Mental Disorder News and Research

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NJPA files lawsuit against state's health service providers for violating patient confidentiality rights

The New Jersey Psychological Association, the professional organization representing more than 2,100 psychologists who treat hundreds of thousands of people throughout the state, announced today that it filed a lawsuit against the New Jersey State Health Benefits Commission, Horizon Healthcare Services, Inc. and Magellan Health Services alleging violation of patient confidentiality rights provided by the New Jersey Practicing Psychology Licensing Act.

24 Feb 2010

National public service campaign to raise mental health awareness in young African American adults

Officials from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Ad Council and the Stay Strong Foundation will unveil a national public service campaign designed to raise awareness of mental health problems among young adults in the African American community. The event is part of Black History Month and it is being held to coincide with the first annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities National Mental Health Awareness Day. The launch will be telecast to colleges and universities nationwide.

23 Feb 2010

Research Roundup: Financing boomers' care; California's budget cuts; Racial disparities in surgical outcomes

Health Affairs: Chronic Conditions Account For Rise In Medicare Spending From 1987 To 2006 - "Medicare beneficiaries' medical needs, and where beneficiaries undergo treatment, have changed dramatically over the past two decades." For example, the authors write, "heart disease ranked first among the top-ten conditions in terms of attributable share of growth from 1987 to 1997, accounting for nearly 14 percent of the increase in Medicare spending."

20 Feb 2010

MHCC receives $500,000 grant to operate research project on mental health and homelessness

The Mental Health Commission of Canada has received a $500,000 grant from the City of Vancouver. The funds will help operate part of a research demonstration project on mental health and homelessness at a downtown hotel.

19 Feb 2010

Mental health care for federally incarcerated offenders through telemedicine

A bold new initiative soon to be implemented in federal prisons in Ontario will help to address the treatment needs for federal offenders with mental health issues.

19 Feb 2010

Mental illness associated with more lost work days than any other chronic condition: Study

With mental illness associated with more lost work days than any other chronic condition and costing $17.7 billion annually in lost productivity, understanding its underpinnings is increasingly important to the Canadian economy. Now new research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) indicates that the strongest predictor for work disability leaves is a person's past history of occurrences.

18 Feb 2010

NAMI launches new health education program to promote sound "mind and body" health

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has launched a new health education program to promote sound "mind and body" health practices among individuals who live with serious mental illness.

18 Feb 2010

Scienta Health signs agreement with Partners HealthCare to provide advanced acute care to its clients

Scienta Health today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Boston-based Partners HealthCare, the leading academic medical network in the U.S. Partners HealthCare includes major teaching hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School: the Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, McLean Hospital, a treatment and research leader in mental illness, chemical dependency and learning disabilities; and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, a top-ranked rehabilitation facility.

17 Feb 2010

Today's OpEds: Republicans and Medicare, small business health costs and changes to FEHBP

Republican leaders are now saying they will not participate in the meeting unless the president takes his health reform plan off the table to start over. I understand their concerns with a variety of issues in the current bills, but where you start is not nearly as important as where you finish. After all, fees continue to skyrocket and millions remain uninsured, costing our country in many ways. ... There is no time like the present for Washington to show America that it is interested in governing, not just in campaigning. The cameras will be rolling, and we will be watching (Christine Todd Whitman, 2/12).

14 Feb 2010

Silver nanoparticles in higher-power, longer-life batteries for ICDs

Diamonds and gold may make some hearts flutter on Valentine's Day, but in a University at Buffalo laboratory, silver nanoparticles are being designed to do just the opposite.

11 Feb 2010

Today's OpEds: Prescriptions for health reform

The best ideas out there are not those that were passed by the House and Senate last year, which consist of more spending, more regulations and more bureaucracy. If the president is serious about building a system that delivers more quality choices at lower cost for every American, here's where he should start (Newt Gingrich and John C. Goodman, 2/10).

11 Feb 2010

Mental health 'bible' starts revamp with new terminology, diagnoses

The Wall Street Journal: "Mental-health experts wrestling with how to fit temper tantrums, hoarding and even Internet addiction into the current understanding of mental illness are proposing changes to the field's primary reference for diagnoses for the first time in 16 years. The draft revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—the bible for mental health clinicians and researchers—unveiled Wednesday could have effects that ripple through mental health care."

11 Feb 2010

APA releases proposed draft diagnostic criteria for DSM-5

The American Psychiatric Association today released the proposed draft diagnostic criteria for the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The draft criteria represent content changes under consideration for DSM, which is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health and other health professionals, and is used for diagnostic and research purposes.

10 Feb 2010

States deal with small budgets, Medicaid cuts

Virginian-Pilot: Area hospitals are preparing "for a round of Medicaid spending cuts that executives say could be the worst in decades and lead to more cutbacks in their organizations. Rising health care costs and a surge in the number of Medicaid patients have increased the state's obligation to the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled by $777.7 million over two years.

9 Feb 2010

Guns in homes can increase risk of death and firearm-related violence

Having a gun at home not only increases the risk of harm to one's self and family, but also carries high costs to society, concludes an article in the February Southern Medical Journal, official journal of the Southern Medical Association.

4 Feb 2010

Acupuncture viable for treatment of depression during pregnancy

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Chicago, researchers will unveil findings that show that acupuncture may be an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy.

4 Feb 2010

FDA approves Labopharm's OLEPTRO antidepressant for MDD

Labopharm Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved OLEPTRO(TM) (trazodone hydrochloride) Extended Release Tablets, a novel once-daily formulation of the antidepressant trazodone, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults. OLEPTRO(TM) utilizes CONTRAMID(R), Labopharm's clinically validated technology that controls the release of active substances within oral medications.

3 Feb 2010

Study indicates majority of physicians are not following DSM-IV guidelines for major depressive disorder

A new study led by Mark Zimmerman, MD, of Rhode Island Hospital indicates that a majority of non-psychiatrist physicians and a substantial minority of psychiatrists reported that they often do not use the criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) when diagnosing major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients. The study appears online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

3 Feb 2010

HHS appoints new members to Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today the appointment of 24 new members to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). The PACHA’s chair, Dr. Helene Gayle, was appointed in August 2009.

2 Feb 2010

Epigenetics may help determine CT radiation risk to patients' offsprings

There remains a lack of consensus amongst the medical and scientific communities about any cancer risk from low level radiation, particularly low-dose radiation delivered from computed tomography (CT) scans. However, the study of epigenetics may play a role in determining whether or not future trends of diseases can in fact be linked to utilization of CT, according to an article in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR).

1 Feb 2010

Mental Disorder News and Research

NJPA files lawsuit against state's health service providers for violating patient confidentiality rights

National public service campaign to raise mental health awareness in young African American adults

Research Roundup: Financing boomers' care; California's budget cuts; Racial disparities in surgical outcomes

MHCC receives $500,000 grant to operate research project on mental health and homelessness

Mental health care for federally incarcerated offenders through telemedicine

Mental illness associated with more lost work days than any other chronic condition: Study

NAMI launches new health education program to promote sound "mind and body" health

Scienta Health signs agreement with Partners HealthCare to provide advanced acute care to its clients

Today's OpEds: Republicans and Medicare, small business health costs and changes to FEHBP

Silver nanoparticles in higher-power, longer-life batteries for ICDs

Today's OpEds: Prescriptions for health reform

Mental health 'bible' starts revamp with new terminology, diagnoses

APA releases proposed draft diagnostic criteria for DSM-5

States deal with small budgets, Medicaid cuts

Guns in homes can increase risk of death and firearm-related violence

Acupuncture viable for treatment of depression during pregnancy

FDA approves Labopharm's OLEPTRO antidepressant for MDD

Study indicates majority of physicians are not following DSM-IV guidelines for major depressive disorder

HHS appoints new members to Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Epigenetics may help determine CT radiation risk to patients' offsprings

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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