Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

48 percent of adults in the U.S. have inadequate health literacy

Health problems that place limitations on daily activities and result in pain that interferes with normal work activities were more common among older individuals with poor health literacy, according to a study in the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

27 Sep 2005

Discovery of molecule that causes transverse myelitis

Hopkins researchers have discovered a single molecule that is a cause of an autoimmune disease in the central nervous system, called transverse myelitis (TM), that is related to multiple sclerosis.

26 Sep 2005

Delaying having children defies nature and risks heartbreak

...say experts in the British Medical Journal. If women want families and room for manoeuvre they are unwise to wait till their 30s.

26 Sep 2005

Tests of cognitive function are the best way so far to predict whether healthy elderly people will develop Alzheimer's

Although Alzheimer's disease begins long before symptoms appear, early diagnosis of Alzheimer's has so far been elusive. And given that there is no cure for the disease, benefits of early detection remain questionable.

26 Sep 2005

Men who experience a downward social shift are four times more likely to experience depression

Women were twice as likely to be downwardly mobile but generally avoided the depression and poor psychological wellbeing that researchers found in men in the same position.

26 Sep 2005

Peer victimization may lead to psychological problems

The long-term effects of teasing or harassment by their peers on pre-adolescent children - specifically, depression and anxiety - are related, in part, to the level of victimization at the end of fourth grade, as well as to how much that harassment increased or decreased between fourth and sixth grade, according to a study published in the September/October issue of the journal Child Development.

26 Sep 2005

PET brain scans of a brain chemical messenger system may prove sensitive enough to help plan brain surgery for epilepsy

When drugs fail to control epilepsy, brain surgery is often the only remaining therapeutic option. However, identifying the correct spot for surgery has traditionally required a separate preliminary -- and inherently risky -- surgical procedure.

26 Sep 2005

Downward mobility hits men far harder than women

The findings are based on survey responses from 503 men and women taking part in the Newcastle Thousand Families Study, all of whom were born in May and June 1947 to mothers living in Newcastle upon Tyne, north east England.

26 Sep 2005

Does treatment setting influence suicide rates for substance abusers

Reported rates of suicide attempts by individuals with substance-use disorders (SUDs) range from three percent in the previous 30 days to lifetime rates of 45 percent.

26 Sep 2005

Smaller prefrontal cortex is associated with early-onset drinking

Previous research has shown that alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) are associated with abnormalities of the prefrontal cortex, thalamus and the cerebellar hemispheres in adults.

26 Sep 2005

Botox helps explain possible causes of nerve diseases

Botox, used by Hollywood stars to smooth out facial wrinkles, is playing an important role in UQ research to understand how nerve cells communicate with each other.

22 Sep 2005

Effects of 10 commonly prescribed second-generation antidepressants studied

Because clinical depression is so disabling and affects more than 16 percent of adults in the United States at some time in their lives, researchers have worked hard to develop more effective treatments. But how much better are the newer pharmaceuticals?

21 Sep 2005

New study details side effects of five medications that are currently used to treat people with schizophrenia

A large study funded by NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides, for the first time, detailed information comparing the effectiveness and side effects of five medications - both new and older medications - that are currently used to treat people with schizophrenia.

21 Sep 2005

Key neural system at risk from prenatal exposure to alcohol

In a study of adult monkeys who were exposed to moderate amounts of alcohol in utero, scientists have found that prenatal exposure to alcohol - even in small doses - has pronounced effects on the development and function later in life of the brain's dopamine system, a critical component of the central nervous system that regulates many regions of the brain.

21 Sep 2005

Link between CAPON gene and schizophrenia

We have known for a long time that there is a genetic component to schizophrenia, but nailing down the gene(s) has not been easy.

20 Sep 2005

Millenium Development Goals fail to include the goal of improving the mental health of the poor

Because the Millenium Development Goals fail to include the goal of improving the mental health of the poor, the world may not reach many of the goals, say researchers in an analysis published by PLoS Medicine.

19 Sep 2005

Center for Law and the Public's Health receives important global designation

The Center for Law and the Public's Health at Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities has been designated a World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Collaborating Center on Public Health Law and Human Rights , making it the only academic center of its kind to receive this global status.

19 Sep 2005

Manic depression linked to two chromosomal regions in the human genome

An international team of 53 researchers has offered the most convincing evidence so far linking bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, to two chromosomal regions in the human genome. The finding gives scientists refined targets for further gene studies.

19 Sep 2005

Impact of prevention strategies and improvements in stroke healthcare

Coinciding with National Stroke Week in Australia (19 - 25 September 2005) is the release of results from two recent stroke studies from the George Institute for International Health that investigate both the causative factors as well as a little studied outcome of stroke, that of depression.

19 Sep 2005

Microtubules critical to development of mental disorders

Neuroscientists at the University at Buffalo have shown in two recently published papers that destabilization of structures called microtubules, intracellular highways that transport receptors to their working sites in the brain, likely underlie many mental disorders and could be promising targets for intervention.

12 Sep 2005