mothers are born knowing how to raise children
— mothers and good daughters don’t get angry
These ideas contribute to mother-blaming when mothers don’t match the myth and can create distance between mothers and daughters.
In the same way, there are “bad mother” myths that can lead mothers and daughters to feel like they are walking a tightrope where too much or too little love will push them over the edge. Damaging assumptions include:
— mothers are inferior to fathers as authority figures
— only experts know how to raise children
— mothers and daughters are bottomless pits of neediness
— mother-daughter closeness is unhealthy
— assertion of a woman’s power is dangerous or unseemly
The impact of beliefs like these can keep a teenage girl from seeking support from her mother when she needs it, or from accepting her mother’s efforts to build a normal, healthy bond that will help her through adolescence.
Relationship myths can be particularly perilous for young girls who are struggling with body image issues, says Weigel Foy. Given that a mother is often the first person to recognize signs and symptoms of an eating disorder, any reluctance to address her concerns in an open and honest way can impact her daughter’s chances of avoiding long term medical complications.
Through residential treatment and therapy this relationship can be explored and these young girls can come to better understand its affect on their diseases and in turn help build a foundation for lifelong recovery.
 
Its August of 2010 and that means college freshman are sharpening their pencils and packing their bags to set out on their quest for an undergraduate degree. Many of these young people are feeling anxious because of all the unknowns they will face. Among the unanswered questions some of them have are:
1. What will it be like to live away from home and parents for the first time?
2. What will my roommates and floor mates be like in the dormitories?
3. Will I make new friends and will people like me and find me acceptable?
4. Will my classes be difficult and will I pass everything?
5. Will I be able to take care of myself?
6. Because of the state of the economy, many students begin their college career with the worry, “Will there be enough money for me to complete college and graduate?
1. Food and Diet
It is important for males and females to eat a balanced diet each day. As part of this, a regular meal schedule is important. Regularly scheduled breakfast, lunch and dinner should be adhered to.
Those students who come from families that kept a schedule of three meals per day will not find this difficult to do. However, those from homes in which there were no regular meal schedules are likely to find it challenging to work this into their routine.
The foods that eaten are as important as when they are eaten. Full proteins, such as fish, chicken and other meats balanced with fresh green vegetables comprise good sources of nutrition. Processed foods such as chicken nuggets, potato chips and processed cereals, do not make for healthy eating.
2. Weight
Many female students become vulnerable to “food talk” with girl friends around the lunch and dinner table. Discussions that center around issues of weight gain and loss, dieting and low calorie foods, can reinforce the kind of thinking and behavior that leads to eating disorders such as Anorexia, Bulimia or Binge eating. It is best for all involved to avoid these topics especially during freshman year when there is a tendency to gain a few pounds of weight.
Studies
One of the problems confronting students during their first year is leaning how to study. Many were able to get by and even do well in High School without having to study because they relied on their memory of classes. That strategy does not work on the college level where there are prodigious amounts of material to learn.
A recent study showed that even when listening to enjoyable music while engaging in tasks that are cognitive in nature, the noise interferes with memory and other cognitive processes. In reality, reading and studying are done more efficiently when there is an atmosphere of silence.
Many young people have told me, over the years, that they cannot concentrate when there is silence. They need music or television while they are studying or doing homework. I suspect that this is a result of a number of problems:
1. Poor study habits from the past that must be changed.
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2. Attention Deficit Disorder that can cause silence to be distracting.
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3. Anxiety and depression both of which interfere with concentration.
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4. Poor reading skills that causes distractibility because reading is felt to be a painful and arduous experience.
5. Any number of possible learning disorders that went previously undiagnosed.
All of these problems can be addressed if students check out the programs available designed to help them succeed in school. Today, all schools have a mental health or counseling department to help young people with emotional or adjustment problems including feeling lonely and homesick.
It is also important to not procrastinate doing essays, term papers and preparing for quizzes and exams. It is easier to study for these tests if there has been concentration on reading and studying prior to the upcoming exams.
Part of the learning and study process is focusing attention during class. I remember taking copious amounts of notes because it helped me focus. The notes then served as a study guide. I suggest that this is a good idea for many students and that the only thing that may vary are the amounts of notes taken.
Read in Full:Â http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=39162&cn=51
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 11, 2010Â
A new survey of medical students finds a strong interest in using video games and virtual reality environments to practice role-playing and strategy games for physician training.
Actually, it should be no surprise because today’s students were raised with a digital mouse in their hands.
A reported 98 percent of medical students surveyed at the University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin-Madison liked the idea of using technology to enhance their medical education.
The study is published online in BMC Medical Education.
For example, a virtual environment could help medical students learn how to interview a patient or run a patient clinic. In the survey, 80 percent of students said computer games can have an educational value.
The study helps dispel the stereotype of video games as the exclusive purview of adolescent loners. Instead they may be used as advanced teaching tools that fit an emerging learning style, authors say.
“Due in large part to their high degree of technological literacy, today’s medical students are a radically different audience than the students of 15 to 20 years ago,†Frederick W. Kron, M.D., says of the so-called millennial generation.
“They are actually more comfortable in image-rich environments than with text.â€
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/08/11/medical-school-education-from-video-games/16680.html

Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 11, 2010
New research adds to the growing evidence that inadequate sleep can harm both the body and the mind.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that five nights of restricted sleep–four hours a night–affect the brain in a way similar to that seen after acute total sleep deprivation.
Although the new study was based on rats, researchers say the findings add to earlier studies suggesting the negative effects of restricted sleep for both the brain and the body.
The study appears in the current online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“There’s a huge amount of interest in sleep restriction in the field today,†says Dr. Chiara Cirelli, associate professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine and Public Health, who led the research.
Many people are sleep restricted, either because they have to or because they choose to be, she says.
“Instead of going to bed when they are tired, like they should, people watch TV and want to have an active social life,†she says. “People count on catching up on their sleep on the weekends, but it may not be enough.”
This “casual†lack of sleep can be harmful.
“Even relatively mild sleep restriction for several nights can affect an individual’s ability to perform cognitive tasks,†Cirelli says.
“For instance, recent studies in humans have shown that 5 days with only 4 hours of sleep/night result in cumulative deficits in vigilance and cognition, and these deficits do not fully recover after one night of sleep, even if 10 hours in bed are allowed. Sleep restriction can also increase resistance to insulin, leading to a risk of diabetes.”
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/08/11/cumulative-sleep-deprivation-harms-brain-and-body/16682.html
 
ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2010) — Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a potential new strategy for treating fragile X syndrome — the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability.
The researchers have found that a class of drugs called phosphoinositide-3 (PI3) kinase inhibitors can correct defects in the anatomy of neurons seen in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome. In experiments with cultured neurons from the hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning and memory, the drugs could restore normal appearance and levels of protein production at synapses, the junctions between cells where chemical communication occurs.
The results, published online in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that PI3 kinase inhibitors could help improve learning and cognition in individuals with fragile X syndrome.
“This is an important first step toward having a new therapeutic strategy for fragile X syndrome that treats the underlying molecular defect, and it may be more broadly applicable to other forms of autism,” says senior author Gary Bassell, professor of cell biology and neurology at Emory University School of Medicine. He adds that his group has recently begun experiments in the mouse model to assess PI3 kinase inhibitors’ effects on behaviors associated with fragile X syndrome.
The first author of the paper is postdoctoral fellow Christina Gross. Collaborators included Keqiang Ye, PhD, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, and Stephen Warren, PhD, professor and chairman of human genetics.
In the United States, fragile X syndrome is the most common known one-gene cause of autism, accounting for between two and five percent of cases. Mutations in the PTEN gene and tuberous sclerosis genes, which in humans can lead to autism, also perturb the signaling of the PI3 kinase pathway, Bassell says. This connection suggests that PI3 kinase inhibition might be a viable strategy for treating individuals with mutations affecting this pathway.
While clinical trials in humans testing the effectiveness of another class of drugs, metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonists, against fragile X are well underway, Bassell says “the new approach may offer a different way to calm the overactive signaling, and also restore the glutamate receptor sensitivity that is lost in fragile X.”
The genetic mutation responsible for fragile X prevents production of an RNA binding protein, FMRP, which regulates the production of many other proteins at synapses of brain cells. FMRP’s absence leads to overactive signaling and protein production at synapses.
“The focus in the field has been on glutamate receptor antagonists,” Bassell says. “The effects on glutamate receptor signaling are a big piece of fragile X, but they’re not the only piece.”
At their synapses, fragile X neurons produce proteins indiscriminately compared to unaffected neurons, he says. The “overexuberant” protein production leads to structural changes at their synapses, including a hyperabundance of dendritic spines. These spines are small protrusions that transmit electrical signals to adjacent neurons, and contribute to the communication between individual neurons in the brain.
Gross and Bassell discovered that in cells from mice where the FMRP gene has been deleted, the PI3 kinase enzyme is three times more active. PI3 kinase regulates protein synthesis in response to the electrochemical signals neurons send each other. The authors showed that tamping down PI3 kinase activity in fragile X neurons can restore normal levels of both protein synthesis and dendritic spine density.
PI3 kinase inhibitors are already under investigation for their anti-cancer properties, and some drugs of this type, such as wortmannin, can be toxic to normal cells. Bassell notes that this type of drugs would need to be used at low doses to only dampen excess signaling of protein production caused by fragile x. The drugs his team tested were effective in correcting fragile X molecular defects at levels five times lower than those usually employed, and did not reduce protein production in normal cells.
Bassell anticipates that drugs that preferentially inhibit the subtype of PI3 kinase present only in neurons hold greater promise as a novel therapeutic strategy.
“A few of these subtype-specific drugs are already available for researchers, and we are involved in efforts to test these more specific drugs in the fragile x mouse model,” he says.
“This is a really exciting time for fragile x research because progress is occurring at a fast pace,” Gross says. “I look forward to testing our theory of this mechanistic link between fragile x and autism, which suggests that a specific drug treatment could be broadly applicable.”
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Fragile X Foundation.
Source:Â http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100810203501.htm
 
ScienceDaily (Aug. 9, 2010) — Antidepressants commonly prescribed to people with autistic spectrum disorders cannot be recommended based on current evidence, a new study by Cochrane Researchers concludes. Despite some evidence of benefits in adults diagnosed with autism, they say there is no evidence for any benefits associated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in children, who may suffer serious adverse effects as a result of taking the drugs.
Autistic spectrum disorders are difficult to treat because of the range of symptoms experienced by patients, including difficulties with social interactions and communication. SSRIs are among the most commonly prescribed medications, although none have been specifically approved by any drug authority for use in autism. In the UK, most antidepressants are not approved for children for any condition. The rationale behind the use of SSRIs in autism is that they act on serotonin, the same chemical in the body that is responsible for some of the psychological processes affected by the condition.
The researchers included a total of seven trials, involving 271 patients, in their study. The trials evaluated fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, fenfluramine and citalopram. Overall, the researchers found no benefit in the five trials in children and some evidence of serious harm, including one child who suffered a prolonged seizure after taking citalopram. The two trials in adults were very small and thus, although there was some evidence for improvement in symptoms, the authors concluded there was too little evidence for the drugs to be recommended. A major problem with analysing the results was that all the trials used different measures for assessing the drugs’ effects.
“We can’t recommend SSRIs as treatments for children, or adults, with autism at this time. However, decisions about the use of SSRIs for co-occurring obsessive-compulsive disorder, aggression, anxiety or depression in individuals with autism should be made on a case by case basis,” said lead author Katrina Williams of the School of Women’s and Children’s Health at the University of New South Wales & Sydney Children’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
“Not all the SSRIs currently in use have undergone controlled trials for autistic spectrum disorders, but parents are often anxious to try treatments regardless of the lack of evidence. It’s important that doctors are open about the lack of evidence, and explain any risks fully, before prescribing these treatments.”
Source:Â http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100808212808.htm
Reno Williams (Special thanks to news-press.com)
A Cape Coral 12-year-old who educates local students and families about autism has a national platform to inspire many more.
Reno Williams is featured in the documentary, “Walking In The Dark: Finding The Light In Autism.”
The film follows seven families with autistic children and shows the different therapies and approaches they take to manage the developmental disability.
Reno was born legally blind — now he is just visually impaired — and was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. This condition includes symptoms such as social awkwardness, singular focus and high intelligence.
Reno, who attends Trafalgar Middle School, gives presentations to his peers at area schools so he can reduce the stigma associated with autism.
His goal is to teach other children how to be a good friend to kids with autism, Reno said.
Brian Dery, president of Triple Knot Productions and director of “Walking in the Dark,” found Reno’s story compelling.
“Reno Williams is someone with autism who gives back,” Brian said. “He does motivational speaking and he educates others about how to treat those with autism and Asperger’s. He brings it all home.”
Brian worked on the film for the past year and a half. It premiered June 6 at the University of South Florida. A Fort Myers screening takes place Saturday evening.
Read in Full:Â http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20108090306
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 9, 2010
A new study has found that psychiatrists can accurately assess a patient’s mental health by viewing web-based or e-mail files.
Specifically, University of California at Davis investigators found psychiatrists could diagnose and counsel individuals after viewing videotaped interviews that are sent via telecommunications lines.
The approach, called asynchronous telepsychiatry, uses store-and-forward technology, in which medical information is retrieved, stored and transmitted for later review using e-mail or Web applications.
It has been used extensively for specialties like dermatology, with photos of skin conditions sent to dermatologists, or X-rays sent to radiologists for assessment.
However, the current study is the first to examine store-and-forward technology for psychiatry, said Peter Yellowlees, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UC-Davis and the study’s lead author.
“A Feasibility Study of the Use of Asynchronous Telepsychiatry for Psychiatric Consultations†is published in the August issue of the journal Psychiatric Services.
“We’ve demonstrated that this approach is feasible and very efficient,†said Yellowlees, who is an internationally recognized expert in telepsychiatry.
“Using store-and-forward technology allows us to provide opinions to primary-care doctors much more quickly than would usually be the case.â€
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/08/09/internet-counseling-aids-mental-health/16576.html
 
ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2010) — Scientists from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s College London have developed a pioneering new method of diagnosing autism in adults. For the first time, a quick brain scan that takes just 15 minutes can identify adults with autism with over 90 per cent accuracy. The method could lead to the screening for autism spectrum disorders in children in the future.
The team used an MRI scanner to take pictures of the brain’s grey matter. A separate imaging technique was then used to reconstruct these scans into 3D images that could be assessed for structure, shape and thickness — all intricate measurements that reveal Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at its root. By studying the complex and subtle make-up of grey matter in the brain, the scientists can use biological markers, rather than personality traits, to assess whether or not a person has ASD.
ASD is a lifelong and disabling condition caused by abnormalities in brain development. It affects about one per cent of the UK population (half a million people), the majority of these being men (4:1 male to female). Until now, diagnosis has mainly relied on personal accounts from friends or relatives close to the patient — a long and drawn-out process hinged on the reliability of this account and requiring a team of experts to interpret the information.
Dr Christine Ecker, a Lecturer in the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences from the IoP, who led the study, said: “The value of this rapid and accurate tool to diagnose ASD is immense. It could help to alleviate the need for the emotional, time consuming and expensive diagnosis process which ASD patients and families currently have to endure. We now look forward to testing if our methods can also help children.”
Professor Declan Murphy, Professor of Psychiatry and Brain Maturation at the IoP, who supervised the research, said: “Simply being diagnosed means patients can take the next steps to get help and improve their quality of life. People with autism are affected in different ways; some can lead relatively independent lives while others need specialist support or are so severely affected they cannot communicate their feelings and frustrations at all. Clearly the ethical implications of scanning people who may not suspect they have autism needs to be handled carefully and sensitively as this technique becomes part of clinical practice.”
Professor Christopher Kennard, Chair of the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) Neuroscience and Mental Health funding board, said: “Bringing together the knowledge gained from neuroscience in the laboratory and careful clinical and neuropsychological evaluation in the clinic has been key to the success of this new diagnostic tool. In fact, this approach to research is a crucial theme throughout the MRC’s strategy. We know that an investment like this can dramatically affect the quality of life for patients and their families. The more we understand about the biological basis of autism, the better equipped we will be to find new ways of treating those affected in the future.”
The research studied 20 healthy adults, 20 adults with ASD, and 19 adults with ADHD. All participants were males aged between 20 and 68 years. After first being diagnosed by traditional methods (an IQ test, psychiatric interview, physical examination and blood test), scientists used the newly-developed brain scanning technique as a comparison. The brain scan was highly effective in identifying individuals with autism and may therefore provide a rapid diagnostic instrument, using biological signposts, to detect autism in the future.
The research was undertaken using the A.I.M.S. (Autism Imaging Multicentre Study) Consortium, which is funded by the MRC. Support funding was also provided by the Wellcome Trust and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
The paper — “Describing the brain in autism in five dimensions — MRI-assisted diagnosis using a multi-parameter classification approach” — is published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Source:Â http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100810203505.htm



