Psychiatry News and Research

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

Antibiotic prescribing rates raise concerns over e-visits

E-visits offer a comparable standard of care to traditional physician office visits but antibiotic prescribing rates are higher, particularly for urinary tract infections, say US investigators.

23 Nov 2012

Antioxidant defense reduced in teens with psychotic family history

Mentally healthy adolescents with a family history of psychosis have lower total antioxidant status, indicating increased oxidative stress, than those without such a family history.

22 Nov 2012

Study provides new insight into human cognitive function and risk for neurological diseases

Short snippets of DNA found in human brain tissue provide new insight into human cognitive function and risk for developing certain neurological diseases, according to researchers from the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The findings are published in the November 20th issue of PLoS Biology.

22 Nov 2012

Somnogen induces sleep in patients with primary hypersomnia

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered that dozens of adults with an elevated need for sleep have a substance in their cerebrospinal fluid that acts like a sleeping pill.

22 Nov 2012

Promising results for pneumococcal vaccine

Research published in The Lancet shows that the PHiD-CV10 vaccine is highly effective at protecting children against invasive pneumococcal disease.

21 Nov 2012

Factors linked to cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia identified

The cognitive dysfunction regularly seen in schizophrenia patients may be associated with negative symptoms and medication-induced extrapyramidal symptoms, show study findings.

21 Nov 2012

Pregnant women with mental health disorders face too many barriers to stop smoking

Pregnant women with mental health disorders are facing too many barriers to help them quit smoking during pregnancy despite their willingness to accept support, finds a new study published today (21 November) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

21 Nov 2012

More than half of all retired people report sleeping at least 7.5 hours per night

More than half of all retired people aged 65 and over report sleeping at least 7.5 hours per night, and between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., contrary to commonly held assumptions that most elderly go to bed early and have trouble sleeping through the night, according to a study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Sleep and Chronobiology Center (SCC) and University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR).

21 Nov 2012

Rituximab may help patients with aPL-related clinical problems

Rituximab, a drug used to treat cancer and arthritis, may help patients with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) who suffer from aPL-related clinical problems that do not respond to anticoagulation, such as cardiac disease and kidney disease, according to a new study by rheumatology researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery. The study appears online ahead of print, in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

21 Nov 2012

Discovery of DKK1-WNT pathway reveals new drug targets for Alzheimer's

The discovery of the molecular pathway that drives the changes seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients is reported today, revealing new targets for drug discovery that could be exploited to combat the disease. The study gives the most detailed understanding yet of the complex processes leading to Alzheimer's.

21 Nov 2012

Sharp decline in ECT availability and use in the U.S. general hospitals

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered the most effective treatment option for patients with severe depression who cannot find symptom relief through antidepressant medications or psychotherapy. In a new study, researchers at Butler Hospital and Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island found a sharp decline in the availability and use of ECT in general hospitals across the U.S.

21 Nov 2012

TAU researcher connects computer communications and psychosis

As Internet access becomes increasingly widespread, so do related psychopathologies such as Internet addiction and delusions related to the technology and to virtual relationships. Computer communications such as Facebook and chat groups are an important part of this story, says Dr. Uri Nitzan of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Shalvata Mental Health Care Center in a new paper published in the Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences.

21 Nov 2012

Novel test reveals rate of progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in patients

A novel test that measures proteins from nerve damage that are deposited in blood and spinal fluid reveals the rate of progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in patients, according to researchers from Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida, Emory University and the University of Florida.

21 Nov 2012

Study: 2-PMPA improves cognition in mice with MS

Johns Hopkins researchers report the successful use of a form of MRI to identify what appears to be a key biochemical marker for cognitive impairment in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). In follow-up experiments on mice with a rodent form of MS, researchers were able to use an experimental compound to manipulate that same marker and dramatically improve learning and memory.

21 Nov 2012

No advantage of continuous over bolus doxorubicin in ALL children

Research suggests that there is no long-term advantage, in terms of cardioprotection or event-free survival, from giving continuous instead of bolus doxorubicin infusion in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

20 Nov 2012

Eating disorders linked with poor decision-making skills

Spanish study results demonstrate that individuals with eating disorders may be worse decision-makers than those without such conditions.

20 Nov 2012

Psychiatric disorders reduce patient fecundity, especially in men

Findings published in the Archives of General Psychiatry show that patients with schizophrenia, autism, and anorexia nervosa have significantly fewer children compared with the general population, suggesting these conditions are under strong selection to be removed from the population.

20 Nov 2012

Improved bipolar screening with combined scales

Research findings suggest combining the Mood Disorder Questionnaire and Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale provides better diagnostic screening than using each in isolation.

20 Nov 2012

CAMH psychiatrist receives Polanyi Prize for university research in Ontario

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is extremely proud to announce that psychiatrist Dr. Aristotle Voineskos, Koerner New Scientist and head of CAMH's Kimel Family Translational Imaging-Genetics Research Laboratory in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, has been named one of five winners of the prestigious Polanyi Prize for university research in Ontario.

20 Nov 2012