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Description This online CME activity is based on presentations delivered at the CME symposium titled "Depression in the Elderly: Clinical Manifestations, Treatment Safety, and Comorbidity," which was held on March 5, 2005, at the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry meeting in San Diego, California. Persons who attended the symposium are NOT eligible for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for completing this enduring material. Please note that the course is accredited only for physicians (MD, DO, or equivalent). All other participants receive a certificate of completion. In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Essential Areas and Policies regarding commercial support, participants are advised that 1 or more presentations in this continuing medical education activity may contain references to off-label or unapproved uses of drugs or devices. Participants should note that use of these agents outside current approved labeling is considered experimental and are advised to consult prescribing information for these products. This CME activity was planned and produced in accordance with the ACCME Essential Areas and Policies.
Statement of Need A significant percentage of the elderly population will experience psychiatric disorders; therefore, it is imperative to educate health care professionals in the area of geriatric psychiatry. With age, psychiatric symptoms worsen; however, a substantial proportion of older patients receive no treatment or inadequate treatment, which may contribute to the high suicide rate among the elderly. One challenge for the clinician is to distinguish depressive disorders, including late-onset depression, from other ailments. The most common psychiatric disorder in the elderly, however, is anxiety, which can intensify the course of depression and systemic conditions. Moreover, it is imperative to consider drug-drug interactions and preexisting somatic illnesses when treating the elderly. This CME activity examines the unique features of depression in the elderly, medication safety and tolerability, and management of comorbid somatic and psychiatric illnesses. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to
Accreditation Statement The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Designation Statement The AAGP designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. All participants are required to complete an evaluation form and to pass a course test (both online) before receiving their continuing education certificates (via email and/or PDF download). No fees are charged to participate in the program or to receive the certificate. Faculty Disclosures and Biographies All faculty participating in continuing education activities provided by the AAGP are required to disclose to the audience any real or apparent commercial financial affiliations related to the content of their presentations/materials. George Alexopoulos, MD George S. Alexopoulos, MD, is a professor of psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and professor at the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University in New York City. He has been the director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded Intervention Research Center (IRC) for Geriatric Mood Disorders and the founding director of the Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry in White Plains, New York. Dr. Alexopoulos has conducted studies on clinical, neuropsychological, electrophysiological, imaging, and treatment aspects of geriatric mood disorders. His research work has focused on the course and long-term outcomes of depression as a means of addressing the heterogeneity of geriatric mood disorders. Dr. Alexopoulos introduced and continued to improve research methodology specific for the longitudinal study of geriatric syndromes. He has contributed to the current literature on late-onset depression syndromes, depressive syndromes with reversible cognitive dysfunction, and depressive syndromes associated with specific neuropsychological impairments. Dr. Alexopoulos has received the Senior Investigator's Award from the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry in 1997 as well as many NIMH research grants. Dr. Alexopoulos is a member of the NIMH Board of Scientific Counselors and the North America editor for the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. William J. Burke, MD William J. Burke, MD, is a professor and vice-chair for research in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He is also the director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and heads the Psychopharmacology Research Consortium. Dr. Burke received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Omaha, where he also completed an internship in internal medicine. He performed his residency in psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, and received additional postgraduate training at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Washington University while also studying psychiatric epidemiology. Dr. Burke has extensive experience in clinical trials, and his research interests include evaluation of potential new treatments for depression and anxiety, the relationship between depression and immune function, and the treatment of behavioral symptoms complicating dementia. He is a member of several organizations, including the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the American Geriatric Society, and the American Psychiatric Association. He has published widely and has authored more than 100 articles, book chapters, and abstracts. Dr. Burke has been repeatedly cited in the publication The Best Doctors in America. Katherine Shear, MD Katherine Shear, MD, is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania and director of the Panic, Anxiety and Traumatic Grief Program at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh. After receiving her medical degree from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, she completed her residency in internal medicine and psychiatry and became board certified in internal medicine and psychiatry. Dr. Shear has conducted treatment studies in panic and other anxiety disorders under grants from the NIMH. Currently, she and her colleagues are completing a study of long-term strategies in the treatment of panic disorder. Dr. Shear is also studying a novel psychotherapy she developed for traumatic grief, a newly defined clinical syndrome. She and a colleague recently completed a study aimed at optimizing care of patients with panic and generalized anxiety disorder in primary care. She has served as co-chair of the American Psychiatric Association Guidelines for the Treatment of Panic Disorder and as an editorial board member of the American Journal of Psychiatry. She has chaired meetings for the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. Dr. Shear serves as a member of the NIMH Review Group for Interventional Research. Instructions to Participants Course participants will view audio/slide/video presentations and then must successfully complete a test in order to receive continuing medical education credit. Full instructions are available on the user instructions page. Disclaimer The opinions expressed herein are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsor, accrediting body, or publisher. Please review complete prescribing information of specific drugs or combination of drugs, including indications, contraindications, warnings and adverse effects, before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients. Medicine is a constantly changing science, and clearly established therapies are not always available for every condition. New research findings necessitate continual changes in drug and treatment therapies. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide up-to-date, accurate information that is within generally accepted medical standards at the time of publication. However, as medical science is ever evolving, and human error is always possible, the sponsor, accrediting body, and publisher (or any other involved party) do not guarantee total accuracy or comprehensiveness of the information in this article, nor are they responsible for omissions or errors, or the results of using information provided in this course. The participant should confirm the accuracy of the information in this activity from other sources. In particular, all drug doses, indications, and contraindications should be confirmed in package inserts. Click here to view minimum system requirements.
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