New DSM5 Diagnosis of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder Under Scrutiny

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) is a new entity coming to DSM5 in May 2013 that describes children with noncyclic but frequent and severe outbursts along with a chronically irritable mood.  The diagnosis was built to capture many children who have previously been diagnosed with entities such as Bipolar Disorder. The disorder remains controversial and this […]

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Trends in Antipsychotic Medication Use 1993-2009

A new study in the Archives of General Psychiatry reports on the increasing use of antipsychotic medications in youth.  The study analyzed nearly half a million medical visits over a 17 year span (1993 through 2009).  Results showed that the number of medical visits that included an antipsychotic medication per 100 persons rose in children […]

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What about Intermittent Explosive Disorder?

Primary care clinicians are becoming increasingly comfortable with diagnoses such as ADHD, OCD, and even depression but what about Intermittent explosive disorder (IED, not to be confused with improvised explosive device)?   IED refers to individuals who experience recurrent episodes of aggression that is disproportionate to the precipitating trigger and that the person finds unable to […]

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Risperidone Beats Lithium and Divalproex for Pediatric Bipolar Disorder

by John Koutras, MD A recent NIMH funded study in the May issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry found risperidone to be more efficacious than lithium or divalproex sodium for childhood mania.  The Treatment of Early Age Mania (TEAM) study comes from 5 centers across the country.  The trial was a controlled, randomized, but […]

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DSM5 and the New Disruptive Mood Dysregulation with Dysphoria Diagnosis

Debate continues to swirl around what diagnosis to apply to children who seem to be chronically and, at times, explosively irritable.  Since some influential papers in the 1990s, many of these children have now been given the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and subsequently treated as such with mood stabilizers and antipsychotic medications. Increasing concern about […]