Psychiatry News and Research

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Psychiatry is the treatment, study and prevention of mental disorders.

‘Take home’ methadone maintenance therapy has added benefits

Patients who are given “take home” methadone maintenance treatment for opioid dependence are less likely to be admitted to hospital than those who do not, a study shows.

22 Jun 2012

Risk of cognitive decline linked to severity of diabetes

Preventing diabetes or delaying its onset has been thought to stave off cognitive decline -- a connection strongly supported by the results of a 9-year study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

22 Jun 2012

CDSS best for assessing depression symptoms in schizophrenia

Results from a systematic review of published studies suggests that the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia is the most reliable and valid instrument for assessing depression symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

21 Jun 2012

Cognitive function worse in pediatric BD I than II

Children with bipolar I disorder have significantly poorer cognitive functioning than those with bipolar II disorder, research shows.

21 Jun 2012

Study to test NAC and aspirin for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder

A commonly available pharmaceutical drug with anti-inflammatory properties and a nutritional supplement thought to have antioxidant effects are now being tested at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) as add-on therapies for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

21 Jun 2012

Genetics play a significant role in determining side effects of opiates

Genetics play a significant role in determining which patients will suffer the most from the disturbing side effects of opiates, commonly prescribed painkillers for severe to moderate pain, according to a new Stanford University School of Medicine study, which pinpoints nausea, slowed breathing and potential for addiction as heritable traits.

21 Jun 2012

Blocking Sigma-1 receptor can reduce binge eating

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have demonstrated in experimental models that blocking the Sigma-1 receptor, a cellular protein, reduced binge eating and caused binge eaters to eat more slowly.

21 Jun 2012

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements can reduce inflammation in overweight older adults

New research shows that omega-3 fatty acid supplements can lower inflammation in healthy, but overweight, middle-aged and older adults, suggesting that regular use of these supplements could help protect against and treat certain illnesses.

21 Jun 2012

Psychologic distress has broad vascular risk impact

Psychologic distress has as large an impact on people’s cerebrovascular disease risk as on their ischemic heart disease risk, say UK researchers.

20 Jun 2012

Childhood viral CNS infections increase psychosis risk

Viral infections of the central nervous system in childhood are associated with nearly a two-fold increased risk for non-affective psychosis and schizophrenia in adulthood, a review and meta-analysis of published studies shows.

20 Jun 2012

Insight linked to gray matter volume in FEP patients

Results from an Irish study show that poor insight is associated with increased gray matter volume in subcortical and frontotemporal brain regions among patients with first-episode psychosis, but not in those with chronic schizophrenia.

20 Jun 2012

UMMS researcher receives Janssen Award for microRNA discovery

Longtime collaborators Victor R. Ambros, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and Gary B. Ruvkun, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, were awarded the 2012 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research today by Johnson & Johnson for their co-discovery of microRNA, tiny molecules that are now understood to play a powerful role in gene expression and regulation.

20 Jun 2012

Program to correct problematic research practices

A $500,000 grant to Saint Louis University's Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics will fund the first ever remediation program to aid institutions when they discover researchers who have engaged in wrongdoing or unprofessional behavior. The Restoring Professionalism and Integrity in Research (RePAIR) program is expected to launch in November 2012.

19 Jun 2012

Link between unconscious conflicts and conscious anxiety disorder symptoms

An experiment that Sigmund Freud could never have imagined 100 years ago may help lend scientific support for one of his key theories, and help connect it with current neuroscience.

18 Jun 2012

Tobacco cessation must be included as part of standard clinical care for cancer patients

While tobacco use can significantly hamper cancer treatment, few cancer researchers are incorporating tobacco assessment into their clinical studies. That's the conclusion a group of investigators led by Graham Warren, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Medicine at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), drew from a recent survey of cancer clinical trials.

16 Jun 2012

Study reveals value of graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging

In a first of its kind study in the U.S., researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that the addition of graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging can improve smokers' recall of the warning and health risks associated with smoking. The new findings are published online-first in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

16 Jun 2012