Psychiatry News and Research

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

People suffering psychotic disorders 12 times more likely to commit suicide

People with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, are 12 times more likely to commit suicide than average, according to research released today by King's Health Partners.

7 Dec 2010

HDAC inhibitors may be used to fight against skin cancers

In a study published in the journal Developmental Cell, Sarah Millar PhD, professor of Dermatology and Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and colleagues demonstrate that a pair of enzymes called HDACs are critical to the proper formation of mammalian skin.

7 Dec 2010

Researchers develop new drugs to prevent post-traumatic stress syndrome

Post-traumatic stress syndrome - when a severely stressful event triggers exaggerated and chronic fear - affects nearly 8 million people in the United States and is hard to treat. In a preclinical study, Northwestern Medicine scientists have for the first time identified the molecular cause of the debilitating condition and prevented it from occurring by injecting calming drugs into the brain within five hours of a traumatic event.

7 Dec 2010

Seasonal light cycles can affect development of babies' specific brain function: Study

The season in which babies are born can have a dramatic and persistent effect on how their biological clocks function.

6 Dec 2010

Gene mutation can lead to different mental illnesses when influenced by same environmental factor

Male mice born with a genetic mutation that's believed to make humans more susceptible to schizophrenia develop behaviors that mimic other major psychiatric illnesses when their mothers are exposed to an assault to the immune system while pregnant, according to new Johns Hopkins research.

4 Dec 2010

New book on managing worry, anxiety and fear

Americans' danger detectors are cranked up way too high these days, but we don't have to be held hostage by our anxiety, according to a new book on coping with stress by a Northwestern Medicine psychologist.

3 Dec 2010

Smoking reduces brain thickness

Many brain imaging studies have reported that tobacco smoking is associated with large-scale and wide-spread structural brain abnormalities.

3 Dec 2010

Early autism diagnostic test on the horizon

Soon scientists may have a test to diagnose autism spectrum disorders using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. As of now this dreaded developmental disorder is typically diagnosed through observations, along with educational and psychological testing.

2 Dec 2010

Young women veterans have triple the suicide rate of civilians

Young women veterans are nearly three times as likely as civilians to commit suicide, according to new research published by researchers at Portland State University (PSU) and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

2 Dec 2010

People with mental health diagnoses receives poor quality of preventive mass screening

Dr Alex Mitchell, of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine at the University of Leicester, led the study which has been published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry. Dr Mitchell said preventive screening refers to population based medical tests such as mammography, colonoscopy, blood pressure testing or cholesterol levels to detect conditions such as cancer, diabetes or heart conditions. These screening programmes are typically administered widely in order to help with early detection or prevention and have been credited with improving outcomes of several key medical conditions.

2 Dec 2010

One-third of LGBT youth attempt suicide

One-third of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth have attempted suicide in their lifetime -- a prevalence comparable to urban, minority youth -- but a majority do not experience mental illness, according to a report by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

2 Dec 2010

Researchers develop best biologically based test for autism to date

Researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital and the University of Utah have developed the best biologically based test for autism to date. The test was able to detect the disorder in individuals with high-functioning autism with 94 percent accuracy. The study will be published online the week of November 29th in Autism Research.

2 Dec 2010

Sleep plays a crucial role in post-infarction remission

The heart and the brain appear to be even more closely connected than previously imagined. The damaging effects of myocardial infarction are apparently not confined to the heart, but also affect the brain.

2 Dec 2010

Common sleep complaints predict development of metabolic syndrome: Study

A study in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that loud snoring and two common insomnia symptoms difficulty falling asleep and unrefreshing sleep each significantly predicted the development of the metabolic syndrome. The study emphasizes the importance of screening for common sleep complaints in routine clinical practice.

1 Dec 2010

New brain imaging technique can trace effects of SYN115 drug in Parkinson's disease

Neuroscientists using a new brain imaging technique could see an investigational drug for Parkinson's disease get into a patient's brain and affect blood flow in several key structures, an indicator the drug may be effective.

1 Dec 2010

CAMH neuroscientists develop novel protein peptide for targeted treatment of depression

Neuroscientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have developed a protein peptide that may be a novel type of highly targeted treatment for depression with a low side-effect profile. Depression affects one in ten Canadians at some time in their lives and is a leading cause of disability worldwide.

30 Nov 2010

Depressed and suicidal individuals linked to low levels of stress hormone cortisol

Depressed and suicidal individuals have low levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood and saliva. They also have substances in their spinal fluid that suggest there is increased inflammation in the brain. These findings could help to develop new methods for diagnosing and treating suicidal patients.

29 Nov 2010

Study indicates high self-rated lifetime prevalence of depression among psychiatrists

This study addresses depression and burn-out among a sample of psychiatrists collected at a professional congress. Within several constraints, the results indicate an high self-rated lifetime prevalence of depression of 41.6% among the sample. Also noteworthy is that a fifth (20.3%) of the sample showed evidence of acute depressive symptoms.

26 Nov 2010

UMDNJ researchers develop comprehensive strategy for recovery from smoking addiction

Researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), following 10 years of studying tobacco use among smokers with mental illness, have developed a comprehensive strategy for recovery from smoking addiction that could serve as a nationwide model.

25 Nov 2010

Chronic high fat cholesterol diet may lead to Alzheimer's disease

Research from the Laboratory of Psychiatry and Experimental Alzheimers Research at the Medical University Innsbruck (Austria) demonstrated that chronic high fat cholesterol diet in rats exhibited pathologies similar to Alzheimer's disease. The results were published in Molecular Cellular Neuroscience with lead author Dr. Christian Humpel. The study was co-authored by PhD students, Celine Ullrich and Michael Pirchl, from the same Laboratory.

24 Nov 2010

Psychiatry News and Research

Further Reading

People suffering psychotic disorders 12 times more likely to commit suicide

HDAC inhibitors may be used to fight against skin cancers

Researchers develop new drugs to prevent post-traumatic stress syndrome

Seasonal light cycles can affect development of babies' specific brain function: Study

Gene mutation can lead to different mental illnesses when influenced by same environmental factor

New book on managing worry, anxiety and fear

Smoking reduces brain thickness

Early autism diagnostic test on the horizon

Young women veterans have triple the suicide rate of civilians

People with mental health diagnoses receives poor quality of preventive mass screening

One-third of LGBT youth attempt suicide

Researchers develop best biologically based test for autism to date

Sleep plays a crucial role in post-infarction remission

Common sleep complaints predict development of metabolic syndrome: Study

New brain imaging technique can trace effects of SYN115 drug in Parkinson's disease

CAMH neuroscientists develop novel protein peptide for targeted treatment of depression

Depressed and suicidal individuals linked to low levels of stress hormone cortisol

Study indicates high self-rated lifetime prevalence of depression among psychiatrists

UMDNJ researchers develop comprehensive strategy for recovery from smoking addiction

Chronic high fat cholesterol diet may lead to Alzheimer's disease

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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