Stroke and Depression
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about research that helps identify which patients are at highest risk for depression after a stroke. Dr. Leuchter explains that, "...It appears that strokes in the frontal portions of ...
Schizophrenia and Medication
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about the use of anti-psychotic medications in the treatment of schizophrenia. He notes that such medications can help to dissolve hallucinations, as well as help to order thoughts and...
Bipolar Disorder
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about bipolar disorder, explaining the cyclical, up and down nature of the illness. Dr. Leuchter notes that it tends to run in families, then discusses the use of mood stabilizers like...
Schizophrenia
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about schizophrenia, a mental health disorder that he states affects about one percent of the population. Dr. Leuchter explains that schizophrenia is what's called a "thought disorder....
Alzheimer's Disease and Aging
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about the way Alzheimer's disease sometimes presents itself as people age. Dr. Leuchter also discusses the impact of the illness, particularly when the afflicted individual has lost pa...
Alzheimer's Disease: Prevention and Protection (Part One)
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about the possible links between intellectual activity and Alzheimer's disease. "I'm a firm believer in use it or lose it," Dr. Leuchter explains. He also notes that, "...the rates of ...
Suicide (Part Two)
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about the correlation between suicide and age. Dr. Leuchter explains that the risk for suicide goes up during adolescence and then again after middle age, particularly among elderly wh...
Stigma of Mental Illness, The
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about the stigma of mental illness. The manifestations of that run the gamut from patients avoiding treatment, to insurance companies providing little or no psychotherapy benefits.
Suicide (Part Three)
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, explains that the people who are at the highest risk for committing suicide are those who are socially isolated.
Treating Depression: First Steps
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, talks about first steps in treating depression. Initially, Dr. Leuchter explains, doctors look for symptoms that often accompany depression, such as problems with sleep, energy, appetite, se...