Psychiatry News and Research

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

Brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia risk are detectable in babies, find researchers

Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder affecting one in 100 people worldwide. Most cases aren't detected until a person starts experiencing symptoms like delusions and hallucinations as a teenager or adult. By that time, the disease has often progressed so far that it can be difficult to treat.

22 Jun 2010

FDA approves NAMENDA XR for treatment of Alzheimer's type dementia

Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH announced today that NAMENDA XR(TM) (memantine hydrochloride) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer's type. NAMENDA XR is a 28 mg once-daily extended-release formulation of NAMENDA.

22 Jun 2010

National Cheng Kung University Hospital's Outpatient Building inaugurated

The Outpatient Building of National Cheng Kung University Hospital was officially inaugurated on June 12th to provide excellent medical service and to further ensure the health of people in Southern Taiwan.

18 Jun 2010

USFDA approves Sun Pharma's generic Xanax ANDA

Sun Pharma announced that USFDA has granted an approval for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market a generic version of Xanax®, alprazolam tablets.

18 Jun 2010

Serotonin transporter gene appears to increase one's risk for depression, PTSD: Study

There is a great deal of interest in factors that contribute to the vulnerability to developing post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. One factor that appears to contribute to the heritable vulnerability to PTSD is a variation in the gene that codes for the serotonin transporter, also known as the serotonin uptake site. Having a shorter version of the serotonin transporter gene appears to increase one's risk for depression and PTSD after exposure to extremely stressful situations.

18 Jun 2010

Study reveals increase of enzyme MAO-A in female brain during immediate postpartum period

Within the first week after giving birth, up to 70 percent of all women experience symptoms of the baby blues. While most women recover quickly, up to 13 percent of all new mothers suffer from symptoms of a clinical-level postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is defined as a major depressive episode starting within 4 weeks after delivery and is a significant public health problem. Postpartum blues represents a major risk factor for developing postpartum depression and severe postpartum blues symptoms can be viewed as a prodromal stage for postpartum depression.

17 Jun 2010

Positive results from Phase I clinical trial of GLYX-13 presented at NCDEU meeting

Naurex Inc., a clinical stage company developing innovative treatments for depression and other CNS disorders, today reported that it presented data at the NCDEU 50th Anniversary Meeting showing that its novel mechanism compound GLYX-13 appeared safe in a Phase I trial. GLYX-13 is a glycine site functional partial agonist selective modulator of the NMDA receptor that is being developed initially for use in depression as adjunctive therapy.

17 Jun 2010

Research findings shed light on risk factors, prevention strategies for suicide

Masculine ideals of strength coupled with strong family ties can help men combat depression and overcome thoughts of suicide, according to University of British Columbia research.

17 Jun 2010

USFDA approves Sun Pharma's generic Keppra Injection ANDA

Sun Pharma announced that USFDA has granted an approval for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market a generic version of Keppra® Injection, levetiracetam injection.

17 Jun 2010

Stress-related psychiatric disorders more common among women: Study

There may be a biological reason why depression and other stress-related psychiatric disorders are more common among women compared to men. Studying stress signaling systems in animal brains, neuroscience researchers found that females are more sensitive to low levels of an important stress hormone and less able to adapt to high levels than males.

16 Jun 2010

Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation to present 2010 Neuroscience Prize to Robert H. Wurtz

Robert H. Wurtz, PhD, a pioneer and leader in the field of neurophysiology, is the recipient of the 2010 Neuroscience Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation. His discoveries of how the brain processes visual information and controls eye movements laid the groundwork for subsequent research into the neurophysiology of visual cognition. This research has led scientists to a deeper understanding of how the brain is organized to produce behavior.

15 Jun 2010

Robert Zucker to receive RSA Distinguished Researcher Award

Robert Zucker, Ph.D., director of the University of Michigan Addiction Research Center, and the Substance Abuse Section in the Department of Psychiatry, has been named recipient of the 31st annual Research Society on Alcoholism Distinguished Researcher Award. The award is given to an individual whose research has made significant contributions to the understanding of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, and whose body of work demonstrates leadership in the field.

15 Jun 2010

Depression and other stress-related psychiatric disorders in women may have biological basis: Research

15 Jun 2010

Certain PTSD symptoms may be key to treating anger among Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans: Study

Focusing on certain PTSD symptoms may be key to treating anger among Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans, according to a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Veterans Affairs researchers.

15 Jun 2010

Interpretation of multiple gene function may hold clue to autism

Deciphering the functions of multiple rare genes may be at the core of understanding the genetic factors that cause autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), according to a new study published June 9 in the journal Nature by dozens of top autism researchers around the world, including Yale Child Study Center Director Fred R. Volkmar, M.D.

11 Jun 2010

Research may lead to better treatments for depression and substance abuse

In what has been hailed as a breakthrough, scientists from Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College have outlined the molecular mechanism of membrane transport. The research shows how a protein transforms its shape to transport substances across the cell membrane in order to regulate transmission of the brain's messages across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another.

11 Jun 2010

Hypertension linked to severity of bipolar disorders

Nearly half of patients hospitalized with bipolar disorder may suffer from hypertension, and the younger a person is diagnosed with the psychiatric condition the more likely they are to develop high blood pressure, according to a recent Michigan State University study.

11 Jun 2010

FDA advisory committee recommends approval of Novartis' FTY720 for relapsing MS

Today, an advisory committee of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended approval of FTY720 (fingolimod) for the treatment of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease. The FDA has the option of seeking the advice of one of its advisory committees as it reviews and decides whether to approve a new treatment. The committee voted unanimously that FTY720 demonstrated substantial efficacy in treating relapsing remitting MS and that safety of the proposed 0.5 mg dose justified approval.

11 Jun 2010

Gambling addiction can be inherited equally by sons and daughters: Study

Gambling is linked to a gene that is passed on through generations and a new study claims that it is passed on to both sons and daughters alike. The study published in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry says, that genes rule at least 50 percent of a persons propensity to gamble irrespective of sex. Genes have been linked earlier to gambling but this is the first time women are also said to inherit the trait.

10 Jun 2010

Copy number variants may cause autism: Study

An international consortium of researchers from more than 70 universities, including the University of Utah, has reported that a study of nearly 2,300 people supports the growing consensus that autism is caused in part by rare genetic changes called copy number variants (CNVs).

10 Jun 2010