Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition typically arising in childhood, which untreated, can have consequences reaching into adolescence and beyond. Effective pharmacological treatment is available and has become widespread in the West. Outcomes for both the child with ADHD and the parent may be influenced by the nature of interaction between them. The authors of this article aim to review published research examining the interaction between parents and their children with ADHD. A PubMed search was conducted of studies written in English between 2000 and 2007 with the keywords ADHD and parenting. Child ADHD elicits high levels of parental stress and maladaptive parenting. The presence of parental psychopathology is common and influences the parent's response to the child's ADHD symptoms. Optimizing parent-child interaction and parental psychiatric status may improve outcomes for both parent and child.
Methadone is highly effective in treating opioid dependence, and it is also used as an analgesic for secondline management of chronic pain. However, recent increases in methadone-related deaths have instigated controversy about the use of this medication. In this paper, we evaluate risk factors for methadone mortality in opioid dependent and pain populations and present guidelines for initiating methadone treatment in these two populations to minimize the risk of death. Early research with methadone-maintained patients revealed that methadone fatalities occur primarily due to respiratory arrest during methadone induction and in the context of polysubstance use. Recent reports of methadone deaths emphasize chronic pain populations, methadone-related QTc prolongation, and the possibility of inducing Torsade de pointes (TdP), a potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmia. Retrospective analyses of these deaths show that patients who develop TdP often present with multiple risk factors, including high methadone doses, use of other medications that cause QTc prolongation, and electrolyte abnormalities. To minimize fatalities, guidelines are presented for initiating methadone in opioid treatment and pain populations that consider the drug's pharmacology along with behavioral, medical and psychiatric risk factors.
Epidemiological and clinical data suggest high rates of suicidal behavior in alcohol-dependent individuals. Suicide attempters are likely to be young, to be single or separated, and to have made prior attempts. They differ from non-attempters by higher levels of impulsive aggression, drug use, and psychiatric comorbidity, particularly personality and depressive disorders. Treatment-seeking, alcohol-dependent individuals often present with multiple risk factors. Early recognition of suicidal behavior is hindered, however, by insufficient data regarding the acute phenomenology of imminent risk. Similarly, little research is available to guide intervention efforts. Initial trials support the use of fluoxetine for the treatment of suicidal, alcohol-dependent persons with comorbid depressive disorders. Future studies may clarify the relative efficacy of various psychotherapeutic and pharmacological approaches to treating these patients.
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