Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Impact of parental behavior on children's future behavior

How parents handle everyday marital conflicts has a significant effect on how secure their children feel, which, in turn, significantly affects their future emotional adjustment.

16 Feb 2006

Reading problems and behavior problems in boys are intertwined

It's been known for more than a decade that children with reading problems, particularly boys, also tend to have behavior problems, and vice versa. The reason behind the connection, however, remained unclear.

16 Feb 2006

ECT shock treatment improves quality of life in patients with major depression

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - shock treatment -improves quality of life in patients with major depression, and that improved quality of life continues for six months, according to a report in the February Journal of Affective Disorders.

16 Feb 2006

Floating reduces stress-related pain

Treatment in the form of floating in huge tanks of saltwater, so-called 'floating', is effective for chronic stress-related pain. This is shown in a study at Karlstad University, Sweden, led by Professor Torsten Norlander.

16 Feb 2006

A high level of education means Alzheimer's hits later, but harder and faster

According to researchers at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, high levels of education may help ward off Alzheimer’s disease, but they also speed up its progression once the disease has developed.

16 Feb 2006

Panorama programme lead to significant increase in adverse paroxetine reports

The number of adverse reactions reported by UK doctors to the antidepressant paroxetine - often know by its brand name Seroxat - rose by 61 per cent after three editions of the BBC's award-winning current affairs programme Panorama explored increasing concerns about the drug.

14 Feb 2006

Study provides animal model of depression

A Florida State University scientist used a gene transfer technique to block the expression of a gene associated with clinical depression in a new study of mice that could lead to better treatment of human beings with this condition.

14 Feb 2006

Potential universal strategy for treating drug addiction

An international research team led by the University of Saskatchewan has discovered a signaling pathway in the brain involved in drug addiction, together with a method for blocking its action, that may point to a single treatment strategy for most addictions.

14 Feb 2006

Music therapy helps sick babies

A project led by a researcher from the University of Western Sydney has found that music therapy can help sick babies in intensive care maintain normal behavioural development, making them less irritable, upset and less likely to cry.

14 Feb 2006

Asthmatics more likely to have heart disease and cancer

According to new research adults with asthma are twice as likely to have heart disease and older asthmatics have an increased risk of cancer.

14 Feb 2006

Gene therapy cures depressed mice

Researchers in the U.S. say that deleting a specific gene in the brain of mice that have been conditioned to be depressed, has the same effect as antidepressants.

13 Feb 2006

Girls are catching up with boys in use of illicit substances

Despite commonly held beliefs that boys are at higher risk for using illegal substances, data indicate that girls have caught up with boys in illicit drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use. There are also more girls who are new users of substances than boys.

13 Feb 2006

Stopping antidepressants during pregnancy may lead to relapse

Women who stop taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy are at a five times greater risk for recurrence of depression than are women who continue taking their medication throughout their pregnancies, according to a multi-institutional study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

13 Feb 2006

Mass behavioral health plan is a good value

A statewide organization representing over 100 community-based mental health and substance abuse service providers, found that the MassHealth behavioral health carve-out provides efficient and effective mental health and substance abuse services and is of good taxpayer value to the Commonwealth.

13 Feb 2006

Rett disease progression altered by changing expression of gene

Scientists from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Brandeis University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology report in the journal Neuron that increasing levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) alleviates symptoms in a mouse model of the childhood disorder Rett Syndrome.

13 Feb 2006

Use of antidepressants during pregnancy linked to neonatal abstinence syndrome in infants

Almost one-third of 60 newborn infants whose mothers took antidepressants during pregnancy experienced neonatal abstinence syndrome, a type of withdrawal with symptoms that include high-pitched crying, tremors and disturbed sleep, according to a study in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

9 Feb 2006

Depression linked to Alzheimer's

A lifetime history of depression is associated with increased plaques and tangles in the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease and more rapid cognitive decline, according to a study by researchers at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

9 Feb 2006

Bipolar disorder in children

Children with bipolar disorder experience more enduring and rapidly changing symptoms of the disease than adults, according to a study that, for the first time, maps the clinical progression of each of the three sub-types of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.

9 Feb 2006

Parents have higher levels of depression

A study by Florida State University professor Robin Simon and Vanderbilt University's Ranae Evenson found that parents have significantly higher levels of depression than adults who do not have children.

9 Feb 2006

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical announce availability of 2 mg Abilify (aripiprazole) tablet

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. today announced two newly available options of Abilify (aripiprazole) -- a 2 mg tablet strength and a nonrefrigerated oral solution (1 mg/mL).

7 Feb 2006