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.

Telephone support reduces depression for older HIV survivors

Many patients diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s and 1990s have survived and now are entering their golden years.

24 Apr 2007

We need to balance out our intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids

A new study suggests that people whose diets contain dramatically more of one kind of polyunsaturated fatty acid than another may be at greater risk for both clinical depression and certain inflammatory diseases.

3 Apr 2007

Women who quit smoking during pregnancy less likely to remain nonsmokers because of concerns about weight

Women who quit smoking before pregnancy are less likely to remain nonsmokers after giving birth largely because of concerns about gaining weight, according to a study to be published in the October issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, the Los Angeles Times reports.

20 Sep 2006

Eszopiclone significantly improves sleep in elderly people with chronic insomnia

The drug eszopiclone, marketed as Lunesta, significantly improved sleep in elderly people with chronic insomnia, according to a report by W. Vaughn McCall, M.D., M.S., and six colleagues.

25 Jul 2006

Donepezil (Aricept) helps cognitive function in brain tumor patients after radiation

A drug that is marketed to treat Alzheimer's disease also improves cognitive function, mood and quality of life in brain tumor patients following radiation therapy, according to a research team at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

21 Mar 2006

Genes play a key role in stress response

Both nature and nurture - genetic makeup and the environment experienced through life - combine to influence health and well-being, Duke University Medical Center researchers and their colleagues have determined in four new studies.

7 Mar 2006

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may influence mood, personality and behavior

In a study of 106 healthy volunteers, researchers found that participants who had lower blood levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids were more likely to report mild or moderate symptoms of depression, a more negative outlook and be more impulsive.

7 Mar 2006

Eating fish keeps mind as well as heart, happy and healthy

According to researchers in the U.S., Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may have more of an influence on mood, personality and behavior, than previously thought.

6 Mar 2006

ECT shock treatment improves quality of life in patients with major depression

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - shock treatment -improves quality of life in patients with major depression, and that improved quality of life continues for six months, according to a report in the February Journal of Affective Disorders.

16 Feb 2006

Physical activity enhances long-term quality of life in older adults

Exercise is a lot like spinach … everybody knows it's good for you; yet many people still avoid it, forgoing its potential health benefits.

13 Nov 2005

Aggressive public health efforts to control hypertension may help preserve cognitive abilities as well as cardiovascular health

Not only does high blood pressure adversely affect mental functioning, but the correlation appears to be stronger among African-Americans than among whites, researchers report in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

26 Sep 2005

Spouses in a poor marriage are more likely to be stressed during the workday

...a finding that could mean a greater likelihood of strokes and heart disease for both husband and wife, according to researchers at Brandeis University and University College London.

26 Sep 2005

Abnormal heart rate variability is partially responsible for depression's effects in heart patients

Scientists have known for years that depression increases the risk of dying in the months after a heart attack, but they haven't understood how depression raises that risk.

13 Jul 2005

Menopause symptoms return with a vengence when women stop HRT

In somewhat depressing news for women battling that often miserable phase in their lives, the menopause, it appears that more than half of women who start taking hormone replacement therapy to relieve the discomfort, can expect to see a dramatic resurgence of those symptoms, when they discontinue the therapy.

12 Jul 2005

The most frequently used drugs for treating chronic insomnia have never been approved for that purpose

Vaughn McCall, M.D., M.S., professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, told a special consensus panel at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that he could find no evidence that randomized controlled clinical trials had ever been conducted for five of the 10 pharmaceuticals prescribed most often for chronic insomnia.

14 Jun 2005

Methylphenidate improves attention, behavior of children surviving acute lymphoblastic leukemia, brain tumors

Children who suffer from behavioral and learning problems after their central nervous systems have been exposed to chemotherapy or radiation appear to benefit from treatment with methylphenidate (MPH), the drug commonly known by the brand name Ritalin®.

4 Dec 2004

Behavioral Medicine News and Research

Further Reading

Telephone support reduces depression for older HIV survivors

We need to balance out our intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids

Women who quit smoking during pregnancy less likely to remain nonsmokers because of concerns about weight

Eszopiclone significantly improves sleep in elderly people with chronic insomnia

Donepezil (Aricept) helps cognitive function in brain tumor patients after radiation

Genes play a key role in stress response

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may influence mood, personality and behavior

Eating fish keeps mind as well as heart, happy and healthy

ECT shock treatment improves quality of life in patients with major depression

Physical activity enhances long-term quality of life in older adults

Aggressive public health efforts to control hypertension may help preserve cognitive abilities as well as cardiovascular health

Spouses in a poor marriage are more likely to be stressed during the workday

Abnormal heart rate variability is partially responsible for depression's effects in heart patients

Menopause symptoms return with a vengence when women stop HRT

The most frequently used drugs for treating chronic insomnia have never been approved for that purpose

Methylphenidate improves attention, behavior of children surviving acute lymphoblastic leukemia, brain tumors

Obesity disproportionately burdens low-income, ethnic minority populations

Employees in workplaces with no smoking restrictions smoke five more cigarettes daily

Electroconvulsive therapy improves quality of life in patients with major depression

Antidepressants should not be avoided in treatment of pregnant women with severe depression

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