Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Health Net’s MA product portfolio offers budget-friendly health plan choices to beneficiaries for 2010

With the kick-off of the Medicare Annual Election Period (AEP) this week, Health Net, Inc. reminds those eligible for Medicare that Health Net’s Medicare Advantage (MA) product portfolio offers a comprehensive range of budget-friendly health plan choices to beneficiaries for 2010.

17 Nov 2009

Global Alliance for Chronic Disease to fight against chronic non-communicable diseases

An alliance of institutions collectively managing an estimated 80 percent of all public health research funding worldwide today announced their first targets for concerted action in the fight against "chronic non-communicable diseases" (CNCDs).

17 Nov 2009

Telephone-delivered collaborative care for treatment of depression in post-CABG patients improve outcomes

Patients who received telephone-delivered collaborative care for treatment of depression after coronary artery bypass graft surgery reported greater improvement in measures of quality of life, physical functioning and mood than patients who received usual care, according to a study in the November 18 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because of its presentation at an American Heart Association scientific conference.

17 Nov 2009

New research provides valuable international profile of mental health disorder

An international study of more than 17,000 people with schizophrenia has found striking similarities in symptoms, medication, employment and sexual problems, despite the fact that it covered a diverse range of patients and healthcare systems in 37 different countries.

17 Nov 2009

Improved productivity and lowered absenteeism are top priorities for business leaders

Improving productivity by keeping employees healthy and working is emerging as the top business objective for employer-sponsored wellness programs around the world. The two exceptions are the United States, where reducing health care cost increases overwhelmingly continues to be the top goal, and Asia, where the most important objective is improving workforce morale.

17 Nov 2009

Studies reveal link between parental monitoring and decreased marijuana usage in adolescents

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug by adolescents, with almost 42% of high school seniors admitting to having experimented with it. Continued marijuana use may result in a number of serious consequences including depression, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, and certain forms of cancer.

17 Nov 2009

FDA approves Par Pharmaceutical's new painkiller drug

Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. (NYSE: PRX) today announced that it has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for the 100mg and 200mg strengths of tramadol ER.

17 Nov 2009

Cortex Pharmaceuticals reports a net loss of $0.06 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2009

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported a net loss applicable to common stock of $3,243,000, or $0.06 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 compared with a net loss applicable to common stock of $3,148,000, or $0.07 per share for the corresponding prior year period.

16 Nov 2009

Self-care tips for hemorrhoids from Mayo Clinic

By about age 50, more than half of adults have dealt with hemorrhoids. The November issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter covers home treatments that can relieve symptoms of this common and embarrassing problem.

16 Nov 2009

SPOT: A one-stop HIV and sexually transmitted diseases testing center for youth

In the last 10 years, the St. Louis area has seen an alarming increase in new diagnoses of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among 13-24 year-olds. Between 1997-2007, more than 50 new diagnoses of HIV were made each year among adolescents and young adults, who are often disconnected from the health-care system or support services. Nationwide, St. Louis has among the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases in this age group.

16 Nov 2009

HealthPartners' health plans ranked top in Minnesota

HealthPartners is among the top 25 best private health plans in the nation and the top ranked plan in Minnesota according to U.S. News & World Report/NCQA “America's Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10.” The report measures how well health plans perform on 50 measures of health care and member satisfaction. Two hundred thirty nine health plans from across the nation are included in the report. The top 50 health plans, including HealthPartners, are listed in the Nov. 16, 2009 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.

16 Nov 2009

Study finds striking similarities in people with schizophrenia across 37 different countries

16 Nov 2009

Chronic pain patients with depression three times more likely to receive opioid medications

Chronic pain patients with a history of depression are three times more likely to receive long-term prescriptions for opioid medications like Vicodin compared to pain patients who do not suffer from depression, according to new research.

16 Nov 2009

NIDA awards $17 million to University of California to establish TMARC

Igor Grant, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues have been awarded a $17 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to establish the Translational Methamphetamine AIDS Research Center (TMARC) at UC San Diego. Grant is director of the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC), a clinical research center designated and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

16 Nov 2009

Doctors face image problems; patients deal with shortages, are urged to question care

Doctors must not only face the fading image of primary care providers, but also physician shortage issues. Meanwhile, some experts suggest patients consider saying "no" to their doctor to control health care costs.

13 Nov 2009

Study confirms that people with severe mental disorders more at risk of dying from heart disease

A large new study confirms that people with severe mental disorders — such as schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders — are 25 percent to 40 percent more prone to die from heart disease than people without mental illness are.

13 Nov 2009

Veterans' health: Measuring the scope of mental health challenges

NPR profiles retired General Eric Shinseki, the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and his efforts to measure the scope of veterans' mental health issues. In his first nine months in this position, he "has spent hours just listening to veterans talk. Shinseki tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that he feels a strong obligation to 'give back' to the men and women he once served with." NPR reports on the task Shinseki faces: "Since 2001, more than 1 million new veterans have come into a system that is being stretched thin." One of Shinseki's missions to improve the care and resources available to these vets is to work with the Department of Defense to "create a computer-driven system that will track service personnel through their careers — including when they become veterans.

13 Nov 2009

Poor mental health in children and teenagers impacts on the length of time they will stay in school: Study

"Our study shows that poor mental health in children and teenagers has a large impact on the length of time they will stay in school," says Dr. Lehrer. He notes a large number of school-based programs have recently been introduced to prevent childhood obesity through lifestyle changes, but suggests the net should be cast more widely. "It's important for policymakers to target health conditions that are not the easiest to identify - like inattention - but may have larger impacts on one's future."

13 Nov 2009

PKCI/HINT1 gene associated with mood regulation

Removing the PKCI/HINT1 gene from mice has an anti-depressant-like and anxiolytic-like effect. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience applied a battery of behavioral tests to the PKCI/HINT1 knockout animals, concluding that the deleted gene may have an important role in mood regulation.

13 Nov 2009

Health Canada approves ONGLYZA for type 2 diabetes treatment

Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada and AstraZeneca Canada today announced that Health Canada has approved ONGLYZA(TM) (saxagliptin) which improves all three key measures of glycemic control - hemoglobin A1c (A1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and post-prandial glucose (PPG) - when taken in combination with other commonly used oral anti-diabetic agents (metformin or a sulfonylurea).

13 Nov 2009

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Health Net’s MA product portfolio offers budget-friendly health plan choices to beneficiaries for 2010

Global Alliance for Chronic Disease to fight against chronic non-communicable diseases

Telephone-delivered collaborative care for treatment of depression in post-CABG patients improve outcomes

New research provides valuable international profile of mental health disorder

Improved productivity and lowered absenteeism are top priorities for business leaders

Studies reveal link between parental monitoring and decreased marijuana usage in adolescents

FDA approves Par Pharmaceutical's new painkiller drug

Cortex Pharmaceuticals reports a net loss of $0.06 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2009

Self-care tips for hemorrhoids from Mayo Clinic

SPOT: A one-stop HIV and sexually transmitted diseases testing center for youth

HealthPartners' health plans ranked top in Minnesota

Study finds striking similarities in people with schizophrenia across 37 different countries

Chronic pain patients with depression three times more likely to receive opioid medications

NIDA awards $17 million to University of California to establish TMARC

Doctors face image problems; patients deal with shortages, are urged to question care

Study confirms that people with severe mental disorders more at risk of dying from heart disease

Veterans' health: Measuring the scope of mental health challenges

Poor mental health in children and teenagers impacts on the length of time they will stay in school: Study

PKCI/HINT1 gene associated with mood regulation

Health Canada approves ONGLYZA for type 2 diabetes treatment

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Newsletters you may be interested in