Psychiatry News and Research

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

Early life experiences influence risk of cognitive impairment in later life

Early life experiences, such as childhood socioeconomic status and literacy, may have greater influence on the risk of cognitive impairment late in life than such demographic characteristics as race and ethnicity, a large study by researchers with the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center and the University of Victoria, Canada, has found.

26 Jul 2014

Friendships allow children to value companionship, affection, and empathy

Friends play an extremely important role in a person's life. From infancy on, we have a desire to connect and those early relationships help to mold and develop our adult character.

25 Jul 2014

Study identifies molecular mechanisms could lead to new therapies to treat obesity, diabetes

A protein that controls when genes are switched on or off plays a key role in specific areas of the brain to regulate metabolism, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

25 Jul 2014

Blacks with depression and diabetes receive inadequate mental health treatment

A new study in General Hospital Psychiatry confirms that Blacks with depression plus another chronic medical condition, such as Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure, do not receive adequate mental health treatment.

25 Jul 2014

Study finds more than double hospital admissions for alcohol-related events around birthdays

New research has found that birthday-related drinking is associated with upsurges in hospital admissions among young people. This study of drinking behaviour in Ontario, Canada is published online today in the scientific journal Addiction.

25 Jul 2014

Earlier treatment better for bipolar patients

Patients with bipolar disorder are more likely to respond to lithium if the treatment is started early in the course of the condition, say researchers.

24 Jul 2014

Tulane University psychiatrist to study how parental bond with children leaves lasting genetic protection

Tulane University psychiatrist Dr. Stacy Drury has been given $2.4 million by the National Institutes of Health to test a provocative new theory - how well children bond with a parent in the first year of life leaves lasting genetic protection, potentially shielding them from disease risks well into adulthood.

23 Jul 2014

Severe pain during and post delivery linked to postpartum depression

Controlling pain during childbirth and post delivery may reduce the risk of postpartum depression, writes Katherine Wisner, M.D., a Northwestern Medicine- perinatal psychiatrist, in a July 23 editorial in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

23 Jul 2014

Astrocytes may be behind mental disorders, new research reveals

Astrocytes, the cells that make the background of the brain and support neurons, might be behind mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, according to new research by a Portuguese team from the ICVS at the University of Minho.

23 Jul 2014

Study: Lack of trust in one's physician affects physical, mental well-being of cancer patients

The physical and mental well-being of people with cancer may be affected by how they feel about their relationship with their physician and by differences in attachment styles (how they rely and depend on others), finds a new study from General Hospital Psychiatry.

23 Jul 2014

Research findings could lead to new approaches for treating schizophrenia

As part of a multinational, collaborative effort, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have helped identify over 100 locations in the human genome associated with the risk of developing schizophrenia, in the largest genomic study published on any psychiatric disorder to date, conducted with 80,000 people.

23 Jul 2014

Brain stimulation effective for treating depression

Brain stimulation treatments, like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), are often effective for the treatment of depression. Like antidepressant medications, however, they typically have a delayed onset.

22 Jul 2014

Peer-led interventions can reduce depression and anxiety in mothers of kids with autism

Peer-led interventions that target parental well-being can significantly reduce stress, depression and anxiety in mothers of children with disabilities, according to new findings released today in the journal Pediatrics.

22 Jul 2014

First diagnostic criteria proposed for Christianson Syndrome

Because the severe autism-like condition Christianson Syndrome was only first reported in 1999 and some symptoms take more than a decade to appear, families and doctors urgently need fundamental information about it. A new study that doubles the number of cases now documented in the scientific literature provides the most definitive characterization of CS to date.

22 Jul 2014

Findings point to biological mechanisms and pathways that may underlie schizophrenia

As part of a multinational, collaborative effort, researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and scores of other institutions from all over the world have helped identify over 100 locations in the human genome associated with the risk of developing schizophrenia, in what is the largest genomic study published on any psychiatric disorder to date.

22 Jul 2014

Study: Genetics plays major role in development of autism

Using new statistical tools, Carnegie Mellon University's Kathryn Roeder has led an international team of researchers to discover that most of the genetic risk for autism comes from versions of genes that are common in the population rather than from rare variants or spontaneous glitches.

21 Jul 2014