Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Children in poverty have smaller volumes of certain subcortical brain regions, study finds

Children in poverty are more likely to have cognitive and behavioral difficulties than their better-off peers. Plenty of past research has looked into the physical effects of childhood poverty, or documented mental health disparities between socioeconomic classes.

16 Aug 2021

Transcranial focused ultrasound shows promise to treat forms of chronic pain

Neuromodulation comprises a range of therapeutic approaches to relieving symptoms, such as pain or tremors, or to restore movement or function.

16 Aug 2021

COVID-19 prevention strategies for the U.S. food industry

A new study discusses the measures that should be taken to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 among food industry workers.

15 Aug 2021

Study: 90% of children with ADHD continue to experience residual symptoms into young adulthood

Most children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) don't outgrow the disorder, as widely thought.

13 Aug 2021

Study finds comparatively less marijuana use in cancer patients than the general public

Last month, three states – Virginia, South Dakota, and Connecticut – joined the ranks of more than a dozen others that have legalized marijuana – also known as cannabis – for recreational use. Yet, despite these changing laws and growing social acceptance of the drug, a new study finds that use is still lower among cancer patients.

13 Aug 2021

How a hospital and a school district teamed up to help kids in emotional crisis

In 2019, the Rockville Centre school district in Long Island, New York, was shaken by a string of student deaths, including the suicides of a recent graduate and a current student.

13 Aug 2021

Study finds cognitive safety of ketamine and esketamine for patients with treatment-resistant depression

Used for the treatment of depression that does not respond to standard antidepressant medications, the anesthesia drug ketamine – and the related drug esketamine, recently approved for depression treatment – has no important adverse effects on memory, attention, or other cognitive processes, concludes a systematic review of medical research in the September/October issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

12 Aug 2021

Researchers map the impact of Covid-19 on the mental well-being of Israelis

During the six weeks between the end of the first COVID-19 outbreak in Israel and the beginning of the second one (late April to early June of 2020), researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science initiated a study that encompassed more than 12,000 responses from nearly 5,000 respondents to digital questionnaires, in an attempt to assess and understand the mental toll of the pandemic on the country's adult population.

12 Aug 2021

FDA approves a new indication for chronic sleep disorder treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new indication for Xywav for idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) in adults.

12 Aug 2021

UH receives $1.9 million grant to strengthen behavioral health workforce

The University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work has received a $1.9 million grant to train more social work and counseling psychology clinicians to deliver culturally competent behavioral health services in medical settings, addressing a critical statewide shortage of mental health professionals.

12 Aug 2021

CBD may reduce the adverse effects of anti-seizure drugs in people with epilepsy

Artisanal (non-pharmaceutical) cannabidiol (CBD) products have become popular in recent years for their apparent therapeutic effects. CBD — a naturally occurring compound of the cannabis plant legally derived from hemp — is used widely as a naturopathic remedy for a number of health conditions, including epilepsy and seizure disorders.

11 Aug 2021

Scientists develop new approach to identify proteins in the living brain

For the first time, researchers have developed a successful approach for identifying proteins inside different types of neurons in the brain of a living animal.

11 Aug 2021

Being young in a school class puts children at long-term disadvantage, study finds

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute and Orebro University, has found that 'young relative age' – being young in a school class – puts a child at a long-term disadvantage compared to their older peers. Researchers are now calling for greater flexibility about school starting age.

11 Aug 2021

Study finds high risk groups rejecting the COVID-19 vaccine in England

To increase COVID-19 vaccination rates, public health officials must understand who is refusing the vaccines. New research led by Ben Goldacre from the University of Oxford found that about 2% of people considered high-risk did not want the vaccine when offered. In addition, vaccination refusal in priority groups was most common among English people who are Black, South Asian, or from lower socioeconomic areas.

11 Aug 2021

Cigna introduces first voice-activated test to evaluate stress levels

Cigna International announces the launch of the Cigna StressWaves Test, a free online tool that analyses acoustic and semantic voice patterns to evaluate stress levels.

11 Aug 2021

In Australia, high vaccine hesitancy among most vulnerable to COVID-19

World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines indicate the optimal timing of vaccination among specific groups based on the probability of infection and transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), e.g., health care workers providing direct care or acute disease and death (e.g., older people, organ transplant recipients).

11 Aug 2021

Monash researchers uncover why essential oils can benefit mood

New research from Monash University scientists has uncovered why certain essential oils can benefit mood.

11 Aug 2021

Novel mechanistic insights on how ketamine exerts antidepressant effects

The discovery that the anaesthetic ketamine can help people with severe depression has raised hopes of finding new treatment options for the disease.

10 Aug 2021

New protocol for the study of SARS-CoV-2's medium and long-term outcomes

The clinical symptoms of the severe COVID-19 have been well described. In addition, scientists have defined the post-acute COVID-19 as the development of sequelae or persistence of symptoms several weeks after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. In some cases, the symptoms persist for around 3-4 weeks, and in other cases of chronic COVID-19, symptoms may persist beyond 12 weeks from the onset of symptoms.

9 Aug 2021

Global prevalence of mental health crisis among children and adolescents due to COVID-19 pandemic

An alarming percentage of children and adolescents are experiencing a global-wide mental crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic according to a new University of Calgary study published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.

9 Aug 2021