Psychiatry News and Research

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

Study identifies link between autism spectrum disorder risk and prenatal weight gain

New research from the University of Utah shows the answer to that question may be yes in some situations. Researchers have uncovered an association between autism spectrum disorders and a small increase in the amount of weight a mother gains during pregnancy. The results of the new study, "Maternal Prenatal Weight Gain and Autism Spectrum Disorders," are published in November edition of the journal Pediatrics.

28 Oct 2013

UL research aims to improve diagnosis and management of delirium among palliative care patients

University of Limerick researchers have been awarded €175,000 to undertake research which aims to improve diagnosis and management of delirium, dementia and depression among palliative care patients.

28 Oct 2013

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome are highly heritable

An international research consortium led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University of Chicago has answered several questions about the genetic background of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome, providing the first direct confirmation that both are highly heritable and also revealing major differences between the underlying genetic makeup of the disorders.

25 Oct 2013

Longer looks: Website problems 'could be worse;' why poor people take more health risks; preventing suicide

[President Barack Obama's] advisors shouldn't be surprised -- the success rate for large, multi-million dollar commercial and government IT projects is very low. The Standish Group, which has a database of some 50,000 development projects, looked at the outcomes of multimillion dollar development projects and ran the numbers for Computerworld. Of 3,555 projects from 2003 to 2012 that had labor costs of at least $10 million, only 6.4% were successful. The Standish data showed that 52% of the large projects were "challenged," meaning they were over budget, behind schedule or didn't meet user expectations. The remaining 41.4% were failures -- they were either abandoned or started anew from scratch (Patrick Thibodeau, 10/21).

25 Oct 2013

Autoimmune link to schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia have an increased risk for developing autoimmune diseases, especially if they contract an infection, shows a registry-based study.

24 Oct 2013

Researchers develop new interactive software game to help children with peanut allergies

Elizabeth McQuaid, Ph.D., a staff psychologist from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center, is leading a research team testing a new interactive software game developed to help children with peanut allergies better manage allergy symptoms, social situations and proper food avoidance.

24 Oct 2013

Neuropsychoanalysis Association to host conference on depression

The Neuropsychoanalysis Association is hosting a conference for researchers and clinicians on depression, "Towards a Real Understanding of Depression: Lessons from the Treatment Battlefeld and New Research," on Friday, November 1, 2013 from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, The Bonnie and Kenneth Davis Auditorium, 1470 Madison Avenue (between 101st and 102nd Streets) in New York City.

24 Oct 2013

Scientists to converge at nation's first conference on computational psychiatry

More than 70 scientists from around the world and from a range of intellectual traditions will convene in Miami this week for what is believed to be the nation's first conference on computational psychiatry, an emerging field in neuroscience.

23 Oct 2013

Study identifies new genes involved in autism

A scientific study published on the journal Molecular Psychiatry identifies new genes involved in autism, a polygenic disorder that is difficult to diagnose and treat. Autism spectrum disorders represent a group of neurodevelopmental disorders which affect one out of 80-100 children.

23 Oct 2013

Researchers find relationship between solar intensity and ADHD prevalence

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is the most common childhood psychiatric disorder. Scientists do not know what causes it, but genetics play a clear role. Other risk factors have also been identified, including premature birth, low birth weight, a mother's use of alcohol or tobacco during pregnancy, and environmental exposures to toxins like lead.

23 Oct 2013

SENSE Theatre program improves social deficits in adolescents with autism

A novel autism intervention program using theatre to teach reciprocal communication skills is improving social deficits in adolescents with the disorder that now affects an estimated one in 88 children, Vanderbilt University researchers released today in the journal Autism Research.

23 Oct 2013

Gender differences in involuntary schizophrenia inpatients

The clinical characteristics of men and women who are involuntarily hospitalized for schizophrenia treatment differ from each other, leading to different management approaches, research shows.

22 Oct 2013

Professor wins Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from Institute of Medicine

The Institute of Medicine today awarded the 2013 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health to William T. Carpenter, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.

22 Oct 2013

CBT more effective in reducing symptoms of health anxiety

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is substantially more effective than standard care at reducing symptoms of health anxiety in medical patients, and can be delivered by non-specialist staff with minimal training at little extra cost.

19 Oct 2013

Schizophrenic hippocampal abnormalities blamed on glutamate

Elevated glutamate levels correlate with reduced tissue volume in the hippocampus of patients with schizophrenia, a study shows.

18 Oct 2013

Obesity may aggravate bipolar neuropathology

Being overweight may result in increased white matter loss in key brain regions in patients with bipolar disorder, research suggests.

18 Oct 2013

GW SMHS announces new educational and research affiliation with WCP

The GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences is pleased to announce a new educational and research affiliation with the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis that will provide educational opportunities for GW's medical students and residents, as well as consultative relationships with the SMHS medical humanities program.

18 Oct 2013

Cardiometabolic risk high for schizophrenia patients

The risk for abdominal obesity may be increased as much as fourfold for patients with multi-episode schizophrenia compared with the rest of the population, reveal findings from a meta-analysis.

17 Oct 2013

Psychotic symptoms alone denote medical health risk

People with symptoms of psychosis have an increased rate of medical comorbidities and unhealthy lifestyle habits even if they do not have a psychiatric diagnosis, shows a worldwide study.

17 Oct 2013

Review article looks at recent research about insomnia among American soldiers

Various behavioral treatment options are helping to treat the sleeplessness experienced by one in every two American soldiers who have been deployed in recent military operations. So says Dr. Adam Bramoweth of the Department of Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and Dr. Anne Germain of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the US.

17 Oct 2013