Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from a virus that causes a fatal nervous system disorder, according to research conducted at Brown University and Case Western Reserve University.

18 Nov 2004

Children throughout the world are increasingly being prescribed antidepressants

Children throughout the world are increasingly being prescribed antidepressants and other drugs designed to calm or stimulate the brain, finds research in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Prescription rates increased the most in the UK, the research suggests.

17 Nov 2004

White Paper aims to reduce the number of people who smoke

Health Secretary John Reid today published Choosing Health – the Government’s White Paper on improving public health in England.

16 Nov 2004

Large increase in male mentally ill drug abusers

The amount of mentally ill male drug abusers has increased by more than 79% in five years across England and Wales, finds research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

16 Nov 2004

Computer vignette effective at measuring quality of physician practice

A new measurement tool called the computerized clinical vignette can help clinicians and policymakers assess and improve the quality of physician practice while potentially reducing costs, according to a study led by a researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

16 Nov 2004

Prenatal alcohol exposure has effects far beyond fetal alcohol syndrome

Numerous studies have documented IQ deficits in children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Little research, however, has found IQ deficits in children with alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), who generally exhibit less severe neurobehavioral deficits than children with FAS.

14 Nov 2004

Shp2 protein plays a critical role in obesity

A team of researchers led by The Burnham Institute's Gen-Sheng Feng, Ph.D. has discovered that a protein called Shp2 plays a critical role in obesity.

11 Nov 2004

Atorvastatin slows down mental decline and improves depressive symptoms in people with Alzheimer’s disease

The cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin slowed down mental decline and improved depressive symptoms in people with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a small pilot study reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2004.

11 Nov 2004

New study shows significant improvements in self-reported pelvic pain and depression after hysterectomy

Gynecologists have long been concerned at the lack of data on whether or not women with pelvic pain and or depression before hysterectomy improve in these symptoms after surgery.

10 Nov 2004

Scientists have identified a fault in the brain waves of schizophrenics that may explain their hallucinations and disturbed thinking

The researchers studied the brain waves of normal and schizophrenic patients as they responded to images. Those with the disorder showed no electrical activity in a certain frequency-the “gamma” range, from 30 to 100 brain waves per second-that healthy brain cells use to exchange information about the environment and form mental impressions.

9 Nov 2004

Rising professional liability insurance costs in Florida have had a major impact on the availability of health care services in rural areas

According to the article, almost half of the states, including Florida, face serious problems with professional liability insurance (PLI). In these states, huge increases in insurance premiums, physicians leaving these states, and the closing of health care facilities including emergency departments, are reported frequently.

8 Nov 2004

Obese and overweight men spend 3.5 times more on prescription drugs than normal-weight men

As middle-aged men’s weight goes up, so do their monthly costs for prescription drugs to treat heart disease risk factors and weight-related conditions, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2004.

8 Nov 2004

Dopamine in the brain plays a key role in how we make choices

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder studying Parkinson's disease patients found strong evidence that dopamine in the brain plays a key role in how people implicitly learn to make choices that lead to good outcomes, while avoiding bad ones.

8 Nov 2004

After stopping drinking, the brain grows back - significant implications for treatment of alcoholism during recovery

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have reported - for the first time - a burst in new brain cell development during abstinence from chronic alcohol consumption.

8 Nov 2004

Schwarzenegger puts tens of thousands of Californians at risk, according to Californian Nurses

The California Nurses Association condemned a decision by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today, at the behest of the multi-billion dollar hospital industry, to suspend major provisions of California's law requiring safe registered nurse-to-patient staffing ratios

5 Nov 2004

Problem gambling is a health issue that needs to be taken seriously

The United Kingdom is just about to undergo one of the most radical changes of gambling legislation in its history. The new gambling bill will provide the British public with increased opportunities and access to gambling like they have never seen before.

5 Nov 2004

Body's 'internal marijuana': A new target for treatment of schizophrenia, Parkinson's?

“Endocannabinoids” is an impressive word that sounds like the name for a group of tribal warriors or an ancient people. Actually, it is the scientific term for beneficial molecules produced in the brain that act as “a sort of internal marijuana in our system

4 Nov 2004

African American HIV patients treated by white doctors receive life-saving HIV medication later than those who have an African American doctor

"Does Racial Concordance Between HIV-Positive Patients and Their Physicians Affect the Time to Receipt of Protease Inhibitors?" is published in the November issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

4 Nov 2004

alpha4 may prove to be useful target for smoking addiction therapies

Nicotine is responsible for more than four million smoking-related deaths each year. Yet people still smoke. Why? One reason is the stranglehold of addiction, started when nicotine enhances the release of a neurotransmitter called dopamine

4 Nov 2004

Ecstasy use down among America's youth

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) just-released 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reports the number of current ecstasy users decreased between 2002 and 2003, from 676,000 (0.3 percent) to 470,000 (0.2 percent).

4 Nov 2004

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

Children throughout the world are increasingly being prescribed antidepressants

White Paper aims to reduce the number of people who smoke

Large increase in male mentally ill drug abusers

Computer vignette effective at measuring quality of physician practice

Prenatal alcohol exposure has effects far beyond fetal alcohol syndrome

Shp2 protein plays a critical role in obesity

Atorvastatin slows down mental decline and improves depressive symptoms in people with Alzheimer’s disease

New study shows significant improvements in self-reported pelvic pain and depression after hysterectomy

Scientists have identified a fault in the brain waves of schizophrenics that may explain their hallucinations and disturbed thinking

Rising professional liability insurance costs in Florida have had a major impact on the availability of health care services in rural areas

Obese and overweight men spend 3.5 times more on prescription drugs than normal-weight men

Dopamine in the brain plays a key role in how we make choices

After stopping drinking, the brain grows back - significant implications for treatment of alcoholism during recovery

Schwarzenegger puts tens of thousands of Californians at risk, according to Californian Nurses

Problem gambling is a health issue that needs to be taken seriously

Body's 'internal marijuana': A new target for treatment of schizophrenia, Parkinson's?

African American HIV patients treated by white doctors receive life-saving HIV medication later than those who have an African American doctor

alpha4 may prove to be useful target for smoking addiction therapies

Ecstasy use down among America's youth

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

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