First Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award, Antipsychotic Use and Gestational Diabetes Risk, and More From APA’s 2018 Annual Meeting: Day Four

Highlights of day four coverage from APA’s Annual Meeting include the presentation of the first Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award, a study that suggests a link between antipsychotic use during pregnancy and gestational diabetes, and a fellow’s efforts to help Haitians and other foreign nationals in the United States residing under Temporary Protected Status.

Through tomorrow, Psychiatric News is delivering an evening digest of some of the day’s highlights. Whether you are here in New York or at home, these reports will convey the excitement and outstanding scientific program being presented at this year’s meeting.

APA Presents First Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award to Global MH Rights NGO

APA’s 2018 Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award was presented to Janos Fiala-Butora, the executive director of the Validity Foundation at APA’s Annual Meeting on Monday. Validity works by filing lawsuits on behalf of individuals with mental illness and mental disabilities in Europe and Africa with the goal of setting legal precedents that will help all persons with mental disabilities attain inclusion, education, and equality. Read More >

Assembly Announces 2018 Election Results

At its meeting held in conjunction with APA’s 2018 Annual Meeting in New York, members of the APA Assembly chose Paul O’Leary, M.D. (right), of Birmingham, Ala., as the group’s next speaker-elect. He is currently the Assembly’s recorder. Seeth Vivek, M.D., of Queens, N.Y., was elected recorder. Vivek is the Area 2 representative. The new officers will begin their terms at the close of the Annual Meeting, at which time James (Bob) R. Batterson, M.D., will become the speaker of the Assembly.

Computational Psychiatry Might Be a Game Changer, says NIMH Director

Most clinicians might think of data mining when the term computational psychiatry comes up, but there are other applications facilitated by computers that researchers may be able to use to better understand the complexity of the brain. Read More >

Continuing Olanzapine, Quetiapine During Pregnancy Appears to Raise Risk of Gestational Diabetes

Women who continue use of the antipsychotic drugs olanzapine and quetiapine during pregnancy have an increased risk of gestational diabetes, according to a study in AJP in Advance that was released at APA’s Annual Meeting. Read More >

Columbia Fellow From Haiti Leads Effort to Help Haitians and Others Losing ‘Protected Status’

Jennifer Severe, M.D., a public psychiatry fellow at Columbia University, is leading an effort by a small group of physicians to rally support for Haitians and other foreign nationals in the United States residing under Temporary Protected Status. Part of that effort involved reaching out to attendees at APA’s 2018 Annual Meeting by sponsoring a booth in the Exhibit Hall. Read More >

Switzerland Halts War on Drugs, Cuts Opioid Deaths by Offering Range of Treatments for Heroin Users

Switzerland has found an unorthodox method—at least by U.S. standards—of solving its opioid crisis: decriminalizing substance use; offering 24-hour-a-day access to methadone programs; and for treatment-resistant cases, offering pharmaceutical-grade heroin in clinics.
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Winners of Resident/Medical Student Poster Competition Announced

The Resident/Medical Student Poster Competition is an APA Annual Meeting tradition that allows residents and medical students to attend the meeting, present their research, and be recognized for quality work.
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