Alcohol Use Disorder: An Overview
Written by: Austin Lin, MD Although the opioid epidemic garners national attention, alcohol use remains a major problem. According to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there were approximately 141 million Americans aged 12 or older who…
Suicide in Teens
Written by: Ana Ugueto, PhD Despite best efforts in public health to reduce youth suicide, rates of teen suicides have increased by 24 percent in the past 20 years. Every year, over 2,000 adolescents die by suicide, making it the…
How Genes may Lead to Psychiatric Disorders
Written by: Gabriel Fries, PhD Psychiatric disorders are known to have a high heritability and a strong genetic component. This is evidenced by studies showing a high clustering of these disorders within families, in which first-degree relatives of patients have…
“It hurts doc!”— The Complex Relationship between Sickle Cell Disease, Pain, and Psychiatry
Written by: Kairav Shah, MD Sickle cell disease is an inherited group of disorders that affects hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that transports oxygen to cells throughout the body. It is an autosomal recessive genetic disease, caused by a…