For most of its history, medicine has been male oriented. Doctors, research subjects, and patients were nearly all men, and medication dosages were considered to be Aone size fits all.A That orientation has changed dramatically. The medical profession now recognizes that women's physiology is different and realizes that womenAs health is one of its leading issues.  Our relatively recent efforts to understand sex differences in the onset, presentation, course, and treatment of mental illnesses are yielding sometimes striking results. Why is schizophrenia so much more common in men, and why does it have an earlier onset and a more malignant course? Do estrogens protect against schizophrenia? Why do women have higher rates of mood disorders and increasing rates of substance abuse?  Representing the work of 60 distinguished contributors, this comprehensive summary answers these and many other questions concerning the psychological and pharmacological treatment of psychiatric illnesses in women, including useful information about recent developments in psychopharmacology, physiology, course and manifestation, and the interaction between social and biological factors.  This eye-opening book is divided into five parts: -Anxiety disorders and other related disordersAPanic, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse disorder associated with PTSD, featuring research that continues to uncover promising hypotheses to explain gender differences in prevalence and treatment rates -Major depressive disorder and related disordersAThe role of womenAs reproductive cycle in precipitating or exacerbating mood instability; psychopharmacology of antidepressants; effects of hormones (especially estrogen); sex differences in brain structure and function; and pharmacokinetic differences in rates of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination -Schizophrenia and related disordersAOrigins and progression; neurocognition and symptom expression, with the central role of gonadal hormones; the effect of estrogen (menopause coincides with worsening symptoms); neuroleptic-induced hyperprolactinemia; quality-of-life considerations and systems of care; and schizophreniaAs impact on the family in our post-institutionalization age -Dementia and related disordersAOverview of AlzheimerAs disease (AD) research from the National Institute on Aging, recent clinical trials that suggest the treatment efficacy of estrogen replacement, the central role of gonadal steroids in preventing and treating AD, and the challenges faced by women caregivers -Other psychiatric illnesses and special topicsAEpidemiology of substance abuse disorders, victimization, and PTSD; dissociative disorders (by far more prevalent in women than men); factors in the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa; treatment challenges during pregnancy; and women, ethnicity, and psychopharmacology Clinicians and laypersons alike will welcome this clearly written, definitive guide on the most recent developments in our understanding of the major differences in the brain anatomy, physiology, and epidemiology of psychiatric illnesses between women and men.

Psychiatric Illness in Women: Emerging Treatments and Research PDF

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