Harry E. Gwirtsman, M.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Harry.Gwirtsman@vanderbilt.edu
Dr. Harry Gwirtsman has been a member of the faculty since 1995. He was Director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine from 1998 until 2006. He currently serves as the Director of Inpatient Services and the Psychiatry-Medical Unit (PMU), as well as the Consultation-Liaison Service, and is also Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Program at the Nashville VA-Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. He is board certified in Adult Psychiatry, and has subspecialty boards in Geriatric Psychiatry.
Education
M.D., Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons
B.A., Yale College
Postgraduate Training
Resident in Adult Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine
Areas of Clinical Expertise
Eating Disorders, Geriatric Psychiatry, Dementia in the Elderly
Research interests
Biological dysfunction in patients with anorexia and bulimia, obesity, and mood disorders, especially related to neuroregulation of mood, and feeding and satiety. Pharmacotherapy, genetics, and imaging in dementia.
Representative publications
1. Liang X, Schnetz-Boutaud N, Kenealy SJ, Jiang L, Bartlett J, Lynch B, Gaskell PC, Gwirtsman H, McFarland L, Bembe ML, Bronson P, Gilbert JR,MartinER, Pericak-Vance MA, Haines JL. (2006). Covariate analysis of late-onset Alzheimer disease refines the chromosome 12 locus.Mol Psychiatry. Mar;11(3):280-5.
2. Kennedy, J.S., Gwirtsman, H.E., Schmidt, D.E., Johnson, B.W., Fielstein, E., Salomon, R.M.,Shiavi, R.G., Ebert, M.H., Parris, W.C.V., Loosen, P.T. (2002). Serial cerebrospinal fluid tryptophan and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentrations in healthy human subjects. Life Sciences 71:1703-1715.
3. Gwirtsman, H.E., Ebert, M.H. (2000). Eating Disorders in: Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Psychiatry. Ebert, M.H., Loosen,P.T.,Nurcombe, B. (Eds). Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill, New York,N.Y.421-429.
4. Gold, P.W., Gwirtsman, H.E., Avgerinos, P.C.,Nieman,L.K., Galluci, W.T., Kaye, W.H., Jimerson, D.C., Ebert, M.,Rittmaster,R., Loriaux, D.C., Chrousos, G.P. (1986). Abnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function in anorexia nervosa: Pathophysiologic mechanisms in underweight and weight-corrected patients. New Engl J Med 314(21): 1335-1342.
5. Gwirtsman, H.E.,Ahles, S., Halaris, A., DeMet, E., Hill, M. (1983).Therapeutic superiority of maprotiline versus doxepin in geriatric depression. J Clin Psychiatry 44(12). 449-453.
