Updates about psychiatry and our practice.
We are very excited that Dr. Peter Forster has been selected as one of the Best Doctors in America by his peers. Best Doctors was set up as an organization to promote the highest quality healthcare by a group of Harvard physicians and since its founding has focused on identifying the best doctors and the best practices in healthcare. As …
Predicting lithium response with brain imaging may be an option in the future if the preliminary results of a study published in 2017 are confirmed. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati used three tools to create a program that was remarkably successful at predicting which bipolar patients would respond to lithium. 20 first onset bipolar patients who received adequate trials …
Understanding the neurobiology of depression involves more than just knowing about serotonin, we need to know how state and trait brain function in depression is different from brain functioning in those who have never had a major depression. State and trait are key concepts in understanding psychiatric conditions: state refers to those alterations in functioning that occur when someone is …
A single infusion of ketamine reduces suicidal thoughts in depressed patients in one day, with benefits lasting for up to one week, according to a meta-analysis reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Further, ketamine did not seem to be just treating depression, it seemed to have an effect on suicidal thinking that was greater than its effect on depression “This suggests that …
Gateway Psychiatric is happy to make medication home delivery available to its patients in the Bay Area through a partnership with Alto Pharmacy. Alto Pharmacy is dedicated to improving the pharmacy experience for doctors and patients. Alto takes all major insurance and guarantees the lowest price. In addition, Alto will automatically apply any manufacturer coupons available to reduce out of …
The news that bipolar depression light therapy may be effective is good news and follows a series of studies this past year highlighting the importance of treatments that affect circadian rhythms by manipulating light and dark in treating mood disorders. Bipolar depression is one of the hardest conditions to treat effectively. Antidepressant medications may have significant side effects, including inducing mania, …
One of my patients asked me what the long term effects of ketamine are. She was particularly interested in long-term adverse effects. The last time I did a review of the literature I noted that there seem to be very little information available. This is not surprising with the psychiatric literature since ketamine and its use for chronic depression are …
Why a post about how to supercharge your circadian rhythms? The fact is that for a lot of us our bodies and our brains have a hard time adapting to modern life and the result is poor quality sleep, daytime fatigue, and, for some, depression. What Are Circadian Rhythms? Circadian rhythms are what allow your body to go from vigorous …
Last year the New York Times reviewed two websites that offered significant medication cost savings, for those without adequate insurance and, even for those with good insurance who are getting expensive medications. Since then we have had a lot more experience working with patients to help reduce medication costs and we can definitely say that these sites can help reduce …
