A patient presents with blurry vision for the past 6 months, decreased near vision in the left eye, and unilateral headaches. What should be in the list of differential diagnoses to ensure adequate management? Read this case report to find out more.
Is ECT an effective treatment option for severe and refractory manifestations of somatization disorder? In this review, the authors investigate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of ECT in somatization disorder.
Is pain associated with irritability and depression? This study aimed to evaluate relationships between these symptom categories and determine how they may relate to functional impairments.
Novel approaches are needed to assist rural primary care physicians in caring for older patients living with depression and pain who are at an elevated suicide risk. Read this article to find out more about the PREDICTOR model.
Here, read about 2 patients who utilized nonprescription stimulants for analgesia. One smoked methamphetamine for relief of chronic back pain, while another smoked cocaine for relief of eye pain secondary to a workplace injury.
This report describes the use of pramipexole to augment buprenorphine and antidepressant medications in a patient with depression and severe chronic back pain.
Do traumatic experiences contribute to the onset of tension headache? This authors of this study investigate this question and identify the defense styles that are more frequently used by patients with tension headache.
Most people with primary headache disorders, such as migraine, are undiagnosed. Read this PCC Supplement for updated classifications and assessments for patients with headache disorders and to identify and educate patients who are candidates for preventive treatment.
Low sodium can be a death knell if not caught early. Tramadol and some SSRIs can cause hyponatremia. It's not just the elderly who are vulnerable, as in this case of a 52-year-old woman with alcohol use disorder and taking an antidepressant.
In the search for a cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder, 2 theories have predominated: increased activity in the orbitofrontal cortex and low activity in the serotonergic system. Using fMRI and auditory-evoked potentials, this study investigated a possible connection between the two hypotheses.
Baclofen, a French Exception, Seriously Harms Alcohol Use Disorder Patients Without Benefit
To the Editor: Dr Andrade’s analysis of the Bacloville trial in a recent Clinical and Practical Psychopharmacology column, in which he concluded that “individualized treatment with high-dose baclofen (30-300 mg/d) may be a useful second-line approach in heavy drinkers” and that “baclofen may be particularly useful in patients with liver disease,” deserves comment.1
First, Andrade failed to recall that the first pivotal trial of baclofen, ALPADIR (NCT01738282; 320 patients, as with Bacloville), was negative (see Braillon et al2).
Second, Dr Andrade should have warned readers that Bacloville’s results are most questionable, lacking robustness. Although he cited us,3 he overlooked the evidence we provided indicating that the Bacloville article4 was published without acknowledging major changes to the initial protocol, affecting the primary outcome. Coincidentally (although as skeptics, we do not believe in coincidence), the initial statistical team was changed when data were sold to the French pharmaceutical company applying for the marketing authorization in France. As Ronald H. Coase warned, “If you torture the data long enough, it will confess.”
MY ACCOUNT