Psychiatry News and Research

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Psychiatry is the treatment, study and prevention of mental disorders.

Cannabis use accelerates psychosis in the young: Study

A new study has shown that cannabis use can hasten the onset of schizophrenia by several years. The study included data from 20,000 patients with a psychotic illness and found those who smoked cannabis were diagnosed almost three years ahead of those who did not use the drug. The research is published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

8 Feb 2011

Individuals exposed to criminal justice system appear to have higher rate of suicide

Men and women who have had contact with the criminal justice system—even if they have never received a jail or prison sentence or a guilty verdict—appear to have a significantly higher rate of suicide than the general population, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Feb 2011

FDA warning leads to decrease in use of atypical antipsychotics for treatment of dementia

A warning issued by the Food and Drug Administration regarding the use of atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of dementia was associated with a significant decline in the use of these medications for treating dementia symptoms in elderly patients, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Feb 2011

Study identifies genetic variation linked with increased risk of major depression

Numerous studies have shown that the brain molecule neuropeptide Y (NPY) helps to restore calm after stressful events. A team of University of Michigan-led researchers has now found that people whose genes predispose them to produce lower levels of NPY are more responsive to negative stimuli in key brain circuits related to emotion - and are therefore less resilient in the face of stress and may be at higher risk for developing a major depressive disorder.

8 Feb 2011

Schizophrenia patients who consume antipsychotics appear to lose small amount of brain tissue

Patients with schizophrenia who take antipsychotic medications appear to lose a small but measurable amount of brain tissue over time, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Feb 2011

Study reports significant decline in second-generation medication use for dementia

As loved ones with dementia disappear into symptoms of aggression, agitation or delusions, families are left with few good medical solutions. A new generation of antipsychotic medications gained popularly in the 1990s because they avoided side effects such as Parkinson's syndrome associated with conventional antipsychotic medications used to treat dementia.

8 Feb 2011

Study: Cannabis use appears to be linked with earlier onset of psychotic illness

Cannabis use appears to be associated with an earlier onset of psychotic illness, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Feb 2011

NIMH awards two BUSM members with BRAINS grant for innovative research on mental disorders

Two Boston University School of Medicine faculty members, Pietro Cottone, PhD, an assistant professor of pharmacology and psychiatry and Michael Silverstein, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics, were each awarded the prestigious National Institute of Mental Health Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientisits grant with ten other investigators from around the country.

7 Feb 2011

Law allowing use of unproven brain devices in "orphan" neuropsychiatric disorders needs to be strengthened: Experts

Warning that patients could be at risk, an interdisciplinary group of multinational investigators is calling on the U.S. Congress and federal regulators to tighten a law that permits use of brain devices to treat rare neuropsychiatric disorders without supporting clinical trials or stringent patient oversight.

7 Feb 2011

Maternal care makes baby's brain less vulnerable to stress

The quality and quantity of maternal milk and maternal-infant contact impact the stress response of the adult offspring, according to recent research published in Developmental Psychobiology.

4 Feb 2011

UM researchers find genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

Researchers led by geneticists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have identified a new gene that causes retinitis pigmentosa, a form of blindness, ending one South Florida family's nearly 20-year search for what caused three of their four children to lose their sight.

4 Feb 2011

WorkSafeBC fines VIHA for failure to protect healthcare staff

WorkSafeBC has issued nine separate orders at two Victoria-area mental health facilities criticizing the failure of Vancouver Island Health Authority to protect the safety of staff.

4 Feb 2011

More careful regulation of FDA's Humanitarian Device Exemption in psychiatric patients needed

4 Feb 2011

U-M conference to focus on detection of mental illness during high stakes college years

The annual University of Michigan's Depression on College Campuses conference, held March 28-29, will focus on detection of mental illness during the high stakes college years.

3 Feb 2011

UT Southwestern leads national effort to find effective treatments for drug addiction

UT Southwestern Medical Center psychiatry researchers are leading the Texas arm of a national network that conducts clinical trials aimed at finding effective treatments for drug addiction.

3 Feb 2011

Concert and WRAIR enter CRADA to evaluate novel compound for seizure protection associated with TBI

Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. The CRADA will allow the WRAIR to conduct preclinical testing on a novel compound derived from Concert's DCE Platform™ (deuterated chemical entity platform) for seizure protection associated with traumatic brain injury, a major public health concern.

3 Feb 2011

International scientist team identifies gene mutation strongly linked to schizophrenia

In a major advance for schizophrenia research, an international team of scientists, led by Jonathan Sebat, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and cellular and molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a gene mutation strongly linked to the brain disorder - and a signaling pathway that may be treatable with existing compounds.

3 Feb 2011

Four new fact sheets address impact of combat injury on intimacy

The impact of combat injury on intimacy is an important and often neglected aspect of healthcare communication. Four new fact sheets addressing the impact of the injuries of war, both physical and psychological, on intimacy have just been released for healthcare providers and affected military families.

2 Feb 2011

Study establishes direct link between morphine abstinence and depressive-like symptoms

Opiate abuse is a chronic disorder and maintaining abstinence represents a major challenge for addicts.

1 Feb 2011

Research on triple negative disease can benefit patients with breat cancer

Research to develop more effective treatments for triple negative breast cancer -- a difficult disease to cure -- could someday benefit all breast cancer patients, reports Dr. Frederick C. Tucker, Jr. of Fredericksburg Oncology.

1 Feb 2011

Psychiatry News and Research

Further Reading

Cannabis use accelerates psychosis in the young: Study

Individuals exposed to criminal justice system appear to have higher rate of suicide

FDA warning leads to decrease in use of atypical antipsychotics for treatment of dementia

Study identifies genetic variation linked with increased risk of major depression

Schizophrenia patients who consume antipsychotics appear to lose small amount of brain tissue

Study reports significant decline in second-generation medication use for dementia

Study: Cannabis use appears to be linked with earlier onset of psychotic illness

NIMH awards two BUSM members with BRAINS grant for innovative research on mental disorders

Law allowing use of unproven brain devices in "orphan" neuropsychiatric disorders needs to be strengthened: Experts

Maternal care makes baby's brain less vulnerable to stress

UM researchers find genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

WorkSafeBC fines VIHA for failure to protect healthcare staff

More careful regulation of FDA's Humanitarian Device Exemption in psychiatric patients needed

U-M conference to focus on detection of mental illness during high stakes college years

UT Southwestern leads national effort to find effective treatments for drug addiction

Concert and WRAIR enter CRADA to evaluate novel compound for seizure protection associated with TBI

International scientist team identifies gene mutation strongly linked to schizophrenia

Four new fact sheets address impact of combat injury on intimacy

Study establishes direct link between morphine abstinence and depressive-like symptoms

Research on triple negative disease can benefit patients with breat cancer

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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