Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Polls show more teen girls see "alcopop" ads than women age 31-44

The American Medical Association (AMA) released the results of two nationwide polls today that reveal the extent of underage consumption and marketing exposure to "alcopops" or so-called "girlie drinks." The AMA expressed concern that hard-liquor brands are using these sweet-flavored malt beverages as "gateway" beverages to attract less-experienced drinkers.

20 Dec 2004

Ethical challenges ahead for neuroscience and society

Are we ready for a future where brain scans invade our private thoughts? Will we have to alter our brains chemically to keep competitive at our jobs? Could science determine that "souls" do not exist, and, if so, what does that mean for how we think of ourselves as human beings?

20 Dec 2004

Detrol LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder

Pfizer today announced results of a comprehensive six-year review of efficacy and safety data for Detrol LA (tolterodine tartrate extended release capsules) indicating that Detrol LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) with a low occurrence of side effects, and should be considered first-line therapy.

13 Dec 2004

Realistic expectations make holidays happier

'Tis the season for spending time with family, friends, and for many – a therapist. But holiday blues, nagging family stress and overindulgence can be avoided if you set realistic expectations, according to a psychology professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

13 Dec 2004

Association between gastrointestinal disorders and sleep disturbances

Mayo Clinic researchers report in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings an association between gastrointestinal disorders and sleep disturbances. The association is important because these problems cause significant health issues including greater need for general medical and mental health treatment.

13 Dec 2004

Cumulative trauma can have an overall effect on health in later years

Cumulative trauma during a person's lifetime can have an overall effect on health in one's later years, according to a study that examines the consequences of traumatic events on older adults' physical health.

13 Dec 2004

Early ritalin may cause long-term effects on the brain

A new study conducted in rats by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School suggests that the misdiagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) combined with prescription drug use in children may lead to a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms in adulthood.

13 Dec 2004

Newly discovered genetic defect might represent an important risk factor for major depression

A newly discovered genetic defect might represent an important risk factor for major depression, a condition which effects 20 million people in the U.S., according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.

13 Dec 2004

Powerful women at a disadvantage in the marriage market because men may prefer to marry less accomplished women

Men are more likely to want to marry women who are their assistants at work rather than their colleagues or bosses, a University of Michigan study finds.

13 Dec 2004

Labelling unhappy children as depressed may be harmful

Unhappiness among children seems to be rising, but labelling it as depression and prescribing antidepressants is ineffective and possibly harmful, warns a child psychiatrist in the BMJ.

13 Dec 2004

Shorter hospice enrollment was linked to elevated depression among family caregivers

Delayed enrollment in hospice can result in increased depression among family members after the death of their loved one, according to a study by Yale researchers published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

8 Dec 2004

African health care systems: what went wrong?

The last century witnessed unparalleled improvements in the health indicators of many countries in the African Region, particularly reductions in child mortality.

8 Dec 2004

Teen-agers suffering from bulimia may also be struggling with a chronic form of depression

Teen-agers suffering from bulimia may in fact be fighting a two-front war, coping with the effects of a devastating eating disorder while struggling with a chronic form of depression, reveals research by Texas A&M University psychologist Marisol Perez

8 Dec 2004

Neurobiologists distinguish in unprecedented detail the patterns of brain activity

Using hairlike microelectrodes and computer analysis, neurobiologists at Duke University Medical Center have demonstrated that they can see the detailed instant-to-instant electrical "brainscape" of neural activity across a living brain.

8 Dec 2004

Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites born in the United States have a higher risk for developing psychiatric disorders

According to the results of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study, reported in the December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites born in the United States have a higher risk for developing psychiatric disorders than their foreign-born counterparts who have immigrated to the United States.

7 Dec 2004

Babies who do not sleep on their stomachs fail to learn behaviors that may lessen their risk SIDS

Babies who never sleep on their stomachs don't learn behaviors that may lessen their risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. Even so, the researchers caution that infants should always be placed on their backs to sleep.

6 Dec 2004

Children involved with child welfare systems are at high risk for emotional and behavioral problems

Children in the child welfare system, especially younger children and those remaining in their homes, have low rates of mental health services use, according to an article in the December issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

6 Dec 2004