Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Bipolar disorders linked to increased risk of early death from medical illness

Bipolar disorders appear to increase the risk of early death from a medical illness, according to a literature review study published as the lead article this week in the journal Psychiatric Services.

2 Feb 2009

Daytime impairments in senior men with obstructive sleep apnea are related to total sleep time

A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP shows that daytime functional impairments in older men with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are largely explained by total sleep time rather than OSA severity.

2 Feb 2009

Researchers discover link between brain iron levels and serotonin

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have found a surprising link between brain iron levels and serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in neuropsychiatric conditions ranging from autism to major depression.

29 Jan 2009

Avoiding environmental tobacco smoke during pregnancy

Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) commonly called secondhand smoke or passive smoking, can harm a developing fetus and may account for complications during pregnancy and birth. It is now known that non-whites experience more adverse pregnancy effects than do whites from smoking and ETS exposure.

29 Jan 2009

Discovery of brain's memory 'buffer' in single cells

Individual nerve cells in the front part of the brain can hold traces of memories on their own for as long as a minute and possibly longer, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

27 Jan 2009

Australian parent help program reduces child abuse in the United States

The program, the 'Positive Parenting Program or "Triple P" trains nurses, social workers and others in the community to advise struggling parents.

27 Jan 2009

Breastfed babies less likely to be neglected

An international team of specialists have carried out a study which has revealed that mothers who breastfeed are less likely to neglect their children.

27 Jan 2009

Can cognitive behavioural therapy help defeat depression?

The effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for the treatment of depression will be examined by researchers at the University of Bristol as part of the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme.

22 Jan 2009

Migraines linked to mental disorders

Migraine headaches can precede the onset of mental disorders, according to a growing body of knowledge that includes a new study in the January-February 2009 issue of General Hospital Psychiatry.

21 Jan 2009

Too much weight loss can be a bad thing

Doctors are not doing enough to pick up on problems with excessive weight loss, says a Saint Louis University physician who helped draft recent guidelines to diagnose the condition called "cachexia" (kuh-kex-ee-uh).

21 Jan 2009

Dynamical theory and novel 4-D colorimetric method reveal modus operandi of intact living brain

For the brain to achieve its intricate functions such as perception, action, attention and decision making, neural regions have to work together yet still retain their specialized roles.

21 Jan 2009

Anxious seniors may benefit from SSRIs

Many older adults worry - a lot. Almost one in 10 Americans over age 60 suffer from an anxiety disorder that causes them to worry excessively about normal things - like health, finances, disability and family.

21 Jan 2009

New findings on schizophrenia

Schizophrenia may blur the boundary between internal and external realities by overactivating a brain system that is involved in self-reflection, and thus causing an exaggerated focus on self, a new MIT and Harvard brain imaging study has found.

21 Jan 2009

Report highlights diagnostic and treatment uncertainties in ADHD

Significant local and international variations in the diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) stem at least in part from a "zone of ambiguity"--different interpretations of what is normal behavior and what level of impairment is required for a psychiatric diagnosis.

21 Jan 2009

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have same genetic causes

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have for decades been regarded as two distinct psychotic disorders when it comes to definitions and risk factors.

21 Jan 2009

Sharp increase in use of prescription sleep aids by young adults

Use of prescription sleep aids nearly tripled among 18- to 24-year-olds between 1998 and 2006, according to a study released today by the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters.

19 Jan 2009

Epigenetics may account for some inherited traits and diseases

Embargoed Until January 18, 2009 at 18:00 Greenwich Mean Time / 13:00 Eastern Standard Time (TORONTO): Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have detected evidence that DNA may not be the only carrier of heritable information; a secondary molecular mechanism called epigenetics may also account for some inherited traits and diseases.

19 Jan 2009