Mental Disorder News and Research

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Mental health system changes readied in La., Iowa, Texas

Louisiana, Iowa and Texas are facing major changes to their mental health systems. In other news, college students and inmates often face obstacles in getting mental health treatment.

7 Feb 2012

Study to understand how brain processes information in competitive settings

Researchers have found a way to study how our brains assess the behavior - and likely future actions - of others during competitive social interactions. Their study, described in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to use a computational approach to tease out differing patterns of brain activity during these interactions, the researchers report.

7 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Komen's retreat; Romney's selected support of Medicare cuts; Heritage refuses blame for individual mandate

A group like Komen only has the quality service it provides and goodwill garnered over the years to encourage donations and support. Its trademark pink is not as bold as before. For the moment, it seems drab and faded.

6 Feb 2012

Mental illness suspect genes are among the most environmentally responsive regulatory mechanisms

For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub.

3 Feb 2012

VA purchase of $1.2 billion in pharmaceutics termed a 'team failure'

These comments came during a Wednesday House Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing. Meanwhile, in other news related to veterans' health, USA Today reports that the return of combat troops is driving a medical-care backlog.

3 Feb 2012

Scientists uncover genes that govern male and female behaviors

Hormones shape our bodies, make us fertile, excite our most basic urges, and as scientists have known for years, they govern the behaviors that separate men from women. But how? Now a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has uncovered many genes influenced by the male and female sex hormones testosterone and estrogen that, in turn, govern several specific types of male and female behaviors in mice.

3 Feb 2012

State roundup: Iowa Senate provides $5M for mental health; UMass health to cut 6% of workforce; Judge considers making Wash. pharmacies sell Plan B

The bill also allocates $5 million more from what is known as the Mental Health Risk Pool. The pool was created about a decade ago to keep counties with financial shortfalls from denying care to people with mental disorders or retardation. Linn County, for example, will receive $1.2 million of the extra money.

3 Feb 2012

Assay analyzing multiple biomarkers could be valuable aid to diagnose major depression

The initial assessment of a blood test to help diagnose major depressive disorder indicates it may become a useful clinical tool. In a paper published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, a team including Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers reports that a test analyzing levels of nine biomarkers accurately distinguished patients diagnosed with depression from control participants without significant false-positive results.

2 Feb 2012

Study finds no link between BDV and psychiatric illness

Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have linked Borna disease virus (BDV) with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and dementia. Genetic fragments and antibodies to this RNA virus, which causes behavior disorders in a range of mammals and birds, have been found to be prevalent in psychiatric patients, but study results have been inconsistent. Now, the first blinded, case-control study to examine this issue finds no association between the virus and psychiatric illness.

1 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Contraceptive controversy; Revising mental health definitions

It was good news that the Obama administration withstood pressure from Roman Catholic bishops and social conservatives to deny contraceptive coverage for millions of American women who work for religiously affiliated employers. Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary, rejected broad exemptions from a new rule requiring all health plans to cover birth control, without a deductible or co-payment.

31 Jan 2012

States redesigning mental health programs, coverage and care

States are grappling with mental health issues including a redesign of a program in Iowa, increased coverage for the mentally ill in California and a mental health first aid pilot program in Pennsylvania.

30 Jan 2012

Roundup: Problems outlined at Parkland hospital in Dallas; Mass. closing a mental hospital; Adult day care in Calif.

The Department of Mental Health plans to close Taunton State Hospital, one of the six state-run psychiatric hospitals in Massachusetts by the end of this year. The move is part of a plan to redistribute the placement of patients with chronic and severe mental illness as a large new state hospital opens in Worcester this summer.

27 Jan 2012

Psychiatric disorders definitions to be revised

The definition of depression is proposed to be changed and now the diagnosis would characterize grieving as a disorder and greatly increase the number of people treated for it.

26 Jan 2012

Genetic variation predisposes children to complications linked with second-generation anti-psychotics

Researchers have found a genetic variation predisposing children to six-times greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome when taking second-generation anti-psychotic medications. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

25 Jan 2012

Roundup: Calif. fights feds on mental hospital oversight; Art for health care swap in N.Y.

California officials Monday filed documents in U.S. District Court opposing extended federal oversight of two state mental hospitals, arguing that new leaders have already taken measures to improve patient care and safety. The state attorney general's filing came in response to a scathing U.S. Justice Department portrayal last month of Napa State Hospital and Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk.

25 Jan 2012

Magic Mushroom’s compound may help in some mental disorders: Study

There has been little research on the mechanism of action of “magic mushrooms” on the brain. A growing number of studies suggested that perhaps the mushrooms' key ingredient could work magic for certain mental disorders. New research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sheds light on why one of the mushrooms' hallucinogenic chemical compounds, psilocybin, may hold promise for the treatment of depression.

24 Jan 2012

Proposed new definition may affect individuals who qualify for autism diagnosis

Getting an autism diagnosis could be more difficult in 2013 when a revised diagnostic definition goes into effect. The proposed changes may affect the proportion of individuals who qualify for a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, according to preliminary data presented by Yale School of Medicine researchers at a meeting of the Icelandic Medical Association.

21 Jan 2012

Report reveals 45.9M American adults suffered from mental illness in the past year

A new national report reveals that 45.9 million American adults aged 18 or older, or 20 percent of this age group, experienced mental illness in the past year. The rate of mental illness was more than twice as high among those aged 18 to 25 (29.9 percent) than among those aged 50 and older (14.3 percent). Adult women were also more likely than men to have experienced mental illness in the past year (23 percent versus 16.8 percent).

20 Jan 2012

Psychiatric Times focuses on helping clinicians treat people with personality disorders

UBM Medica today announced that Psychiatric Times features special coverage focused on helping mental health professionals treat people with various types of personality disorders.

20 Jan 2012

Health experts call for U.N. special session on mental illness, illicit drug use

"Mental illness and drug abuse can wreak havoc in global societies and economies, and the U.N. General Assembly should devote a special session to the matter, global health experts said" in a PLoS Medicine article published on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports (1/17).

19 Jan 2012

Mental Disorder News and Research

Mental health system changes readied in La., Iowa, Texas

Study to understand how brain processes information in competitive settings

Viewpoints: Komen's retreat; Romney's selected support of Medicare cuts; Heritage refuses blame for individual mandate

Mental illness suspect genes are among the most environmentally responsive regulatory mechanisms

VA purchase of $1.2 billion in pharmaceutics termed a 'team failure'

Scientists uncover genes that govern male and female behaviors

State roundup: Iowa Senate provides $5M for mental health; UMass health to cut 6% of workforce; Judge considers making Wash. pharmacies sell Plan B

Assay analyzing multiple biomarkers could be valuable aid to diagnose major depression

Study finds no link between BDV and psychiatric illness

Viewpoints: Contraceptive controversy; Revising mental health definitions

States redesigning mental health programs, coverage and care

Roundup: Problems outlined at Parkland hospital in Dallas; Mass. closing a mental hospital; Adult day care in Calif.

Psychiatric disorders definitions to be revised

Genetic variation predisposes children to complications linked with second-generation anti-psychotics

Roundup: Calif. fights feds on mental hospital oversight; Art for health care swap in N.Y.

Magic Mushroom’s compound may help in some mental disorders: Study

Proposed new definition may affect individuals who qualify for autism diagnosis

Report reveals 45.9M American adults suffered from mental illness in the past year

Psychiatric Times focuses on helping clinicians treat people with personality disorders

Health experts call for U.N. special session on mental illness, illicit drug use

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