As an attending psychiatrist at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Antonio Bullon, MD, cares for geriatric patients with neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr. Antonio Bullon comes to this role having served inpatient populations at Mercy Hospital and MetroWest Medical Center, both of which serve patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.Medical science has historically linked Alzheimer’s disease with elevated levels of amyloid plaque in the brain. These plaques have received almost universal acceptance as a risk factor for the disease, but a new study suggests that their presence may be a preclinical sign of the disease itself.According to study leader Dr. Paul Aisen of the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, amyloid plaques may be not only the basic molecular cause of Alzheimer’s disease, but also an indication for early intervention. Patients may go a significant period of time with elevated amyloid levels but no symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers believe that if physicians offer anti-amyloid therapies during this period, they may be able to slow or even prevent the eventual onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. Implications may be life-changing for the 33 percent of Americans over the age of 65 with elevated amyloid levels who, if study findings are correct, have a high risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s disease within a decade.
Since March 2014, Dr. Antonio Bullon has worked as medical director of the geriatric and neuropsychiatry treatment unit at MetroWest Medical Center in Natick, Massachusetts. To help him stay up-to-date on changes made within the industry, Dr. Antonio Bullon maintains membership with several professional organizations, one of which includes the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry (AAPDP).Founded in 1956, the AAPDP consists of psychiatrists who are interested in psychodynamic psychotherapy within clinical practices. As an affiliate of the American Psychiatric Association, the AAPDP also has members who are psychiatric residents and medical students. A nonprofit organization, it strives to advance psychodynamic psychiatry, encourage research, and provide a forum for those interested in the practice.In addition, the AAPDP hosts an annual meeting where members converge and share ideas. Its 60th annual meeting, which occurred in May 2016 in Atlanta, had a theme of “Let’s Play! The Role of Play in Treatment and Across the Lifespan.” The three-day event featured symposiums, workshops, and presentations. Keynote speaker Dr. Kimberly R. Best discussed the role of playfulness in child and adult treatment. The 61st annual meeting is scheduled for May 2017 in San Diego.
Since early January 2017, Dr. Antonio Bullon has treated patients at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Maryland, as an attending psychiatrist. In addition to caring for geriatric patients at the hospital, Dr. Antonio Bullon remains actively involved with his professional community through the American Psychiatric Association (APA). This organization supports psychiatric patients and helps ensure they receive the highest level of care possible.The APA is also concerned with ethics regarding the care of psychiatric patients. Recently, the organization upheld the Goldwater Rule, an ethics guideline that states member psychiatrists should refrain from giving professional opinions about individuals they have not personally evaluated.The Goldwater Rule dates back to 1973, although it came about from the 1964 presidential election. At this time, Fact magazine questioned more than 12,000 psychiatrists about Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate. More than 2,400 psychiatrists responded to the survey, with 1,189 saying that he was psychiatrically unfit for the presidency.Goldwater sued the magazine for publishing the results of this survey and Fact was found liable for damages. The APA came to the conclusion that it was unethical and unprofessional for theses care providers to issue an opinion about someone they had not personally evaluated, and subsequently drafted the rule to prevent such occurrences in the future.
With more than 20 years of experience in the psychiatric field, Dr. Antonio Bullon serves as the medical director of the geriatric treatment unit at the MetroWest Medical Center in Natick, Massachusetts. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Antonio Bullon teaches in Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine.A recent study led by Harvard Medical School researchers revealed that cancer stem cells play a significant role in the proliferation of oligodendroglioma, a type of brain cancer that grows at a slow rate but cannot be cured. It’s the first time that growth patterns of these cells have been specifically observed in brain tumors.Researchers looked at more than 4,000 tumors to study three different types of cells: stems cells and two other types involved in cell differentiation. The researchers found that, in these tumors, stem cells were the only ones showing growth. Study author and Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor of Pathology Mario Suvà said that this research “strongly supports” the conclusion that stem cells are the primary type of cells that grow in these brain tumors, making them the prime target for treatment strategies.
