Gottman's Magic Relationship Ratio

Today's Gossip Headline Reads: Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson Splits.

Honestly, the news didn't come as a huge surprise. If you are quite familiar with the Hollywood marriage culture, you must have seen it coming. Hollywood, also called the splitsville, is known to be the Divorce Capital of the world.

Reynolds and Johansson are the latest couple to enter the Hollywood's long list of "divorced" couple. It is really unfortunate for these two love birds because they look good together. I don't know what it is with Hollywood that makes most marriage crumble down so easily. Some say its the long working hours and distance, opportunities for temptation, over inflated ego and a lot more.

The Headline made me wonder about a concept I've came across just recently: Gottman's Magic Relationship Ratio.

According to Gottman, couple who maintain a 5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative interactions usually succeed more in marriage than those couples who fall below the 1 to 1 ratio. He explained that positive interactions build up "the reservoir of positive feeling". The reservoir of positive feeling is like a filing cabinet into which couples draw "good memories" during rough days.

Gottman did not advise against the idea of conflict because conflict helps couples clear the air and work out grievances. Conflict is actually crucial to success, it can be unhealthy for couples to hold in their negative opinions, according to Gottman.

If this is true, I hope all couples will have a chance to learn about this at one point in their married life.

10 Things to Say (and 10 Not to Say) to Someone With Depression

Do you know someone with depression? Health.com has release a list of things to say and not to say to someone with depression.

I’m here for you

What to say:
You’re not alone in this.

What NOT to say:
There’s always someone worse off than you are.

You matter

What to say:
You are important to me.

What NOT to say:
No one ever said that life was fair.

Let me help

What to say:
Do you want a hug?

What NOT to say:
Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

Depression is real

What to say:
You are not going crazy.

What NOT to say:
So you’re depressed. Aren’t you always?

There is hope

What to say:
We are not on this earth to see through one another, but to see one another through.

What NOT to say:
Try not to be so depressed.

You can survive this

What to say:
When all this is over, I’ll still be here and so will you.

What NOT to say:
It’s your own fault.

I’ll do my best to understand

What to say:
I can’t really understand what you are feeling, but I can offer my compassion.

What NOT to say:
Believe me, I know how you feel. I was depressed once for several days.

You won’t drive me away

What to say:
I’m not going to leave you or abandon you.

What NOT to say:
I think your depression is a way of punishing us.

I care about you

What to say:
I love you. (Say this only if you mean it.)

What NOT to say:
Haven’t you grown tired of all this “me, me, me” stuff yet?

We’ll get through this together

What to say:
I’m sorry that you’re in so much pain. I am not going to leave you. I am going to take care of myself, so you don’t need to worry that your pain might hurt me.

What NOT to say:
Have you tried chamomile tea?

AUTISM RESEARCH

CNN Reports today that:

Scientists are finding more pieces of the autism puzzle of with the help of MRI scans of brain circuitry, according to a study published Thursday online in the journal Autism Research.

By scanning the brain for 10 minutes using magnetic resonance imaging, researchers were able to measure six physical differences of microscopic fibers in the brains of 30 males with confirmed high-functioning autism and 30 males without autism.

The images of the brains helped researchers correctly identify those with autism with 94 percent accuracy, says Nicholas Lange, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and one of the study authors.

"No one has measured what we measured," says Lange of the MRI test he and Dr. Janet Lainhart from the University of Utah developed.

While previous studies using different types of scans have been able to identify people with autism, Lange says, "no one has looked at it [the brain] the way we have and no one has gotten these type of results."

Lange is quick to caution that this type of test is not yet ready for prime time. "We do not want to give anyone false hopes that this is ready for the clinic yet. This method, this test, needs to be tried [and confirmed] with many more subjects outside our laboratory," he says. Plus, the research needs to be expanded to many more study participants and tried on younger people with autism and those who are not as high-functioning as the subjects in this first trial.

Using the MRI, the study authors measured how the water in the brain flows along the axons or nerve fibers in the parts of the brain that control language, social and emotional functioning. The scans revealed that the wiring of the brains of those with autism was disorganized compared with the brains of a typical person without autism. This is how they could determine which brains scans belonged those study participants with autism.

The study included only males between the ages of 7 and 28 because they were part of a bigger research project at the University of Utah, which is following males with autism for a longer period. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 1 in 110 children in the United States have an autism spectrum disorder and boys are far more likely to have this neurological disorder that affects language and social behavior – that number is about 1 in 70. However future studies will include girls too.

Currently there's no biologic test for autism, so pediatricians look to see if a child is meeting certain developmental milestones as well as signs and symptoms of autism. (The advocacy group Autism Speaks has posted videos to help parents see the signs of autism)

The earlier a child has been identified as having autism, the earlier behavioral therapies can be applied to lessen the impact of the disorder later in life. Lange believes this brain scans can be done on younger children, as long as they can go to sleep in the scanner – on their own, without sedation (because you can't move during the test).

Carissa Cascio, an assistant professor of psychiatry from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, who specializes in autism and neuro-imaging, believes these study results are important. But she cautions that using this method as a true diagnostic tool to detect autism in a child is "a long way off." "What this paper seems to be doing is taking the first steps towards parlaying what we are able to glean from brain imaging into potential diagnostic tools."

Zachary Warren, who is the director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD), says since there are many types of autism, "it becomes very challenging to capture all these differences with one test." Still he believes this is new study can help pinpoint the earliest markers of concern in developing brains.

Psychotherapy shows more promise

Washington. Long term psychodynamic psychotherapy (LTPP), which stresses psychological support and intervention for patients based on their specific needs, seems more effective in treating complex psychiatric problems than short-term treatments that focus more on medications, a meta-analysis found.

“In this meta-analysis, LTPP was significantly superior to shorter-term methods of psychotherapy with regard to overall outcome, target problems, and personality functioning,” said lead researcher Falk Leichsenring of the University of Giessen, Geramany.

The meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association included 11 randomized controlled trials and 12 observational studies, involving a total of 1053 patients receiving LTPP. “(LTPP) yielded large and stable effect sizes in the treatment of patients with personality disorders, multiple mental disorders, and chronic mental disorders. The effect sizes for overall outcome increased significantly between end of therapy and follow-up,” Leichsenring stressed.

Patients undergoing LTPP on average saw better results 96 percent of the time than patients who received short-term intensive medication therapies.“Evidence indicates that short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy is insufficient for a considerable proportion of patients with complex mental disorders, i.e., patients with multiple or chronic mental disorders or personality disorders,” the authors said. “Some studies suggest that (LTPP) may be helpful for these patients, according to background information in the article,” they added.

*Source : Medical Observer, year 17, issue 10, Nov-Dec. 2008

Gulf War Syndrome alert!

Nearly two decades after the Gulf War, US veterans felt vindicated as congress has finally conferred them the medical recognition of the Gulf War Syndrome.
After coming home from the dusty battlefront terrains of the Middle East during 1991 conflict, more than a quarter of the 700,000 Gulf War troops reported persistent headaches, memory and concentration problems, unexplained fatigue and widespread pain. Some even included skin rashes, respiratory symptoms, and digestive problems. Turning their health concerns over to the medical community, Gulf War Veterans often find themselves in a position where their complaints are met with cynicism and suspicion.
Because of the complaints that these soldiers were not receiving adequate health care from the state, Washington, then, chartered the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veteran’s illnesses to investigate on the nature of the said illness.
Last November 2008, the panel has finally release its verdict. The committee confirmed the legitimacy of their claims. The 450 page-report concluded that Gulf War Syndrome is real and is caused by exposure to neurotoxic chemicals including pesticides and pyridostigmine bromide. The committee’s director, Roberta white of Boston University School of Public Health said that there is compelling evidences that substantiate veteran’s complains and their findings also support veteran’s belief that exposures to the toxic chemical during the Gulf War is related to their health problems.

Good Autism Practice Developing a Curriculum for Life

The Center for Autism and Related Disorder, Philippines (CARD,Phils) and Professionals for Autism Foundation Inc. (PAF) is holding a seminar on the 29-31 January 2009. World Expert on Autism, Ms. Rita R. Jordan shares her knowledge and insight on Autism. The seminar Good Autism Practice Developing a Curriculum for Life will be held on Every Nation – Leadership Institute, 32^nd street corner, University Parkway, Bonifacio Global City, Makati City.

For more information, check out their website www.cardphils.org or call (632) 820-8719

Lilly schizophrenia drug has risk of deep sedation

Update to those who are psycho serious about psychopharmacology.


Lilly schizophrenia drug has risk of deep sedation
by Jennifer Corbett Dooren

Washington- the U.S. Food and Drug administration said yesterday that a long-acting, injectable form of Eli Lilly & Co.'s top-selling drug Zypreexa was effective at treating schizophrenia, but caused "profound sedation" in certain patients.

A memo written by Thomas Laughren, the FDA's psychiatry products division director, and posted on the agency's Web site yesterday, said clinical studies of the drug showed 24 out of 1915 patients exposed to the long-acting form of Zyprexa suffered from profound sedation after receiving the injection. The FDA said the sedation typically lasted about one to three hours.

The long-acting form of Zyprexa faces a review by an FDA panel of outside medical experts tomorrow. The panel will be asked if that form of Zyprexa has been shown to be "acceptably safe" and effective for the treatment of schizophrenia. The panel's decision will amount to a recommendation about whether the FDA should approve the product. The FDA usually follows its panel's advice but isn't required to.

Zyprexia is currently approved as an oral, once-daily medication to ttreat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The drug had $4.8 billion in sales last year. There is also a short-acting injectable form of Zyprexa that is used to treat agitated, noncooperative patients with schizophrenia or bipolar mania, usually in an emergency setting.

Lilly is seeking FDA approval of the long-acting form of Zyprexa for the treatment of schizophrenia, which could be injected every two or four weeks. The product would be administered in a doctor's office.

Schizophrenia is a severe, disabling brain disorder that affects the way people think and afflicts about 1% of Americans. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, people with schizophrenia may hear voices other people don't hear of they may believe that others are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts or plotting to harm them. The disorder is typically diagnosed in a person's latge teens or 20s.

The FDA said the panel also will be asked to make recommendations about whether long-acting Zyprexa should carry a "blackbox" warning- the FDA's toughest drug precaution, which appears at the top of a product's label- or if the agency should consider approving the product for so called second line use after other drugs fail.

In documents also posted on the FDA's web site, Lilly said schizophrenia is a "chronic and devastating mental illness" and noted that "nonadherence with medication is common." The company said the injectable form of Zyprexa gives patients another treatment option.

Lilly said it believes the profound sedation associated with the long acting, injectable form of Zyprexa can be safely managed and said patients and health-care providers can be adequately warned of the risk.

The FDA said the sedation seen witht he long-acting form of Zyprexa appears unique to the injectable form of the drug and likely results from the rapid release of the drug into a patient's body after being injected.


source: The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5, 2008 p. 6