Background: The demand for clinically efficacious, safe, patient acceptable, and cost-effective forms of treatment for mental illness is growing. Several studies have demonstrated benefit from yoga in specific psychiatric symptoms and a general sense of well-being.Objective: To systematically examine the evidence for efficacy of yoga in the treatment of selected major psychiatric disorders.Methods: Electronic searches of The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the standard bibliographic databases, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO, were performed through April 2011 and an updated in June 2011 using the keywords yoga AND psychiatry OR depression OR anxiety OR schizophrenia OR cognition OR memory OR attention AND randomized controlled trial (RCT). Studies with yoga as the independent variable and one of the above mentioned terms as the dependent variable were included and exclusion criteria were applied.Results: The search yielded a total of 124 trials, of which 16 met rigorous criteria for the final review. Grade B evidence supporting a potential acute benefit for yoga exists in depression (four RCTs), as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in schizophrenia (three RCTs), in children with ADHD (two RCTs), and Grade C evidence in sleep complaints (three RCTs). RCTs in cognitive disorders and eating disorders yielded conflicting results. No studies looked at primary prevention, relapse prevention, or comparative effectiveness versus pharmacotherapy.Conclusion: There is emerging evidence from randomized trials to support popular beliefs about yoga for depression, sleep disorders, and as an augmentation therapy. Limitations of literature include inability to do double-blind studies, multiplicity of comparisons within small studies, and lack of replication. Biomarker and neuroimaging studies, those comparing yoga with standard pharmaco- and psychotherapies, and studies of long-term efficacy are needed to fully translate the promise of yoga for enhancing mental health.

Geriatricians are increasingly encountering older adults expressing suicidal wishes in the absence of overt mental illness. This is expected to grow as life expectancy increases. This article describes the case of an older adult who expressed the wish to end his life in the absence of a diagnosable mental illness. Although he had chronic medical illnesses, he was not terminally ill. The complex subject of rational suicide in elderly adults is approached from a clinician's perspective. Issues of ageism, gerontophobia, and changing perspectives on death are highlighted. The experience of being a Baby Boomer and its influence on rational suicide is reviewed. Finally, clinical topics such as aging, frailty, dependence on younger and healthier individuals, and the older adult's need for a sense of control are explored.

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Premorbid personality traits have been implicated as risk factors for the development of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), although there is a paucity of studies investigating this relationship. In this narrative review, a number of studies found that premorbid neuroticism has consistently been observed to have a significant association with the development of BPSD symptoms while premorbid conscientiousness, extraversion, openness and agreeableness may be protective factors against future BPSD symptoms. In conclusion, premorbid personality traits appear to affect the risk of BPSD symptoms among individuals with dementia.

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