A 3-part series on the manifestations of physician burnout, how COVID-19 changed its scope and revealed systemic fractures, and finally, the path towards resolution and reformation. 

Crisis Point: The Physician Burnout Crisis

. Prior to joining MJH Life Sciences in 2019, he worked as a digital reporter covering nanotechnology, life sciences, material science and more with 

. He graduated with a degree in journalism from Temple University in 2008 and began his career as a local reporter for a chain of weekly newspapers based on the Jersey shore. When not working, he enjoys going to the beach and enjoying the shore in the summer and watching North Carolina Tar Heel basketball in the winter.

And the rates and severity of postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety has only increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anita Clayton, MD, chair of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, explained in an interview with 

 why many women are facing these postpartum concerns.

“So I’d say that women who do have postpartum depression often attribute it to other things,” Clayton said. “The baby is up in the night and they need to breastfeed it. That they aren’t getting much sleep. That they need to lose weight.”

2022 Annual Psychiatric Times™ World CME Conference

Clayton also discussed how critical it is for OBGYN doctors to collaborate with psychiatrists when an issue is identified.

“I think the area that OBGYN’s are most concerned about is postpartum depression from their mothers or just from neglect because the mother is depressed,” she said.

Clayton went on to say there is a recommended screening tool commonly used in the US for postpartum depression and there is also an intravenous treatment that has shown promise in this patient population.

Videos

Postpartum depression rates have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.

News

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Conference

 conference coverage page features articles, videos, and expert-led live coverage from major medical meetings throughout the year.

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Major Depressive Disorder condition center page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into depression can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on MDD research, treatment, and drug development.

Obstetrics & Gynecology

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Psychiatry

Psychiatry condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on mental illnesses. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and more.

Anita Clayton, MD: Women's Issues in Psychiatry

Identifying and forecasting when a patient might become 

 in San Diego on August 12, Michael Thase, MD, professor of psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, spoke about the need for more medications for treatment-resistant depression.

, Thase explained how there is a segment of the population that the existing medications just will not work for them.

“For many people depression is a short lasting somewhat limiting condition,” Thase said. “Sometimes people can’t get out of it.”

Thase said one of the risk factors for this type of depression is substance use, such as drugs and alcohol. And the COVID-19 only exacerbated some of those issues.

“Rates of depression have gone up during the pandemic,” Thase said. “And since one risk factor for becoming chronically depressed is not getting help and since the pandemic has challenged the treatment capability of society, more people are not only depressed but fewer people are getting help. I am fairly confident we are going to have trouble ahead.”

Alcohol, stress, drug use, and not seeking help are all risk factors for chronic depression.

Michael Thase, MD: Risk Factors for Chronically Depressed Patients

 is something that has become much more complex in recent decades.

Whether or not the drug has positive psychiatric effects can be largely based on the individual percentages of the 2 main compounds of marijuana--tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

, John J. Miller, MD, Medical Director, Brain Health Website, Seacoast Mental Health Center and co-chair of the 

 in San Diego, explained how complicated the guidance for promoting cannabis is for patients with conditions like depression and anxiety.

“One of the biggest issues currently is that cannabis is a very vague and general term,” Miller said. “Back in the early 60s when it was being used recreationally it was from the original plant. Those strains of cannabis had about 2% THC and 2% CBD.”

Miller said the CBD molecule is the part that has shown efficacy in treating conditions like psychosis and anxiety, while also having inflammatory properties.

He also said 1 of the issues with current studies is they will use the term “cannabis” without breaking down the percentages of THC and CBD.

“A lot of the literature because it doesn’t differentiate the components of the cannabis it is hard to draw evidence based conclusions that we can apply clinically,” Miller said.

CBD has shown promise in treating anxiety and psychosis. 

John J. Miller, MD: Guidance on Cannabis Use in Psychiatry

There remains significant gaps in treatment for patients with 

, particularly when the disease is identified early.

 in San Diego on August 12, Christopher Schneck

University of Colorado HIV Clinic, talked about how we can improve treatment strategies when bipolar disorder is identified early.

“Really this is thinking about what groups who have not fully developed bipolar disorder can we stage an intervention,” Schneck said. “And thinking about both psychopharmaceutic interventions and psychotherapeutic interventions. There really isn’t much out there in the literature.”

In combat these gaps in care, Schneck said there have been a number of recent studies involving both adult patients with bipolar disorder and pediatric patients as well.

He also said studies have looked at siblings of patients with bipolar disorder.

“The way families interact with each other has a great influence on a child’s developmental process and ultimately the development or not of the mood disorder.”

Schneck said there is a 12 session model for treatment in which he will educate both the patient and families about the illness and how to effectively communicate with each other.

There remains a need for better treatments for bipolar disorder when it is identified early. 

Bipolar Disorder

The HCPLive bipolar disorder page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on BPD. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments for bipolar disease, and more.

Christopher Schneck, MD: Early Interventions for Bipolar Disorder

Symptom crossover remains a main reason why diagnostically, mixed feature 

 or unipolar depression are very difficult conditions to identify.

“Someone who is for instance irritable, agitated, just all around moody, might get conceptionally as someone in a mixed state,” Joseph Goldberg, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine said in an interview with

. “But you have to rule out other conditions that involve those types of symptoms and there are many.”

Goldberg participated in the “Medical Crossfire: Treatment Approaches to Mixed Features of Bipolar vs Unipolar Depression,” during the conference with Nassir Ghaemi, MD, of Tufts University School of Medicine and Sanjai Rao, MD, of the University of California, San Diego

The doctors discussed issues with mixed feature depression in a debate style format.

Mixed feature depression can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can be similar to other psychiatric disorders.

Joseph Goldberg, MD: Treating Mixed Feature Depression

There remains a need for more research into the connection between grief and depression following a death.

M. Katherine Shear, MD: Addressing Grief After a Loss

Borderline personality disorder remains one of the most difficult to understand conditions in psychiatry.

Larry Culpepper, MD: The Challenge of Treating BPD

Esketamine is seen as a major breakthrough in finding more treatments for depression.

Michael Thase, MD: New Medications for Treatment-Resistant Depression

Dr. Shear talked about the similarities and differences between depression and grief and the importance of recognizing both. 

Geriatrics

Geriatric medicine condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on frequent geriatric-related diseases and conditions. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for sleep disorder, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and more.

COVID-19

COVID-19 page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into coronavirus can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on COVID-19 research, treatment, and drug development.

M. Katherine Shear, MD: Bereavement and Depression

Biree Andemariam, MD, describes the impact of red blood cell form and function on sickle cell disease and how to approach assessment of red blood cell health.

RBC Health: Form, Function, and Pathways

Wally R. Smith, MD, shares an overview of red blood cells focusing on their role in oxygen metabolism and energy production; and highlights the impact of dehydration on red blood cell health in the human body.

Role of Red Blood Cells (RBC) in the Human Body

Articles

A high calorie, high fat diet is needed for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) to maintain a normal weight resulting in an emphasized focus on their nutrition and weight management.

Rare Disease Report®

The Rare Disease Report page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on rare diseases. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments for sickle cell disease, multiple myeloma, and more.

Pulmonology

Infectious Disease condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on respiratory health. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease, COVID-19, and more.

Increased Risk of Eating Disorders, ARFID Among Cystic Fibrosis Population

Jonathan Alicea is an assistant editor for 

. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree with English and minors in Linguistics and Theater. He spends his free time writing plays, playing PlayStation, enjoying the company of his 2 pugs, and navigating a right-handed world as a lefty. You can email him at 

Previous smaller studies have suggested a link between sleep disorders and dementia.

Sleep

On the HCPLive sleep page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into sleep medicine can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, and more.

Sleep Disorder May Increase Short-Term Risk for Late-Onset Dementia

The newest indications for the novel oral antiviral drug will make it available as an acute treatment and prophylaxis for children this flu season.

Influenza

The HCPLive influenza page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on the flu. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments for influenza, and more.

Infectious Disease

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Pediatrics

Pediatrics page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into childhood health care can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on pediatric disease research, treatment, and drug development.

FDA Approves Baloxavir Marboxil to Treat, Prevent Flu in Younger At-Risk Children

Connor Iapoce is an associate editor for 

 and joined the MJH Life Sciences team in April 2021. He graduated from The College of New Jersey with a degree in Journalism and Professional Writing. He enjoys listening to records, going to concerts, and playing with his cat Squish. You can reach him at 

The findings suggest access to the vaccine was lowest among those who reported blindness, deafness, or multiple disabilities. 

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

age-related macular degeneration condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on retina disease. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for patients with AMD.

Latest News

Anita Clayton, MD: Women's Issues in Psychiatry

Michael Thase, MD: Risk Factors for Chronically Depressed Patients

John J. Miller, MD: Guidance on Cannabis Use in Psychiatry

Christopher Schneck, MD: Early Interventions for Bipolar Disorder

Joseph Goldberg, MD: Treating Mixed Feature Depression