Psychiatry News and Research

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

Naltrexone-derived pyridomorphinan shows promise for treatment of alcoholism

Southern Research Institute and Gallo Research Center today announced that peer-reviewed results from a study testing Naltrexone-derived pyridomorphinan (SoRI-9409) will be published in the December 2008 issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry.

11 Sep 2008

The underdevelopment of a specific brain region may cause schizophrenia

The underdevelopment of a specific region in the brain may lead to schizophrenia in individuals. According to research published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Molecular Brain, dentate gyrus, which is located in the hippocampus in the brain and thought to be responsible for working memory and mood regulation, remained immature in an animal model of schizophrenia.

10 Sep 2008

Depression and autism are subjects of public forum on research

The University of Rochester Medical Center will present a forum on the progress of mental health research Sunday Sept. 14.

8 Sep 2008

Binge drinking women often engage in risky sex

According to new research from the U.S., women who binge drink are more likely to indulge in unsafe sex.

8 Sep 2008

Injections of N-acetyl cysteine may help 'chemobrain'

Cancer patients have complained for years about the mental fog known as chemobrain. Now in animal studies at West Virginia University, researchers have discovered that injections of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, can prevent the memory loss that breast cancer chemotherapy drugs sometimes induce.

7 Sep 2008

Computerized reminder system drove up colon cancer screening rates

A computerized reminder system used in community-based primary care doctors' offices increased colorectal cancer screening rates by an average of 9 percent, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System.

7 Sep 2008

Natural birth better for bonding baby and mother

American researchers are suggesting that natural birth may make mothers more responsive to their babies than those who choose to have a Caesarean.

4 Sep 2008

Hallucinations in the flash of an eye

Ever seen or heard something that wasn't there? For most of us such experiences - termed hallucinations - are a normal, fleeting, brain glitch; yet for a few they are persistent, distressing and associated with a range of psychiatric, neurological and eye conditions.

4 Sep 2008

Older people can improve their memory and postpone dementia with exercise

A study by Australian researchers has found that regular, moderate exercise may help improve memory in older people and delay the onset of dementia.Older people can improve their memory and postpone dementia with exercise

3 Sep 2008

Hopkins researchers piece together gene "network" linked to schizophrenia

Reporting this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have uncovered for the first time molecular circuitry associated with schizophrenia that links three previously known, yet unrelated proteins.

2 Sep 2008

Natural childbirth makes mothers more responsive to own baby-cry

A new study has found that mothers who delivered vaginally compared to caesarean section delivery (CSD) were significantly more responsive to the cry of their own baby, identified through MRI brain scans two to four weeks after delivery.

2 Sep 2008

Mom's depression, baby's sleep linked?

If there's one thing that everyone knows about newborn babies, it's that they don't sleep through the night, and neither do their parents. But in fact, those first six months of life are crucial to developing the regular sleeping and waking patterns, known as circadian rhythms, that a child will need for a healthy future.

2 Sep 2008

Older fathers more likely to have children with bipolar disorder

According to new research by Swedish scientists, older fathers are more likely to have children with bipolar disorder.

2 Sep 2008

Children of older fathers more likely to have bipolar disorder

Older age among fathers may be associated with an increased risk for bipolar disorder in their offspring, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

1 Sep 2008

Sex differences found in response to common antidepressant

Women with depression may be much more likely than men to get relief from a commonly used, inexpensive antidepressant drug, a new national study finds. But many members of both sexes may find that it helps ease their depression symptoms.

31 Aug 2008

Antidepressants need new nerve cells to be effective

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in mice that the brain must create new nerve cells for either exercise or antidepressants to reduce depression-like behavior.

28 Aug 2008

Discovery of genes that may predispose to anxiety disorders

Finnish scientists have identified genes that may predispose to anxiety disorders. Research conducted under the supervision of Academy Research Fellow Iiris Hovatta have focused on genes that influence human behaviour, and some of the studied genes show a statistical association with specific anxiety disorders. The work is carried out as part of the Academy of Finland Research Programme on Neuroscience (NEURO).

27 Aug 2008

UT Southwestern discovery may lead to new drug-abuse treatments

Increased connections among brain cells caused by excessive drug use may represent the body's defense mechanism to combat addiction and related behaviors, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

27 Aug 2008

Chronic stress alters our genetic immune response

Most people would agree that stress increases your risk for illness and this is particularly true for severe long-term stresses, such as caring for a family member with a chronic medical illness. However, we still have a relatively limited understanding of exactly how stress contributes to the risk for illness. In the August 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry, researchers shed new light on one link between stress and illness by describing a mechanism through which stress alters immune function.

27 Aug 2008

Potential new targets for antidepressants

The news about antidepressant medications over the past several years has been mixed. The bad news from large multicenter studies such as STAR*D is that current antidepressant medications are effective, but not as effective as one might hope. Thus, there is a significant need for new treatment mechanisms for depression. On that front, there has been mixed news as well.

27 Aug 2008