Psychopharmacology News and Research

RSS

Psychopharmacology is the study of drug-induced changes in mood, sensation, thinking, and behavior.

Psychedelics does not increase risk of mental health problems

The use of psychedelics, such as LSD and magic mushrooms, does not increase a person's risk of developing mental health problems, according to an analysis of information from more than 135,000 randomly chosen people, including 19,000 people who had used psychedelics.

5 Mar 2015

Endogenous cannabinoids linked to weight gain in people with schizophrenia

Cannabinoids may be involved in the weight gain that occurs in people with schizophrenia who are treated with the antipsychotic olanzapine, according to a pilot study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology by researchers at the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and Université de Montréal.

5 Feb 2015

Study: Classic psychedelics may hold great promise in preventing suicide

Classic psychedelics, such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms and mescaline, previously have been shown to occasion lasting improvements in mental health. But researchers led by University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health investigators wanted to advance the existing research and determine whether classic psychedelics might be protective with regard to suicidal thoughts.

22 Jan 2015

LCS Therapeutics collaborates to commercialize patent on method to treat binge eating disorder

LCS Therapeutics announced today that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Lucerne Biosciences, LLC to commercialize U.S. Patent No. 8,318,813 entitled "Method of Treating Binge Eating Disorder."

26 Dec 2014

Study explores prevalence of Internet addiction and its effect on quality of life

Internet addiction is an impulse-control problem marked by an inability to inhibit Internet use, which can adversely affect a person's life, including their health and interpersonal relationships.

22 Dec 2014

Secrets of success for pioneering research revealed

The British Pharmacological Society has announced the secrets of success for pioneering research along with the outcome of its annual 'Putting UK Pharmacology on the Map' vote. The vote selects sites of special scientific interest linked to achievements in pharmacology based on a ballot of MPs, peers and senior members of the scientific community.

18 Dec 2014

Advanced prebiotic Bimuno has ability to reduce anxiety

Clasado Biosciences Limited, the producers and suppliers of the second generation prebiotic Bimuno (B-GOS), a unique trans-galactooligosaccharide, and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, today announce the results of clinical research demonstrating for the first time that an advanced prebiotic (Bimuno) has the ability to reduce anxiety.

4 Dec 2014

Cocaine disrupts woman's estrus cycle, may explain sex differences in cocaine addiction

Women are more sensitive to the effects of cocaine and more susceptible to cocaine abuse than men. Cocaine's ability to disrupt a woman's estrus cycle may explain the sex differences in cocaine addiction, and new evidence that caffeine may be neuroprotective and able to block cocaine's direct effects on the estrus cycle reveals novel treatment possibilities, according to an article published in Journal of Caffeine Research: The International Multidisciplinary Journal of Caffeine Science, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

21 Nov 2014

New mouse model shows how mutated gene impairs neuronal development in individuals with autism

Geneticists at Heidelberg University Hospital's Department of Molecular Human Genetics have used a new mouse model to demonstrate the way a certain genetic mutation is linked to a type of autism in humans and affects brain development and behavior.

14 Nov 2014

Experts review advances in understanding, treatment of bipolar disorder

Several lines of research have opened exciting new frontiers in scientific understanding and clinical management of bipolar disorder. Recent advances in bipolar disease research are described in this month's special issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

11 Nov 2014

Women survivors of sexual abuse may suffer emotional distress during pelvic examination

Women who have a history of violent sexual abuse may suffer emotional distress during a routine pelvic examination. Healthcare providers would benefit from greater awareness of symptoms predictive of examination-related distress in this patient population, according to a study published in Violence and Gender, a new peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

3 Oct 2014

HGSAS launches new online master's degree

The Higher Learning Commission recently granted approval to launch the new online master's degree offered by the Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies (HGSAS).

22 Aug 2014

Research results in new insights into clinical depression

Research led by the University of Adelaide has resulted in new insights into clinical depression that demonstrate there cannot be a "one-size-fits-all" approach to treating the disease.

4 Aug 2014

OUP, CINP partner to publish International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology

Oxford University Press is pleased to announce its new relationship with the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

31 Jul 2014

Psychostimulant increases risk of cardiovascular events in children with ADHD

Psychostimulant use to treat children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is increasing worldwide, and the evaluation of the cardiovascular safety of stimulant medication used in treatment has been a recent topic of concern.

28 Jun 2014

Alkermes reports data from aripiprazole lauroxil phase 3 clinical trial for treatment of schizophrenia

Alkermes plc today announced the presentation of data from its phase 3 clinical trial of aripiprazole lauroxil, an investigational drug candidate in development for schizophrenia, at the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology Annual Meeting in Hollywood, Fla.

18 Jun 2014

Study compares effectiveness of duloxetine and fluoxetine in children with MDD

Two studies of the anti-depressive drug duloxetine, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), compared its effectiveness and safety to either fluoxetine or placebo in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD).

20 May 2014

Psychiatrist wins Kempf Fund Award for Research Development in Psychobiological Psychiatry

Dr. Peter F. Buckley, a psychiatrist specializing in schizophrenia and Dean of the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, is the 2014 winner of the Kempf Fund Award for Research Development in Psychobiological Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association.

6 May 2014

Green tea extract enhances cognitive functions in brain

Green tea is said to have many putative positive effects on health. Now, researchers at the University of Basel are reporting first evidence that green tea extract enhances the cognitive functions, in particular the working memory.

8 Apr 2014

Ketamine offers novel treatment for patients with severe depression

New data show ketamine (a drug widely used for anaesthesia and pain relief) has a rapid antidepressant effect in some patients with severe depression. The first UK study of ketamine intravenous infusions in people with treatment-resistant depression was conducted by the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford.

3 Apr 2014