Psychiatry News and Research

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Psychiatry is the treatment, study and prevention of mental disorders.

Research confirms smartphone apps as effective treatment option for depression

New Australian-led research has confirmed that smartphone apps are an effective treatment option for depression, paving the way for safe and accessible interventions for the millions of people around the world diagnosed with this condition.

22 Sep 2017

Personality changes do not appear before clinical onset of MCI or dementia

For years, scientists and physicians have been debating whether personality and behavior changes might appear prior to the onset of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

21 Sep 2017

BMC researchers studying possibility of weight loss drugs to combat cocaine addiction

Boston Medical Center's psychiatry team is studying a drug called lorcaserin, which targets the brain's serotonin receptors and could help reduce cocaine cravings as well as dampen the rewards associated with taking cocaine.

21 Sep 2017

Oxytocin promotes avoidance of unfamiliar situations after negative social interactions

Before you shop for the "cuddle" hormone oxytocin to relieve stress and enhance your social life, read this: a new study from the University of California, Davis, suggests that sometimes, blocking the action of oxytocin in the brain may be a better option.

20 Sep 2017

New tool can provide reliable, valid assessment of individual's wisdom level

Researchers at University of San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new tool called the San Diego Wisdom Scale to assess an individual's level of wisdom, based upon a conceptualization of wisdom as a trait with a neurobiological as well as psychosocial basis.

20 Sep 2017

Alcohol use may induce changes to cholesterol-regulating gene

In an analysis of the epigenomes of people and mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the National Institutes of Health report that drinking alcohol may induce changes to a cholesterol-regulating gene.

20 Sep 2017

Sleep deprivation rapidly reduces depression symptoms in nearly half of depressed patients

Sleep deprivation -- typically administered in controlled, inpatient settings -- rapidly reduces symptoms of depression in roughly half of depression patients, according the first meta-analysis on the subject in nearly 30 years, from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

19 Sep 2017

Study reveals how cells from patients with developmental disease differ from healthy cells

By reprogramming skin cells into nerve cells, researchers at Karolinska Institutet are creating cell models of the human brain. In a new study published in Molecular Psychiatry the researchers describe how cells from patients with the severe developmental disease lissencephaly differ from healthy cells.

19 Sep 2017

People with OCD show distinct changes in the brain when treated with special form of talk therapy

UCLA researchers report that people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, when treated with a special form of talk therapy, demonstrate distinct changes in their brains as well as improvement in their symptoms.

19 Sep 2017

Research finds link between victimization of transgender adolescents and suicidal thoughts, substance abuse

In two peer-reviewed papers, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have found that transgender adolescents are twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts as the general population, and they are up to four times as likely to engage in substance use.

19 Sep 2017

Conference to tackle sensitive subjects in dementia care

Every 66 seconds, someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Frank LaFerla, dean of UCI's Francisco J. Ayala School of Biological Sciences, says that with more than 76 million aging baby boomers in the U.S., the memory-impairing condition is "the most important medical problem of our time – and one that's going to intensify greatly over the next 20 years."

18 Sep 2017

Scientists genetically engineer mice that display behavioral hallmarks of human bipolar disorder

Johns Hopkins researchers report they have genetically engineered mice that display many of the behavioral hallmarks of human bipolar disorder, and that the abnormal behaviors the rodents show can be reversed using well-established drug treatments for bipolar disorder, such as lithium.

18 Sep 2017

People with schizophrenia three times more likely to die than general population

People with schizophrenia are three times more likely to die, and die younger, than the general population, indicating a need for solutions to narrow this gap, according to research published in CMAJ.

18 Sep 2017

Medical marijuana rarely addressed in medical education

Although 29 states and the District of Columbia allow marijuana use for medical purposes, few medical students are being trained how to prescribe the drug.

15 Sep 2017

Prognosis communication may be helpful to older adults with disabilities

Prognosis is the term for the most likely outcome of a medical condition. When it comes to health care, talking about your prognosis can be difficult for you, your family/friends, and even your healthcare providers.

15 Sep 2017

Funding cuts damaging young people's access to mental health services, say researchers

Funding cuts and austerity measures are damaging young people's access to mental health services, with potentially long-term consequences for their mental wellbeing, say researchers at the University of Cambridge.

15 Sep 2017

Researchers design new test to determine cognitive capacities of schizophrenia patients

Researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in collaboration with the University of Oviedo and the Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Mental Health, have designed a test which can help determine the cognitive capacities of patients with schizophrenia.

15 Sep 2017

Study examines effectiveness of placebo and antidepressants in children, adolescents

Although the clinical efficacy of antidepressants in children and adolescents is proven, it is frequently accompanied by side effects. In addition, the influence of the placebo effect on the efficacy of antidepressants is unclear.

15 Sep 2017

Research: Hospice referral at end of life should be based on older adult's pain, distressing symptoms

A team of researchers from Yale University has studied how soon older adults who were experiencing distressing symptoms and disability were admitted to hospice near the end of their lives . Their study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

14 Sep 2017

Delaying minor surgery for pediatric patients may not offer any neurodevelopmental benefit

Children under age 5 who underwent minor surgery requiring anesthesia had a 26 percent increased risk of later diagnosis with a mental disorder. However, the timing of the procedure did not affect this risk, according to a new study at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and College of Physicians and Surgeons.

14 Sep 2017

Psychiatry News and Research

Further Reading

Research confirms smartphone apps as effective treatment option for depression

Personality changes do not appear before clinical onset of MCI or dementia

BMC researchers studying possibility of weight loss drugs to combat cocaine addiction

Oxytocin promotes avoidance of unfamiliar situations after negative social interactions

New tool can provide reliable, valid assessment of individual's wisdom level

Alcohol use may induce changes to cholesterol-regulating gene

Sleep deprivation rapidly reduces depression symptoms in nearly half of depressed patients

Study reveals how cells from patients with developmental disease differ from healthy cells

People with OCD show distinct changes in the brain when treated with special form of talk therapy

Research finds link between victimization of transgender adolescents and suicidal thoughts, substance abuse

Conference to tackle sensitive subjects in dementia care

Scientists genetically engineer mice that display behavioral hallmarks of human bipolar disorder

People with schizophrenia three times more likely to die than general population

Medical marijuana rarely addressed in medical education

Prognosis communication may be helpful to older adults with disabilities

Funding cuts damaging young people's access to mental health services, say researchers

Researchers design new test to determine cognitive capacities of schizophrenia patients

Study examines effectiveness of placebo and antidepressants in children, adolescents

Research: Hospice referral at end of life should be based on older adult's pain, distressing symptoms

Delaying minor surgery for pediatric patients may not offer any neurodevelopmental benefit

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

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