BookManfred Gerlach, Andreas Warnke, Laurence Greenhill, editors.
Summary: This book offers a comprehensive survey of the current state of knowledge in the field of neuro-psychopharmacology in childhood and adolescence. In the first part, the essentials of neuro-psychopharmacology are presented in order to provide a deeper understanding of the principles and particularities in the pharmacotherapy of children and adolescents. This part includes information on neurotransmitters and signal transduction pathways, molecular brain structures as targets for psychiatric drugs, characteristics of psychopharmacological therapy in children and adolescents, ontogenetic influences on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and pharmacotherapy in the outpatient setting. The part on classes of psychiatric medications, which covers antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics and sedative-hypnotics, mood stabilizers, and psychostimulants and other drugs used in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, provides sufficient background material to better understand how psychoactive drugs work, and why, when, and for whom they should be used. For each drug within a class, information on its mechanisms of action, clinical pharmacology, indications, dosages, and cognate issues are reviewed. In the third part, the disorder-specific and symptom-oriented medication is described and discerningly evaluated from a practical point of view, providing physicians with precise instructions on how to proceed. Psychiatric Drugs in Children and Adolescents includes numerous tables, figures and illustrations and offers a valuable reference work for child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychotherapists, pediatricians, general practitioners, psychologists, and nursing staff, as well as teachers.
Contents:
Fundamentals of Neuropsychopharmacology
Special Features of Psychopharmacological Therapy in Children and Adolescents
Pharmacotherapy in the Outpatient Practice
Antidepressants
Antipsychotics
Anxiolytics and Sedative-Hypnotics
Mood Stabilizers
Psychostimulants and Other Drugs Used in the Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Aggressive and Autoaggressive Behavior, Impulse Control Disorder, and Conduct Disorder
Alcohol-Related Disorders
Anxiety Disorders and Phobias
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Depressive Disorders
Drug- or Substance-Related Disorders
Eating Disorders
Elective (Selective) Mutism
Encopresis
Enuresis and Functional Urinary Incontinence
Manic Episode and Bipolar Affective Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
Personality Disorders
Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disability
Psychiatric Emergency Therapy in Children and Adolescents
Schizophrenia
Sleep Disorders
Tic Disorders.