Mental Disorder News and Research

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Australian obesity crisis

A new study by global market research firm, TNS, reinforces growing alarm among health and nutrition professionals that Australia is in the grips of rising levels of excess weight, risking future diabetes, heart disease and cancer epidemics and increasing mental illness in the community.

26 Oct 2005

Depression alone affects approximately 1.3 million Australian women ever year

Women's health problems, depression and child abuse represented a major health crisis in Australia, a seminar focusing on women and mental health over the weekend was told.

24 Oct 2005

Faulty gene may identify those at risk of schizophrenia

Scientists believe they have discovered a genetic defect which could help explain the biological basis of schizophrenia.

24 Oct 2005

Teens with missing part of a chromosome confirm genetic role in schizophrenia

A study in youth who are missing part of a chromosome is further implicating a suspect gene in schizophrenia.

23 Oct 2005

Mental health professionals need to be watchful of mental health problems beyond depression in order to prevent youth suicide

WHO researchers examine which mental disorders or combinations of disorders may be most responsible for youth suicide in a new study being released in the October issue of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

23 Oct 2005

Newly discovered role of MECP2 gene in Rett Syndrome

Huda Zoghbi, of Baylor College of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Juan Young, also of Baylor and colleagues report in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, posted the week of October 17, 2005, that the Rett Syndrome gene, MECP2, regulates RNA splicing.

18 Oct 2005

Mental disorders were diagnosed in roughly one-half of emergency visits by young people treated for episodes of deliberate self-harm

Young people visiting an emergency department following an episode of deliberate self-harm are diagnosed with a mental disorder about half the time, according to a study in the October issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

4 Oct 2005

Sharper picture than previously available of major depressive disorder

Findings from the largest survey ever mounted on the co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders among U.S. adults afford a sharper picture than previously available of major depressive disorder (MDD) in specific population subgroups and of MDD's relationship to alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and other mental health conditions.

3 Oct 2005

Patients with panic disorder have nearly double the risk for coronary heart disease,

...and those also diagnosed with depression are at almost three times the risk, according to new research.

27 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

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

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

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

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

People with serious mental illness have higher rates of type 2 diabetes

...yet their knowledge of diabetes was generally poor and significantly lower than people without mental illness, according to a new study.

1 Sep 2005

Therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs are resurfacing

It was the drug of choice on university campuses, the drug that spawned psychedelic culture as well as countless jail sentences and fines, but LSD actually has respectable roots--roots that a McMaster University researcher is uncovering.

31 Aug 2005

Young people self-diagnose mental illness

Creating websites and placing posters in schools are just some of the ways self-help support groups (SHSGs) could reach young people with a mental illness, according to a study just completed at the University of Western Sydney.

30 Aug 2005

Depression survey reveals gap in awareness of treatment goals

Results of a new national survey reveal a disparity between what people with depression say they know about their illness and how they manage it.

24 Aug 2005

Some medical conditions increase risk for developing major depression while others do not

Those who feel sad and lack an interest in regular life activities for at least two weeks and qualify for a diagnosis of minor depression are six times as likely to develop major depression compared to those who don't have these symptoms, according to a longitudinal study on risks for depression.

22 Aug 2005