Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Underinsured children in the U.S. increasingly at risk for not getting needed vaccines

Due to limited federal and state funding for vaccines, underinsured children in the United States are increasingly at risk for not getting needed vaccines, according to a new study published August 8 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

8 Aug 2007

Scientists produce functioning neurons from human embryonic stem cells

Scientists with the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Medicine at UCLA were able to produce from human embryonic stem cells a highly pure, large quantity of functioning neurons that will allow them to create models of and study diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, prefrontal dementia and schizophrenia.

8 Aug 2007

Parents' depression impacts child's symptoms of depression

A parent's struggle with stress or depression can lower a child's quality of life -- and it could hinder an overweight youngster's attempts to lose weight, too, University of Florida researchers say.

8 Aug 2007

Breast implants and risk of suicide

Women who undergo breast augmentation surgery are nearly three times as likely to commit suicide, according to a study published in the August issue of Annals of Plastic Surgery .

8 Aug 2007

Perk up the memory girls with three cups of coffee a day!

A new study has found that drinking more than three cups of coffee a day may helped protect older women's memories.

7 Aug 2007

Caffeine may help older women protect their thinking skills

Caffeine may help older women protect their thinking skills, according to a study published in the August 7, 2007, issue of Neurology ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Aug 2007

Variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with ADHD

A variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with thinner tissue in areas of the brain that handle attention, but also appears associated with better clinical outcomes among individuals with the disorder, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007

Brain areas that control attention thinnest in children with ADHD

Brain areas that control attention were thinnest in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who carried a particular version of a gene in a study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

7 Aug 2007

18 to 25 percent of women suffer from migraines

For every man with a migraine, three women are struck by the severe headaches that often come with nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and aura.

6 Aug 2007

As we mature, we are able to create more contextually rich memories

MIT neuroscientists exploring how memory formation differs between children and adults have found that although the two groups have much in common, maturity brings richer memories.

6 Aug 2007

Ddiscovery of a novel molecular switch offers potential for epilepsy

The discovery of a novel molecular switch that powerfully modulates nerve cell activity offers the potential for new mood disorder and epilepsy treatments, University of California, Irvine researchers report.

6 Aug 2007

Tailor-made antidepressants

In spite that the causes of depression have not still been fully identified, scientists acknowledge that genetic and environmental factors play a common role in the onset of this disorder.

6 Aug 2007

Money for medicine

Last week, it was announced that drug addicts in England are to be given shopping vouchers for complying with treatment programmes. In this week's British Medical Journal, two experts debate whether it is acceptable for people to be paid to adhere to medication.

3 Aug 2007

The reverse shoulder prosthesis

Athough most artificial joints resemble the shape and structure of the joint they're designed to replace, one new prosthesis - the reverse shoulder - takes a different approach, reversing the position of the normal ball-and-socket design.

3 Aug 2007

Prolonged periods of deployment among armed forces leading to mental health problems

Prolonged periods of deployment among Britain's armed forces is associated with mental health problems, finds a study published on bmj.com.

3 Aug 2007

Efalizumab effective in treatment of heavy psoriasis

A meta-analysis of four randomized Phase III placebo-controlled trials confirms that the injectable drug Efalizumab, a humanized therapeutic antibody designed to selectively and reversibly block the activation, reactivation and trafficking of T-cells that lead to the development of psoriasis, had an acceptable safety and efficacy profile in the treatment of psoriasis in heavy patients, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine announced today.

3 Aug 2007

Daily stress exacerbates the symptoms lupus

Lupus is an autoimmune disease which produces antibodies causing injuries to the body's cells and tissue.

3 Aug 2007

Modafinil under study for bipolar disorder

A preliminary study of 85 patients with bipolar disorder shows that a drug used to treat patients with sleep disorders might also control the depressive symptoms associated with bipolar disorder.

3 Aug 2007

Gene variation makes people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram

A variation in a gene called GRIK4 appears to make people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram (Celexa) than are people without the variation, a study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, has found.

3 Aug 2007

Sex and gender differences in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

In the first study to directly compare men and women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and severe emphysema, researchers have found that there are marked differences between the sexes.

3 Aug 2007