Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Lack of iodine prompts new Australian study

A fear that Australians could be suffering serious ill effects from lack of iodine in their diets has prompted a new study of New South Wales, Riverina residents by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences.

30 Mar 2004

St. John’s wort may interfere with cancer-fighting drug’s ability to prevent relapse in leukemia patients

St. John’s wort, an herb thought to be a safe, natural remedy for mild depression, may interfere with a powerful cancer-fighting drug’s ability to prevent relapse in leukemia patients, a University of Florida pharmacy researcher will report March 27 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

26 Mar 2004

Study shows Levitra enhances patients' self-esteem by improving erections

The first clinical study to evaluate LEVITRA™ (vardenafil HCl) in men with mild Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and erectile dysfunction (ED) showed LEVITRA produced statistically significant improvements over baseline in all measures of erectile function (EF) and depression/self-esteem. In the study, men taking Levitra were nearly three times more likely to report improved erections than men taking placebo.

24 Mar 2004

Levonorgestrel-Releasing Intrauterine System Lessens Decrease Hysterectomy Rates in Finland

In the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding, levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) or hysterectomy improves equally health related quality of life, but the costs after 5 years are significantly lower in women whose treatment was started with IUS.

23 Mar 2004

The placebo effect, study suggest pain management is possible

A Columbia professor has uncovered fresh evidence of the existence of the often-debated placebo effect. Even the professor himself, Tor D. Wager, of the Department of Psychology, was surprised by his team's findings. The study showed that the human brain processes pain differently when people believe that they have been given a pain-relieving skin cream. Wager, lead author of the study, defines "placebo" as a treatment that has no direct pharmacological effect and that may influence one's experience and physiology through one's beliefs.

22 Mar 2004

Supercomputer to help the diagnosis of epilepsy, stroke, depression and other brain conditions

The University of Oregon, Electrical Geodesics, Inc. (EGI), and IBM have announced a new project that uses grid computing, Linux and IBM supercomputer technology to speed and improve the diagnosis of Epilepsy, stroke, depression and other brain conditions.

22 Mar 2004

Tablet of Modafinil may improve a schizophrenics memory

Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge recently identified a method of improving cognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia, without the side-effects traditionally found with cognitive enhancers. Ms. Danielle Turner, together with colleagues from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Prof. Barbara Sahakian, undertook research to explore the potential for a memory drug to improve cognition in patients with schizophrenia. The project received funding from the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. The work was published online on March 10 2004 at The American College of Neuropsychopharmacology website and is now in press in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

22 Mar 2004