Behavioral Medicine News and Research

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Behavioral medicine (BM) is a newly developing field of study which integrates behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical concepts and practices to prevent, diagnose, and treat patients with psychosomatic disorders. The practice of BM targets the relation between how both thought and behavior can affect mental and physical health.

Research: Chronic stress changes gene activity in immune cells before reaching bloodstream

New research shows that chronic stress changes gene activity in immune cells before they reach the bloodstream. With these changes, the cells are primed to fight an infection or trauma that doesn't actually exist, leading to an overabundance of the inflammation that is linked to many health problems.

6 Nov 2013

Weight Watchers community-based approach more effective than DIY approach

A new randomized controlled trial conducted by Baylor College of Medicine researchers and published today as an Article in Press in The American Journal of Medicine finds that overweight and obese adults following a community-based weight loss intervention, namely Weight Watchers, lost significantly more weight than those who tried to lose weight on their own (10.1 lbs. vs. 1.3 lbs. at six months).

15 Oct 2013

Weight loss mobile applications need to do more to help dieters solve problems

Weight loss mobile applications may work well as basic tracking devices, but need to do more to help dieters improve motivation, reduce stress and solve problems, according to a new report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

11 Oct 2013

Researchers study link between newborn infections and later behavior problems

Researchers exploring the link between newborn infections and later behavior and movement problems have found that inflammation in the brain keeps cells from accessing iron that they need to perform a critical role in brain development.

9 Oct 2013

Smoking-cessation in HIV-positive individuals: an interview with Dr Ellen R. Gritz, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

In the general population, current smoking prevalence is 18%. Persons living with HIV/AIDS smoke at a rate 2 to 3 times higher, up to almost 70% in some studies.

16 Sep 2013

Springer publishes Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

The Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine, with more than 1.200 entries, is the first encyclopedia devoted to the interdisciplinary field of behavioral medicine. An international advisory board consisting of the leadership and past leadership of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the International Society of Behavioral Medicine guarantees the high quality of the contributions and ensures that the field will be covered from a global perspective.

10 Sep 2013

New manual by psychologist explains basics of hypnotherapy

Hypnotic Relaxation Therapy: Principles and Applications (Springer Publishing) is a new training manual by Gary Elkins, Ph.D., director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory at Baylor University.

3 Sep 2013

In dynamic mind-body interaction, brain recruits cells from immune system to promote anxiety

New research shows that in a dynamic mind-body interaction during the interpretation of prolonged stress, cells from the immune system are recruited to the brain and promote symptoms of anxiety.

22 Aug 2013

Scientist study irregular brain activity during concussion recovery with fMRI

For the first time, researchers have documented irregular brain activity within the first 24 hours of a concussive injury, as well as an increased level of brain activity weeks later-suggesting that the brain may compensate for the injury during the recovery time.

20 Aug 2013

Neuroscientists discover reason for hot flashes in menopausal women

A new study from neuroscientists at the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the first novel insights into the neural origins of hot flashes in menopausal women in years. The study may inform and eventually lead to new treatments for those who experience the sudden but temporary episodes of body warmth, flushing and sweating.

16 Jul 2013

Study provides first novel insights into neural origins of hot flashes in menopausal women

A new study from neuroscientists at the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the first novel insights into the neural origins of hot flashes in menopausal women in years.

16 Jul 2013

Sprout Pharmaceuticals resubmits flibanserin NDA for treating HSDD in pre-menopausal women

Sprout Pharmaceuticals, the Raleigh-based pharmaceutical company developing flibanserin, a treatment being evaluated for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in pre-menopausal women, confirmed today that the company has resubmitted the New Drug Application for flibanserin earlier this year and expects US Food and Drug Agency action before the end of 2013.

27 Jun 2013

Study: One in four stroke survivors suffer from symptoms of PTSD

One in four people who survive a stroke or transient ischemic attack suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder within the first year post-event, and one in nine experience chronic PTSD more than a year later.

20 Jun 2013

PTSD following heart attack is associated with poor sleep, study finds

Clinicians have long speculated that poor sleep may be a mechanism involved in the higher risk of further cardiac events or death among those with post-traumatic stress disorder following a heart attack, but the association between PTSD and sleep after a heart event has been unknown.

30 May 2013

People enroll in fitness program to qualify for lower out-of-pocket health care costs

It was a controversial move when a health insurer began requiring people who were obese to literally pay the price of not doing anything about their weight - but it worked, a new study finds.

9 May 2013

Focusing on changing exercise, diet at same time gives bigger boost, researchers say

Most people know that the way to stay healthy is to exercise and eat right, but millions of Americans struggle to meet those goals, or even decide which to change first.

23 Apr 2013

Combination of diet and exercise produces better results

A worrisome increase in obesity levels in much of the world suggests that current methods of motivating people to eat healthier food and get more exercise are not all that successful. Much of today's research focuses on ways of delivering messages in order to obtain the best sustained adherence to these two key health behaviors.

22 Apr 2013

Study shows teen childbirth rates are more than 20% for abused and neglected teens

Abused or neglected teenage girls become teen mothers at nearly five times the national rate of teen motherhood. A new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study, published in the eFirst pages of the journal Pediatrics, shows that teen childbirth rates are more than 20 percent for abused and neglected teens.

25 Mar 2013

APS to present scientific abstracts at Experimental Biology 2013

The American Physiological Society is one of six scientific societies sponsoring the meeting Experimental Biology 2013, being held April 20-24, 2013 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, in Boston, Mass.

21 Mar 2013

Rocket attacks in Sderot, Israel significantly increase likelihood of miscarriages

Rocket attacks in Sderot, Israel significantly increase the likelihood of miscarriages, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers.

24 Feb 2013