Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

AstraZeneca to pay $520 million in largest pharmaceutical civil settlement

AstraZeneca will pay the federal government $520 million in civil fines to settle charges of off-label marketing of the powerful antipsychotic drug Seroquel. The settlement is the largest pharmaceutical civil settlement and among the top five civil and criminal drug company settlements in U.S. history.

28 Apr 2010

Freedland Russo announces $520M settlement over Seroquel marketing practice lawsuit against AstraZeneca

Freedland Russo is pleased that Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General, announced the $520 million dollar settlement of a lawsuit filed against AstraZeneca. The settlement announced today in Philadelphia indicates marketing practices for Seroquel included promotion of the drug by physicians participating in clinical studies and drug sales representatives encouraging doctors to prescribe for the unapproved uses.

28 Apr 2010

Laughter increases production of antibodies and activates body's protective cells

Laughter is a highly complex process. Joyous or mirthful laughter is considered a positive stress (eustress) that involves complicated brain activities leading to a positive effect on health. Norman Cousins first suggested the idea that humor and the associated laughter can benefit a person's health in the 1970s. His ground-breaking work, as a layperson diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, documented his use of laughter in treating himself—with medical approval and oversight—into remission.

27 Apr 2010

Slitrk5 gene linked to development of OCD-like behaviors

Researchers at the Ansary Stem Cell Institute and the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College discovered that mice missing a single gene developed repetitive obsessive-compulsive-like behaviors. The genetically altered mice, which behaved much like people with a certain type of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), could help scientists design new therapies for this debilitating condition.

27 Apr 2010

Health care costs of abused women change from year to year after abuse ends: Study

Victims of domestic violence endure significantly higher health costs than other women for three years after the abuse ends, a new study finds.

27 Apr 2010

RENCI project to build easy-to-use tool to help doctors determine best treatment options for patients

Gersing is the mastermind behind MindLinc, a tool for managing, evaluating and improving behavioral health treatment used at Duke and in medical clinics across the U.S. MindLinc includes anonymous emergency medical record data accumulated from psychiatric patients over 20 years. As with any large data set, quickly analyzing data and translating the analysis into better patient care poses many challenges.

27 Apr 2010

New discovery links Slitrk5 gene to development of OCD-like behaviors

27 Apr 2010

Researchers suggest association between mood and chocolate

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that women and men eat more chocolate as depressive symptoms increase, suggesting an association between mood and chocolate.

27 Apr 2010

Military trauma transition units breed culture of drug abuse, depression

The New York Times reports on a Warrior Transition Battalion unit in Colorado used by the military to transition injured veterans back into the military or their home lives. "Created in the wake of the scandal in 2007 over serious shortcomings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Warrior Transition Units were intended to be sheltering way stations where injured soldiers could recuperate and return to duty or gently process out of the Army.

27 Apr 2010

A first step in the long road to health reform

Australia provides good health care to the majority of its citizens most of the time and compares well with like countries. The capacity for illness to destroy families financially, seen in the US and in many less economically advanced countries where governments make small or no contributions to the cost of health care, is much diminished by Medicare, public hospitals and subsidised pharmaceuticals.

27 Apr 2010

Chocolate and depression?

The ‘chocoholics’ of the world may also be the most depressed people around. A recent study found that those who were suffering from depression ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate a month, compared to just 5.4 servings eaten by those who were not depressed. And the people who suffered from major depression ate 11.8 servings per month.

27 Apr 2010

Popular antidepressants may have beneficial side effects for cardiovascular health: Study

A class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may provide a boost to cardiovascular health by affecting the way platelets, small cells in the blood involved in clotting, clump together, say researchers at the Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.

26 Apr 2010

Mikki sponsors National Grooming Week

Mikki, sponsors of National Grooming Week, recognise that the bond between people and animals is a strong one and one which can actually benefit any pet owner. Recent research carried out suggests that owning a pet can help reduce stress levels in humans in a way only they know how!

26 Apr 2010

MicroStockProfit.com releases investment report on Rexahn Pharmaceuticals

MicroStockProfit.com announces an investment report featuring Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc. The report includes financial, comparative and investment analyses, and industry information you need to know to make an educated investment decision.

26 Apr 2010

Negotiations break off between TUH and PASNAP

Negotiations broke off early Monday morning between Temple University Hospital and the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals after sessions on Saturday and an over 18-hour session Sunday into Monday.

26 Apr 2010

Sexual addiction therapists Steffens Counseling and Hope Source Counseling form strategic partnership

Sexual addiction is defined as any sexually-related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one's work environment. Sex becomes the organizing principle of an addict's life to the extent they are willing to sacrifice what they cherish most in order to preserve and continue their unhealthy behavior.

26 Apr 2010

Study finds changes in astrocytes key to brain dysfunction

Neuroscience researchers have zeroed in on a novel mechanism that helps control the firing of electrical signals among neurons. By isolating the molecular and electrical events that occur when this control is disrupted, the new research sheds light on epileptic seizures and potentially on other prominent diseases involving poorly regulated brain activity.

26 Apr 2010

World’s largest study on the safety of using mobile phones

Health experts have been saying that mobile phones are bad for us for a long time. Now they are getting set to prove it beyond any doubt. Researchers in London recently launched the world’s largest study on the safety of using mobile phones. A quarter of a million mobile phone users will be tracked through their medical records for more than 20 years. This is the largest study in the world on the health effects of using mobile phones and is being called Cosmos.

25 Apr 2010

Spring fever not an official medical condition

In the season of ducklings, blooming dogwoods and open-toed sandals, some people are struck with a mysterious malady - spring fever.

24 Apr 2010

JHUSON introduces Text4Baby program to provide parenting tips to new parents

Having a baby is a very exciting time for new parents, with all the preparation and anticipation that comes with it. But how do parents find help and assistance—from prenatal care to parenting tips? Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing have come up with innovative ways to provide parenting tips to new parents of all demographics.

24 Apr 2010