Monoamine transporters, such as the dopamine transporter, 5-HT transporter and noradrenaline transporter, in the plasma membrane provide effective control over the intensity of monoamine-mediated signaling by recapturing neurotransmitters released by presynaptic neurons. These proteins represent established targets for several psychotropic drugs, including psychostimulants and antidepressants; ...

A clinical approach to the understanding of disturbances of the psyche that otherwise would be regarded as pathological states of mind is described. A parallel is drawn between psychoanalytic object relations theory and "spiritual object relations," working from the premise that mind comes before matter. A number of clinical examples illustrate how both psychological and spiritual interpretatio...

OBJECTIVES To explore doctors' perceptions of the acceptable limits to self-treatment and to identify barriers to doctors seeking appropriate healthcare. DESIGN Self-completion, postal survey using three hypothetical case vignettes. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS 896 Australian doctors randomly selected from the Health Insurance Commission database and stratified by sex, discipline (general pract...

Introduction: Psychotropic drugs exert their effects, in part, by increasing neurotrophin levels in the brain. Nerve growth factor (NGF) protein levels after treatment with only a limited number of psychotropics have been determined. The present study was designed in order to evaluate the effects of acute and chronic administration of different psychotropic drugs on NGF protein levels in fiv...

CONTEXT Studies have revealed that youth in foster care covered by Medicaid insurance receive psychotropic medication at a rate > 3 times that of Medicaid-insured youth who qualify by low family income. Systematic data on patterns of medication treatment, particularly concomitant drugs, for youth in foster care are limited. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this work was to describe and quantify patte...

Psychotropic medication use by children in the USA has increased. We used the IMS MIDAS Prescribing Insights to examine prescribing trends in nine countries between the years 2000 and 2002. Trends in seven countries rose significantly from year 2000 to 2002; the UK had the highest increase (68%).