WASHINGTON, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will honor the CBS Television Network with its Outstanding Media Award for Public Service for the network's CBS Cares public service awareness campaign on depression, during its annual national convention this week.


"CBS Cares has made an extraordinary commitment and contribution to public education about depression," said NAMI executive director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. "The network has helped remove stigma surrounding mental illness. They have encouraged people to get help when they need it -- particularly men, who often are reluctant to do so."

During the past year, CBS Cares has aired 30-second, 15-second and 10- second public service announcements (PSAs) during prime-time hours. They have focused on fighting stigmas associated with the disease and reinforcing understanding that depression is a treatable medical illness.


The PSAs have featured CBS's Greg Gumbel (CBS Sports), Anthony LaPaglia (Without A Trace), Mandy Patankin (Criminal Minds), Danny Pino (Cold Case) and Mike Wallace (CBS News).


The CBS Cares campaign includes the website http://www.cbscares.tv/ developed in partnership with New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, and other leading experts whereby viewers can find general information on depression such as causes, treatments, medication and recommended resources. The Harvard School of Public Health has called it a "breakthrough website."


"CBS Cares has done an amazing job," said NY Presbyterian CEO Herbert Pardes, M.D., a former head of the National Institute on Mental Health. "The website is the most expansive and detailed presentation on depression I have ever come across from a national media network. It is vast in scope, but accessible and understandable for people seeking critical health information. I am certain that many CBS viewers have benefited from the campaign."


"We are honored to have CBS Cares recognized by NAMI," said Martin Franks, Executive Vice President, Planning, Policy and Government Affairs, CBS Corporation. "Serious depression affects millions of Americans, and CBS wants to help them as well as their family members and friends. We are very committed to continuing to bring our viewers information and resources to help them deal with this medical disease."


CBS Cares is highly regarded for leadership in effectively taking on stigmatized and under-served causes. With network PSAs as its fulcrum, the campaign has been built into a public service project, involving every media asset of CBS. In addition to depression, the PSAs have addressed HIV/AIDS, alcohol abuse, breast cancer, child abduction, child abuse, diversity/tolerance, drug abuse, education, literacy, the V-Chip and women's heart disease.


NAMI, the nation's largest grassroots organizations dedicated to improving the lives of people with serious mental illnesses, such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, will present the award July 1, 2006 in Washington, D.C.

FDA Approves the First Treatment for Dementia of Parkinson’s Disease

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Exelon (rivastigmine tartrate) for the treatment of mild to moderate dementia (chronic loss or impairment of intellectual capacity) associated with Parkinson's disease, a disorder of the central nervous system. Exelon was previously approved for the treatment of mild to moderate dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

"It's been recognized for almost a decade that the dementia of patients with Parkinson's disease differs from the dementia of patients with Alzheimer's," said Dr. Steven Galson, Director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, "but until now, there has been no treatment that has been shown to be effective specifically for the dementia associated with Parkinson's Disease. Today's approval of Exelon helps to fill this medical need."

It is estimated that about 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent of people over 65 years of age are affected by Parkinson's dementia and experience such symptoms as impairments in executive function, memory and attention. The approval of Exelon for the treatment of Parkinson's dementia is based on the results of a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study with 541 patients who showed symptoms of mild to moderate dementia two years or later after their diagnosis for Parkinson's disease. At the end of the 24-week trial, the condition of the Exelon-treated patients, as shown on a scale that measures mental processes, was significantly better than the condition of the patients on placebo.

The use of Exelon has been associated with significant gastrointestinal adverse reactions. In clinical trials, 47 percent of the patients treated with the drug developed nausea, and 26 percent of women and 18 percent of men on high doses of Exelon experienced significant weight loss. Other common adverse events reported by patients on Exelon include vomiting, anorexia, dyspepsia and asthenia (loss of strength). In some patients with Parkinson's disease, treatment with Exelon was associated with a worsening of tremor.

Exelon is manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp. in East Hanover, NY.