Psychiatry News and Research

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

Latrepiridine reduces level of at least two neurodegeneration-related proteins in mice

14 Aug 2012

Women with chronic PVT should be informed, not discouraged, about pregnancy

Maternal and fetal outcomes are favorable for most pregnancies that reach 20 weeks’ in women with chronic portal vein thrombosis, a study shows.

13 Aug 2012

Researchers discover gene mutations linked to spinocerebellar ataxia

A global hunt for the cause of a crippling inherited nerve disorder has found its target. The discovery opens the door for better diagnosis and treatment of this particular disease - but also for better understanding of why nerves in the brain's movement-controlling center die, and how new DNA-mapping techniques can find the causes of other diseases that run in families.

13 Aug 2012

Latrepirdine demonstrates new potential against neurodegenerative conditions

The second of two studies on latrepirdine, recently published in Molecular Psychiatry, demonstrates new potential for the compound in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, sleep disorders, and other neurodegenerative conditions. An international team led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine scientists found that latrepiridine, known commercially as Dimebon, reduced the level of at least two neurodegeneration-related proteins in mice.

13 Aug 2012

Epigenetic factors involved in treatment-resistance to schizophrenia drugs

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine may have discovered why certain drugs to treat schizophrenia are ineffective in some patients. Published online in Nature Neuroscience, the research will pave the way for a new class of drugs to help treat this devastating mental illness, which impacts one percent of the world's population, 30 percent of whom do not respond to currently available treatments.

13 Aug 2012

Scientists discover why major depression or chronic stress can cause loss of brain mass

Major depression or chronic stress can cause the loss of brain volume, a condition that contributes to both emotional and cognitive impairment. Now a team of researchers led by Yale scientists has discovered one reason why this occurs - a single genetic switch that triggers loss of brain connections in humans and depression in animal models.

13 Aug 2012

Taro, Sun Pharma enter merger agreement

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that they have entered into a merger agreement together with certain affiliates of Sun Pharma.

13 Aug 2012

Effects on white matter brain volume from long-term alcoholism are different for men and women

(Boston) - Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have demonstrated that the effects on white matter brain volume from long-term alcohol abuse are different for men and women. The study, which is published online in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, also suggests that with abstinence, women recover their white matter brain volume more quickly than men.

12 Aug 2012

Two-drug combination helps combat cocaine addiction

A combination of two existing pharmaceutical drugs may soon be used to treat cocaine addiction, findings from an animal study in Science Translational Medicine suggest.

10 Aug 2012

Combination therapy delays progression for metastatic breast cancer patients

Phase III trial results show that a combination of the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole and fulvestrant, an analog of estradiol that downgrades the estrogen receptor, is superior to anastrozole alone in prolonging progression-free survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

10 Aug 2012

Pay more than lip service to sun-screen advice for antihypertensive users

Users of common antihypertensive drugs, such as hydrochlorothiazide and nifedipine, may be at increased risk for developing lip cancer.

9 Aug 2012

Frontal-amygdala connectivity alterations in BDI patients

Results from a US study suggest there is dysfunction in the neural networks responsible for emotion regulation among patients with bipolar I disorder, even during periods of euthymia.

9 Aug 2012

Pre-cesarean antibiotics cut infection risk

Administering prophylactic antibiotics before women undergo cesareans significantly reduces postsurgical infection rates, show US study findings.

9 Aug 2012

Mindfulness yoga may offer effective treatment for depressed new mothers

It's no secret that pregnancy hormones can dampen moods, but for some expectant moms, it's much worse: 1 in 5 experience major depression. Now, new research shows that an age-old recommended stress-buster may actually work for this group of women: yoga.

9 Aug 2012

Prenatal antipsychotic exposure linked to reduced neuromotor performance

Infants with prenatal exposure to antipsychotics show significant reductions in neuromotor performance compared with other children, US researchers report.

8 Aug 2012

Depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts more prevalent among former finasteride users

New research, to be published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, finds that men who developed persistent sexual side effects while on finasteride (Propecia), a drug commonly used for male pattern hair loss, have a high prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.

8 Aug 2012

Variations in RORA gene can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder

Investigators at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have identified a new gene linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

8 Aug 2012

Early maladaptive schemas play role in bipolar disorder functionality

Results from a Danish study suggest that seven early maladaptive schemas play a significant role in functional impairment among patients with bipolar disorder.

7 Aug 2012

Schizophrenia may be linked to immune function

New Australian research shows that the brains of people with schizophrenia may be under attack by the immune system, providing the strongest evidence to date of a link between immune function and schizophrenia.

7 Aug 2012

Scientists discover biological marker that may help identify patients’ response to antidepressants

Scientists have discovered a biological marker that may help to identify which depressed patients will respond to an experimental, rapid-acting antidepressant. The brain signal, detectable by noninvasive imaging, also holds clues to the agent's underlying mechanism, which are vital for drug development, say National Institutes of Health researchers.

7 Aug 2012