Psychiatry News and Research

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

ASD, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share etiologic risk factors

New research led by a medical geneticist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine points to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) among individuals whose parents or siblings have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

3 Jul 2012

Oxytocin levels linked to medication dose, symptoms in schizophrenia

Higher doses of second-generation antipsychotics and more severe negative symptoms are associated with lower levels of oxytocin in cerebrospinal fluid among patients with schizophrenia, researchers report.

29 Jun 2012

Scientists successfully tag serotonin transporter to track movements of single molecules

In a process akin to belling an infinitesimal cat, scientists have managed to tag a protein that regulates the neurotransmitter serotonin with tiny fluorescent beads, allowing them to track the movements of single molecules for the first time.

29 Jun 2012

Researchers create 'Huntington's disease in a dish' to enable search for treatment

Johns Hopkins researchers, working with an international consortium, say they have generated stem cells from skin cells from a person with a severe, early-onset form of Huntington's disease (HD), and turned them into neurons that degenerate just like those affected by the fatal inherited disorder.

29 Jun 2012

Review confirms impaired cognition in prodromal psychosis

Patients at high risk for psychosis show significant and widespread impairments in neurocognitive functioning and social cognition, results from a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies show.

28 Jun 2012

Family history influences age at prodrome and psychosis onset

A family history of psychosis is associated with an earlier age at onset of both prodromal symptoms and full-blown psychosis, US research shows.

28 Jun 2012

UCLA Heart Transplant Program performs 2,000th heart transplant surgery

The UCLA Heart Transplant Program performed its 2,000th heart transplant surgery earlier this month, becoming the first program in the western United States and only the second in the world to achieve this remarkable milestone.

28 Jun 2012

Up to 1 out of every 5 pregnant and new mothers will experience PPD and anxiety

Up to 1 out of every 5 pregnant and new mothers will experience prenatal or postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety. Most women are undiagnosed and inadequately treated, if treated at all.

28 Jun 2012

Study offers new clues for early autism diagnosis

A new study shows significant differences in brain development in high-risk infants who develop autism starting as early as age 6 months. The findings published in the American Journal of Psychiatry reveal that this abnormal brain development may be detected before the appearance of autism symptoms in an infant's first year of life. Autism is typically diagnosed around the age of 2 or 3.

28 Jun 2012

Two coffees a day keep heart failure risk at bay

Drinking two cups of coffee a day may significantly reduce risk for heart failure, while anymore than that could significantly increase the risk, researchers say.

27 Jun 2012

Psychiatric inpatients have low vitamin D levels

Results from a New Zealand study show that vitamin D deficiency is common in psychiatric inpatients, particularly among patients with schizophrenia and those of Maori descent.

27 Jun 2012

Review confirms impaired cognition in prodromal psychosis

27 Jun 2012

ABAM Foundation lauds findings and recommendations in Addiction Medicine

The American Board of Addiction Medicine Foundation today lauded the significant findings and recommendations in the landmark report just published by CASA Columbia, Addiction Medicine: Closing the Gap between Science and Practice.

27 Jun 2012

CAMH releases comprehensive reviews of most effective treatments for alcohol dependence

Scientists from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have released comprehensive reviews of the most effective treatments for alcohol dependence, one of the most prevalent addictions in Canada.

27 Jun 2012

Oxford University Press launches PASSit for medical community

Royal College exams are a critical hurdle in a doctor's career. Oxford University Press is pleased to be launching PASSit, an online service which will meet doctors' demands for high quality exam revision tools on their PCs and tablets.

27 Jun 2012

Genetic risk for schizophrenia linked to brain volume alterations

Patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected first-degree relatives show altered gray and white matter volumes in specific brain regions compared with mentally healthy individuals, researchers report.

26 Jun 2012

Liability for schizophrenia linked to cognition in mood disorders

Schizotypal traits and genetic liability for schizophrenia are associated with reduced cognitive functioning in patients with mood disorders, Japanese study results show.

26 Jun 2012

Study investigates EEGs as potential diagnostic tool for autism

Widely available EEG testing can distinguish children with autism from neurotypical children as early as age 2, finds a study from Boston Children's Hospital. The study is the largest, most rigorous study to date to investigate EEGs as a potential diagnostic tool for autism, and offers hope for an earlier, more definitive test.

26 Jun 2012

New Alzheimer's Society funded project to investigate role of chronic stress in dementia

Chronic stress is being investigated in a new Alzheimer's Society funded research project as a risk factor for developing dementia.

26 Jun 2012

Study examines protective factors that are important in preventing violence among veterans

A national survey identifies which U.S. military veterans may be at most risk of aggression after deployment and what strategies could potentially help reduce likelihood of violence when service members return home.

25 Jun 2012