Menninger Clinic Using MRI and PET to Assess Mental Illness

On Aug. 9 the Menninger Clinic, one of American's leading psychiatric hospitals in Houston, Texas, announced in a press release that mental health professionals are now able to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) as aids in determining the causes of behavioral and psychiatric problems in adult patients.

Named the Menninger Comprehensive Psychiatric Assessment Service, it was begun in April as a one-stop assessment service for adults. The assessment is for those who are not making adequate progress in other treatment settings, want a second opinion as to their situation, need a thorough psychiatric work-up to help them decide what treatment plan will best meet their needs, or who are referred by another professional. The assessment takes two to three weeks and includes extensive neuropsychiatric testing, including the use of MRI and PET.

When a patient enters the program, they undergo a complete psychiatric evaluation, extensive neuropsychological testing, psychological testing, psychosocial evaluation, a family system study and a neurological consult. In the event of brain disorders or damage (stroke, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury), patients also have access to Baylor College of Medicine's consultants in neuropsychology and neurology. When the assessment is complete, the evaluation has looked at every aspect of a patient's life and has a clear clinical picture of the patient's situation before making treatment recommendations.

In the event a patient doesn't respond well to psychiatric medications, the Assessment Service includes a blood test to see if the patient is metabolizing a drug too quickly, which provides the patient with little benefit, or is metabolizing the drug too slowly, which can increase the drug's build up in the body, resulting in unpleasant and even dangerous side effects.

Currently, doctors are limited in the way they prescribe psychiatric medications. They use what information they have about what works best, but they're unable to know or predict how a medication will work in an individual patient. What then sometimes happens is that a patient will spend months or even years trying to find the best medication with the fewest side effects. This new assessment service helps eliminate that problem.

At the end of the testing and overall assessment, patients and/or their referral sources are given the findings, along with treatment recommendations that may range from outpatient to hospitalization at a psychiatric facility. Menninger says about half of those assessed prefer to remain at Menninger for their treatment.

Florence Kim, M.D., is the director of the Assessment Service. In the press release she said: "Even though a patient may have a straightforward mental health diagnosis or diagnoses, the neuropsychiatric approach can help us rule out medical or neurological reasons for the patient's symptoms before we settle on a psychiatric reason. One of our recent patients, an 18-year-old, came into the program as result of an intervention. He had been labeled with a diagnosis, but as a result of our examinations, we were able to clarify that diagnosis. He told us, 'finally, someone understands what's going on.'"

Dr. Kim sees the Assessment Service as an increasingly valuable tool in the field of psychiatric disorder assessment and treatment. She said: "We are at the beginning of a new age in terms of what we can do for people with psychiatric illnesses. In the next 20 to 30 years, we are going to see an explosion in brain research, and we'll understand so much more about the genetic basis for many conditions. It's a very exciting time."

Source:

Press release, High-tech Diagnosis Yields Vital Clues Into Mental Illness; http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/532353/