Bereavement-related depression is similar to that due to other stressful life events, say US researchers in findings that question the exclusion of bereavement from the diagnosis of major depression.

Of stressful life events that could contribute to the onset of major depression, only bereavement was assigned a special status in DSM-III and DSM-IV. Consequently, bereavement-related depression with clinical features indicative of normal grief is considered sufficiently different from other types of depressive episodes that it should not be diagnosed as major depression.

To determine the validity of this exclusion, Kenneth Kendler, from Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School in Richmond, and colleagues examined a large population-based sample of twins interviewed up to four times over a 10-year period.

The participants were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, and the team assessed whether individuals with bereavement-related depression who also meet the DSM-IV criteria for “normal grief” were qualitatively distinct from other cases of depression.

In all, 82 individuals met the definition for confirmed bereavement-related depression, while 224 had confirmed depression related to other stressful life events, including divorce/separation, illness, and job loss. Individuals with bereavement-related depression were significantly more likely to be older and female at their index episode than other patients, at 35.1 versus 33.0 years, and 72.0% versus 56.3%.

Of those with bereavement-related depression, 28% met the criteria for normal grief, compared with 25% of those with depression related to other stressful life events, which was a non-significant difference. There were also no significant differences in terms of age at onset, number of prior episodes, duration of index episode, number of endorsed major depression criteria, risk for future episodes, pattern of comorbidity, levels of extraversion, and risk for major depression in the co-twin.

However, patients with bereavement-related depression had lower levels of neuroticism, treatment seeking, and guilt than other patients, and higher levels of fatigue and loss of interest. Analysis revealed that there were no unique features of bereavement-related depression compared with depression due to other stressful life events.

The team concludes in the American Journal of Psychiatry: “The similarities of bereavement-related depression and depression related to other stressful life events far outweigh their differences.”

Read from MedWire News.

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Allied Health Professions has received a five-year National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research grant of $1.8 million.

The grant will be used to identify and evaluate current practice and methods in the conduct of minority disability research and to begin to increase capacity in this area.

“The goal of the grant is to advance the state of the science in the conduct of minority disability research and to develop more persons who are passionate and interested in devoting careers to this line of research,” said principal investigator Allen Lewis, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling.

According to Lewis, the project will involve a national survey that examines the experiences of Americans with disabilities from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups, and what research methods, practices and strategies are needed to advance the field in culturally competent research.

In addition, the project will focus on a longitudinal study of post-injury unemployment for minorities with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries; and prevalence and trends in employment discrimination due to disability for different ethnic groups.

Read more.

The Virginia Commonwealth University Staff Senate has recognized the 2008 Pride Ambassadors from the VCU and VCU Health System communities.

This year’s recipients are Leah B. Czarnecki of University Student Health Services and Donna George of VCU Health System Transplant Surgery. Both were recognized by VCU Staff Senate President Tammy Berwanger at a reception Oct. 16.

“Our two honorees and all of this year’s nominees are highly valued by you, their departments and units, and their colleagues for the important work they do each and every day,” Berwanger said.

The VCU Staff Senate established the award in 2006 to recognize outstanding staff members who are committed to providing professional, responsive and innovative service and dedication while exuding excellence toward faculty, students, staff, patients and visitors of VCU and the VCU Health System.

Read more.

The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center recently was honored with a plaque from the Special Forces to honor the school’s dedication and support of the Special Operations Combat Medic (SOCM) program.

VCU is one of the two sites in America that has a program where Special Operations medics come to have their first clinical experience. The other site is in Tampa, Fla.

Trainees of SOCM program rotate through various areas within the hospital including the Emergency Department and Burn Unit for two weeks, while integrating hands-on assignments and academic lessons.

“After training, soldiers may possibly be deployed within 30 days of arriving to their units, and this is why the program at VCU is so greatly important to our soldiers and our nation,” said Army Master Sgt. Danny Yakel, program administrator for the Richmond, SOCM program and senior instructor at the Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center (JSOMTC) at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

According to Yakel, some of the medics that are not going to go on to be Green Beret medics will leave the VCU Medical Center and return to Fort Bragg for about a week and a half of additional medical training. Following that, they will return to their units and possibly be in a combat theatre within 30 days of arrival.

Read more.

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Trauma program foundation has received a gift of nearly $11,700 from Gerdau Ameristeel.

Kim Edwards, senior operations administrator for Gerdau Ameristeel, presented the gift to the program this week. The money was raised during a golf tournament that benefited the Trauma program foundation.

Also present during the presentation was Alan Bridgman, an employee of Gerdau Ameristeel, who was injured last year on the job. The VCU Medical Center’s trauma surgery staff treated Bridgman after his injury and as a result, Gerdau Ameristeel wanted to give back to the hospital that has been supportive of one of its employees.

“I don’t know if I can ever put into words how thankful I am,” said Bridgman. “The care I received from trauma was very exceptional.”

Bridgman’s wife, Amber, and daughter, Riley, also attended the presentation.

Members of the Trauma program plan to use the gift in support of other trauma victims and to raise trauma awareness by hosting a fund-raising gala in the spring to benefit trauma support groups and injury prevention programs.

Read press release.

VCU's 40th Anniversary events and celebrations will culminate on Friday evening, December 5, 2008. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to come together at the Alltel Pavilion of the Siegel Center to hear Bill Cosby on stage at 7:30 p.m.

Thanks to Mr. Cosby's generosity, there is no charge for tickets. Two tickets per person will be available on a first come, first served basis, beginning Wednesday, November 19, at the following places:

• Break Point Games Room (lower level of the University Student Commons, Monroe Park Campus)
  Monday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
• Hunton Student Center (MCV Campus)
  Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - midnight
  Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. - midnight

Faculty and staff can pick up tickets at the Siegel Center box office, which is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (except for the official Thanksgiving break). Faculty and staff on the MCV Campus will also be able to pick up tickets at Hunton Student Center at the hours listed above.

The evening promises to be a great night for VCU, and I look forward to greeting the University and greater community on December 5.

The Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences will hold Agency Risk Management and Internal Control Standards (ARMICS) training on Tuesday, December 2, from 1-2:30PM in Sanger Hall, Room 1-044. Topics will include: compliance risks, areas of responsibility for compliance, benefits to the employee, State and University requirements of the State-mandated initiative.

Attendance is mandatory for departmental fiscal administrators (or designee), ARMICS coordinators and new employees. Attendance is open to all interested parties on the Health Science campus.

For more information and to register on-line, go to http://www.healthsciences.vcu.edu/armics.html. Please register by November 28.

Registration is now closed.

Jeffrey Delafuente, School of Pharmacy professor and associate dean for professional education, is quoted in a story titled “Is Your Parent Over-Medicated?” The story in the December 2008 issue of Prevention magazine, which can be viewed here, was picked up by NBC and now also appears at MSNBC (click here). The article also is available at an MSN Web site, Sympatico, and on a blog called “The Nest.” By the way, with more than 11 million readers, Prevention is the 10th largest magazine in the country. Its Web site attracts 1.6 million unique visitors per month.

Read more from VCU School of Pharmacy.

One of only two Virginia hospitals named in Thomson Reuters study

The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center has been identified as one of the top 100 U.S. hospitals that set the nation’s benchmarks for cardiovascular care, according to a Thomson Reuters study. It is one of only two Virginia hospitals named in the study.

The annual study, the 2008 Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success, examined the performance of nearly 1,000 hospitals by analyzing clinical outcomes for patients diagnosed with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery and angioplasties.

“This recognition reaffirms our position as a national leader in advanced cardiac care,” said Eugene P. Trani, VCU president and president and chair of the VCU Health System, who underwent quintuple bypass surgery at the VCU Medical Center this past summer.

“The VCU Medical Center, through its Pauley Heart Center, is at the forefront of developing and implementing cardiovascular procedures and leading the way in regards to high quality and safe patient care,” said Dr. Sheldon Retchin, CEO of the VCU Health System and vice president of VCU Health Sciences.

The study, in its 10th year, focused on short-term, acute care, nonfederal U.S. hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients. In making the announcement, the company said that the top hospitals have set the new standard for cardiovascular disease outcomes, process of care, efficiency and lower costs.

“The significance of the Thomson Reuters study is that it really measures patient outcomes, compliance with national guidelines and quality of patient care,” said Dr. George W. Vetrovec, professor and chair of Cardiology. “The study affirms the expertise and dedication of the entire medical staff to the day-to-day management of heart attacks, heart failure and cardiac surgeries and procedures.”

Read more.