The team of Psychopathology.gr will participate in the 25th Panhellenic Psychiatric Congress, which is organized by the Hellenic Psychiatric Association and will be held in Corfu, on 11-14 May 2017, with new clinical workshops and with a presentation of its work.
The relevant materials will be presented on Psychopathology.gr after the end of the conference.
- CLINICAL WORKSHOP:
THE ROLE OF CLOZAPINE IN THE TREATMENT OF SCHIZOPHRENIA: NEW EVIDENCE AND USE IN THE COMMUNITY
With the sponsorship of MYLAN
Saturday 13/5, 10.30 AM – 12.00 PM
Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic with an indication for resistant schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and for reducing the risk of suicide in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. It is also recommended to treat aggressive behavior in patients with psychosis. Even with modern therapies, a large rate of patients with schizophrenia are resistant to treatment and must receive clozapine. Clozapine was found to be superior to other antipsychotics not only in respect of the therapeutic effect but also in respect of the patients' continuous treatment and quality of life, even when compared to slow-release injectable antipsychotics. However, some patients with resistant schizophrenia receiving clozapine do not present a satisfactory therapeutic effect. These patients are likely to not be receiving their medication in accordance with the medical guidelines or to not have therapeutic plasma levels of clozapine. In both cases, measuring clozapine plasma levels could solve the issue. Despite its recognized efficacy, clozapine is under-prescribed and the most likely reason for this is the profile of its side-effects. Awareness of the benefits of clozapine administration and of the methods for the management of its side effects can alleviate psychiatric concerns about prescribing it. There are dosing titration protocols of the drug for in-hospital and out-of-hospital administration. A very large number of psychiatrists shares the belief that the onset of treatment with clozapine should be performed in-hospital. Informing experts about the existence of the clozapine titration protocols outside of the hospital will help to promote its rational use with care but without fear. This training workshop provides newer evidence on the efficacy, safety and use of clozapine, as well as updates on the new perspectives in our country by measuring blood levels and implementing out-of-hospital protocols.
Chair:
George Konstantakopoulos
First Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, Athens & Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK
Panayiota Michalopoulou
Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London & South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Lectures:
Panayiota Michalopoulou
Clozapine for treatment-resistant schizophrenia: Still the Gold Standard?
Andreas Florakis
The usefulness of measuring the levels of clozapine in clinical practice. A program which will help the patients and support the psychiatrist in managing the medication.
Christos Liapis
Community rehabilitation: The value of clozapine.
- CLINICAL WORKSHOP:
GETTING TO KNOW DSM-5 - POSITIVE ASPECTS AND ISSUES
Organization: “Psychiatriki” Journal & Preventive Psychiatry Branch of the Hellenic Psychiatric Association
Friday 12/5, 13.30 PM – 15.00 PM
The 5th edition of the American Psychiatric Association diagnostic manual (DSM-5) marked the shift from the categorical approach of psychopathology (diagnosis based on the fulfillment or not of certain criteria) to the dimensional approach (determination of disorders through psychopathological dimensions of graded severity or intensity). However, it was ultimately limited to the introduction of certain "dimensional" elements, such as the possibility of graded symptom assessment and the alternative multidimensional model of personality disorders. Also, in addition to diagnosis, it suggests the use of specific clinical tools to detect and assess cross-cutting non-specific symptoms (such as depression, anger, mania, anxiety, etc.). The number of diagnoses described in DSM-5 is much greater than that of DSM-IV (541 versus 383). This increase is largely due to segregations and specializations of pre-existing disorders, however a significant number of new disorders are also introduced, such as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder with irritability, binge-eating disorder, hoarding disorder, and so on. There are also significant changes from DSM-IV in disorder diagnostic criteria and subtypes. Some of the new disorders discussed are proposed for further investigation, such as "impaired psychosis syndrome", suicidal behavior, non-suicidal self-injury, etc. The controversies that accompanied the compilation and publication of DSM-5 highlighted important issues for diagnostic systems in general and for the scientific documentation of psychiatric diagnosis. The risk for diagnostic hyperinflation, the still pending as far as evidence is concerned, validity of psychiatric diagnosis, the phenomenological failure resulting from the exclusive use of DSM in clinical practice and for the training of young psychiatrists are issues open to discussion and crucial for the future of Psychiatry. This training workshop aims to familiarize participants with the new diagnostic system and its specific features, and to highlight important differences in diagnostic categories and diagnostic criteria of specific disorders, while also discussing positive points and issues.
Chair-Lectures:
George Konstantakopoulos
First Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, Athens & Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK
Vasilis Kontaxakis
First Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, Athens
- LECTURE:
TRAINING PROGRAM FOR PRIMARY HEALTH CARE PHYSICIANS ON IDENTIFYING AND TREATING DEPRESSION
George Konstantakopoulos
First Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, Athens & Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK
Round Table: New interventions and services for the treatment of psychiatric morbidity and of its consequences for the community. Their importance in the Health System nowadays
Chair: Maria Margariti, Elias Angelopoulos
Saturday 13/5, 6.30 PM – 8.00 PM
A large number of patients with mental disorders are increasingly using health services regardless of the co-existence or absence of physical illnesses. In particular, depression is the third most common cause, among both physical and mental illnesses, for seeking primary health care services. On the other hand, physical symptoms caused in the context of major depression, also often lead patients to doctors of specialties other than psychiatry. Patients with depression are estimated to reach out to doctors of specialties other than psychiatry by a rate of 70-80%. However, according to relevant studies, the identification rates of depression and anxiety in Primary Health Care settings are particularly low (36-56% and 15-36%, respectively). As a result, about half of the patients suffering from depressive and anxiety disorders remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated. In order to respond to this great public health issue, the Hellenic Psychiatric Association has designed and implements a special training program for Primary Health Care physicians through clinical workshops. For the mental health needs of the population to be met, it does not suffice to have common mental disorders, especially depression, treated exclusively by psychiatrists. The ability to diagnose and treat depression within the context of Primary Health Care must be reinforced. Primary care physicians must be appropriately trained in order to be able to diagnose and treat depression, while distinguishing the cases they must refer to an expert. For this to be feasible, an appropriate method and tools are needed to enable Primary Care physicians to perform this work. Such methods for detection, effective diagnosis and treatment of depression have been developed in recent years in many countries with well-organized health care systems. Our clinical workshop is part of an effort to develop a specific methodology and to provide appropriate training for physicians in our country as well.