Windows of Vulnerability
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about times in life (for example, in one's twenties and thirties) when people have what he calls, "a large window of vulnerability" for various illnesses, including bipolar disorder (m...
Schizophrenia and the Brain
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about studies showing distinctive features in the brains and brain function of many schizophrenic patients.
Depression and the Brain
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about brain-mapping and other techniques for looking into the brain that may predict whether a patient suffering from depression is going to benefit from a particular treatment that's ...
Alzheimer's Disease and the Brain
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, explains that the brains of those afflicted with Alzheimer's disease have , "... characteristic neuropathology if one looks at the hippocampus area, which is the area that is most involved i...
Depression and Medication (Part Two)
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about the link between the severity or frequency of depression episodes and the appropriate medication indicated. Dr. Leuchter notes that most of the available medications for depressi...
Progress in Treating Mental Illnesses
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about progress in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and depression. Dr. Leuchter notes that in many instances, the symptoms of the illness are treated (with varying d...
Right to Know, The
Professor of Law and Medicine Alex Capron talks about the conflict between an individual's interest in keeping sensitive information private, and the interest others may have--some of it legitimate, some of it not--in gaining access to that informat...
Gene Therapy (Part Two)
Professor of Law and Medicine Alex Capron talks about the danger in assuming that if we know an individual's genetic blueprint, we know the individual. He reminds us that, as important as genetic structure may be, ultimately the individual is the pr...
Gene Therapy (Part One)
Professor of Law and Medicine Alex Capron talks about the importance of not discriminating against those who have been diagnosed with a genetic predisposition that may or may not develop into the illness or condition for which the predisposition exi...
Who Decides? (Part Two)
Professor of Law and Medicine Alex Capron talks about another aspect of the "who decides?" question--namely, who decides what is health and illness? He then explores a related issue: should access to treatment be greater for those who have a disease...