Psychiatry News and Research

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

Unique UCLA program proves effective in treating teens with ASD

Teenagers with autism spectrum disorder are in a bind. The disorder is characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction, but it's a continuum, so some teens diagnosed with ASD are considered high functioning and healthy enough to be "mainstreamed" in school.

13 Jun 2012

Gut microbes regulate brain levels of serotonin

UCC scientists have shown that brain levels of serotonin, the 'happy hormone' are regulated by the amount of bacteria in the gut during early life. Their research is being published today in the leading international psychiatry journal, Molecular Psychiatry.

13 Jun 2012

Experimental drug and genetic differences indicate how people deal with fear and stress

Researchers at Duke University and the National Institutes of Health have found a way to calm the fears of anxious mice with a drug that alters their brain chemistry. They've also found that human genetic differences related to the same brain chemistry influence how well people cope with fear and stress.

12 Jun 2012

Specific personality traits linked to suicide risk in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia who have a history of suicide attempts show a different pattern of temperament and character traits compared with their nonsuicidal counterparts, say Turkish researchers.

12 Jun 2012

NMDA antibodies increased in mania patients

Patients with bipolar disorder show increased levels of antibodies to the NR2 subunits of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor during periods of acute mania, researchers report.

12 Jun 2012

IVF linked to increased relapse rate among MS patients

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is linked to an increased rate of relapse among women with multiple sclerosis (MS), suggests a small study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

12 Jun 2012

ABM treatments can address childhood anxiety

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, one in eight children suffers from an anxiety disorder. And because many anxious children turn into severely anxious adults, early intervention can have a major impact on a patient's life trajectory. The understandable reluctance to use psychiatric medications when it comes to children means child psychologists are always searching for viable therapeutic alternatives.

12 Jun 2012

Individuals on statins more likely to experience fatigue with exertion

In a study of more than 1,000 adults, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are more likely than non-users to experience decreased energy, fatigue upon exertion, or both. The researchers suggest that these findings should be taken into account by doctors when weighing risk versus benefit in prescribing statins.

12 Jun 2012

ACE program can help hospitals lower health care costs

Creating specialized hospital units for elderly people with acute medical illness could reduce national health care costs by as much $6 billion a year, according to a new study by UCSF researchers.

11 Jun 2012

Adolescent mental disorders have repercussions for addiction

Adolescents with mental health disorders are significantly more likely to become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers than those without mental disorders, experts say.

8 Jun 2012

Eye-viewing tests identify schizophrenic patients

Viewing tests that detect eye movement can accurately identify patients with schizophrenia, research shows.

8 Jun 2012

Mania develops in late adolescence

There is an increasing prevalence of bipolar disorder over adolescence, with late adolescence the peak period for the development of mania, research shows.

8 Jun 2012

'Coolness' loses much of its historical origins

Research led by a University of Rochester Medical Center psychologist and published by the Journal of Individual Differences has found the characteristics associated with coolness today are markedly different than those that generated the concept of cool.

8 Jun 2012

Research roundup: Savings from electronic health records?

Does Health Information Exchange Reduce Unnecessary Neuroimaging and Improve Quality of Headache Care in the Emergency Department?

8 Jun 2012

Concussion victims have unique spatial patterns of brain abnormalities that change over time

Patients vary widely in their response to concussion, but scientists haven't understood why. Now, using a new technique for analyzing data from brain imaging studies, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found that concussion victims have unique spatial patterns of brain abnormalities that change over time

8 Jun 2012

Low pre-morbid IQ not associated with psychosis risk

The strong correlations currently observed between low IQ and risk for psychosis are most likely linked to the influence that psychosis onset has on cognitive functioning rather than a shared genetic background, suggest study findings.

7 Jun 2012

Pathophysiologic differences evident between schizophrenia, bipolar

Review findings reveal differences in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, relating specifically to the medial temporal lobe and associated limbic regions.

7 Jun 2012

Novel guidelines manage youth maladaptive aggression

Recommendations for the engagement, assessment, treatment, and management of maladaptive aggression in youth have been developed by US experts to improve treatment planning and selection.

6 Jun 2012

Bariatric surgeon breaks new ground in the treatment of sleep apnea

Dr. Michael Feiz, a Beverly Hills bariatric surgeon, is breaking new ground in the treatment of sleep apnea with his approach to bariatric surgery.

6 Jun 2012

UCSD researchers receive $4M NIMH grant to study accelerated biological aging in schizophrenia

Researchers at the Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California, San Diego have received a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, to study accelerated biological aging in schizophrenia.

6 Jun 2012