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New report provides state-by-state analyses of substance abuse, mental illness patterns

A new report providing state-by-state analyses of substance abuse and mental illness patterns reveals that despite wide variations among the states in the types and levels of behavioral health problems they experience -- every state suffers from these problems. For example, among those aged 12 and older, Iowa had less than one third the current illicit drug use rate of Rhode Island (4.1 percent vs. 13.3 percent) - yet Iowa's population aged 12 and older was among the group of states with the nation's highest levels of people participating in binge drinking in the past month (27.2 percent).

14 Jun 2010

Homeless Brisbane population at risk of dying early: survey

A recent survey has shown that more than 50 percent of Brisbane’s homeless community is at a higher risk of early deaths. The survey was conducted by interviewing at least 231 people who live on Brisbane's streets, using an index to determine their risk of dying or mortality risk.

14 Jun 2010

Children who attend youth clubs are less likely to engage in problem behaviors

When children belong to a youth club, they gain a stronger sense of who they are as a person, an Ohio State University study has revealed.

11 Jun 2010

Research may lead to better treatments for depression and substance abuse

In what has been hailed as a breakthrough, scientists from Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College have outlined the molecular mechanism of membrane transport. The research shows how a protein transforms its shape to transport substances across the cell membrane in order to regulate transmission of the brain's messages across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another.

11 Jun 2010

mPFC dysfunction contributes to compulsive seeking of sexual behavior

Sex "addiction" is a concept that has had particularly high visibility recently with the publicity associated with Tiger Woods. Persons with addictive or compulsive disorders frequently display an inability to inhibit behaviors once they become maladaptive, despite adverse consequences of their behavior. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a brain region involved in decision-making and behavioral flexibility, and it has been identified as a potential mediator of behavioral inhibition.

11 Jun 2010

Children and teens with moderate to severe OSA have lower academic grades: Research

The average academic grades of children and teens with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea are worse than the grades of students who have no sleep-disordered breathing, according to a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 8, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

8 Jun 2010

Burden of substance abuse casts tragic shadow on the lives of many young people: Report

On an average day, 508,000 adolescents aged 12-17 in the United States drink alcohol; 641,000 use illicit drugs; and more than 1 million smoke cigarettes, according to a national survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

5 Jun 2010

SAMHSA establishes Regional Office in Region VI in Dallas, Texas

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, like others in the health care arena, has learned that integrating services, providing joint training and technical assistance, and collaborating across service sectors hold the most promise for effectively meeting health care needs for all Americans. These linkages are best achieved through relationship building activities - something that is difficult to accomplish from afar.

4 Jun 2010

Over 90% of psychiatric patients treated in community hospitals are cared for in specialty units: Study

Over 90 percent of psychiatric patients who received treatment in community hospitals were cared for in hospital-based psychiatric specialty units, according to a study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and published today in Psychiatric Services.

3 Jun 2010

Intimate partners can have important influence on another's substance use: Study

A new study of young people in the two years after high school finds that those in romantic relationships are less likely than their peers to report heavy drinking and marijuana use.

2 Jun 2010

Study finds largest declines in impulsivity and decreases in alcohol consumption among 18-to-25-year olds

Personality traits associated with impulsivity normally decrease during emerging and young adulthood, and these decreases are associated with reduced substance use. A new study of "trajectories" of impulsivity and their association with problem alcohol use has found that the 18-to-25-years-of-age group exhibited the largest declines in impulsivity as well as the sharpest decreases in alcohol consumption.

1 Jun 2010

More insight into key receptor that influences effectiveness of serotonin-related antidepressants

University of Michigan scientists have provided the most detailed picture yet of a key receptor in the brain that influences the effectiveness of serotonin-related antidepressants, such as Prozac.

1 Jun 2010

SAMHSA study reveals daily underage drinking-related visits to hospital emergency departments increase

A new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reveals that daily underage drinking-related visits to hospital emergency departments are 11 percent higher during the Memorial Day weekend than they are on an average day. The latest Drug Abuse Warning Network report estimates that on an average day, there are 519 hospital emergency department visits involving underage alcohol use.

29 May 2010

Healthy Returns Initiative developed to address health issues in California's juvenile justice system

The California Endowment issued a report today highlighting the results of a four year initiative created to strengthen the capacity of county juvenile justice systems to provide mental health and other needed services for youth while in custody and in the community.

28 May 2010

SAMHSA awards Knowledge Dissemination Conference Grants to four organizations

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced the award of four Knowledge Dissemination Conference Grants totaling $100,000 to the organizations below. The grant awards will support conferences that highlight the latest evidence-based prevention strategies, practices, and polices. The conferences are designed to help integrate what is known about prevention into real-world community-based practice.

26 May 2010

Obesity is a risk factor for depressive symptoms

Researchers, led by Kerri Boutelle, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that obesity is a risk factor for depressive symptoms, but not for clinical depression, suggesting that weight status could play a part in the development of depression in some adolescent girls.

25 May 2010

Eli Lilly to honor individuals with Welcome Back Award for improving lives of others

Despite years of debilitating depression, multiple psychiatric hospitalizations and episodes of homelessness, Joseph Rogers refused to let mental illness and an unlucky adolescence blot out his potential imprint on the world. Despite once being branded unemployable, Joseph relishes his role as advocate, embracing the challenges of being a change agent in mental health legislation, and pioneering the peer-run services movement.

21 May 2010

SAMHSA study reveals differences in rates of substance use among various Asian-American adults

A new national study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows there are significant differences in rates of substance use among adults in various Asian-American populations. For example, the past month binge drinking rate among Korean-American adults is three times higher than among Chinese-American adults (25.9 percent versus 8.4 percent). Similarly the level of past month illicit drug use among Japanese-American adults is nearly three times higher than the level among Asian Indian-American adults.

21 May 2010

152 research and training grants awarded to researchers at 93 institutions nationwide

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 152 new national research and training grants totaling $50,717,000 in the first of two grants cycles for 2010. The grants, primarily to early career researchers, cover a broad range of investigator-initiated ideas at 93 institutions nationwide, from whether cadmium exposure increases the risk of endometrial cancer, to studies of plant and bacterial-bourne compounds, to a study on a protein called survivin that could lead to novel drugs targeting prostate cancer.

18 May 2010

SAMHSA awards three new TSA Center grants for $5.4M as part of National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is awarding three new Treatment and Services Adaptation (TSA) Center grants for a total of $5.4 million over three years. These new grants are part of SAMHSA's National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative.

15 May 2010

Substance Abuse News and Research

New report provides state-by-state analyses of substance abuse, mental illness patterns

Homeless Brisbane population at risk of dying early: survey

Children who attend youth clubs are less likely to engage in problem behaviors

Research may lead to better treatments for depression and substance abuse

mPFC dysfunction contributes to compulsive seeking of sexual behavior

Children and teens with moderate to severe OSA have lower academic grades: Research

Burden of substance abuse casts tragic shadow on the lives of many young people: Report

SAMHSA establishes Regional Office in Region VI in Dallas, Texas

Over 90% of psychiatric patients treated in community hospitals are cared for in specialty units: Study

Intimate partners can have important influence on another's substance use: Study

Study finds largest declines in impulsivity and decreases in alcohol consumption among 18-to-25-year olds

More insight into key receptor that influences effectiveness of serotonin-related antidepressants

SAMHSA study reveals daily underage drinking-related visits to hospital emergency departments increase

Healthy Returns Initiative developed to address health issues in California's juvenile justice system

SAMHSA awards Knowledge Dissemination Conference Grants to four organizations

Obesity is a risk factor for depressive symptoms

Eli Lilly to honor individuals with Welcome Back Award for improving lives of others

SAMHSA study reveals differences in rates of substance use among various Asian-American adults

152 research and training grants awarded to researchers at 93 institutions nationwide

SAMHSA awards three new TSA Center grants for $5.4M as part of National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative

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