Post Traumatic Stress Disorder News and Research

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Caregivers at higher risk for PTSD when cancer patients die in hospital

Cancer patients who die in the hospital or an intensive care unit have worse quality of life at the end-of-life, compared to patients who die at home with hospice services, and their caregivers are at higher risk for developing psychiatric illnesses during bereavement, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

16 Sep 2010

Neurocrine Biosciences announces GSK561679 antagonist's efficacy in major depressive disorder

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. today announced top-line efficacy and safety results from a Phase II clinical trial utilizing Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF1) receptor antagonist GSK561679 in patients currently experiencing a major depressive episode.

15 Sep 2010

Researchers present study results of psychosocial trauma experienced at 2006 Dawson College shooting

A research team from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and Fernand-Seguin Research Centre of Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital presented today the results of its three-year study, a world first, into the 2006 Dawson College shooting to the Government of Quebec's Ministry of Public Security.

10 Sep 2010

Study suggests PTSD symptoms common in Second Generation population

In groups with high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as the survivors of the Nazi Death Camps, the adjustment problems of their children, the so called "Second Generation", have received attention by researchers. Studies suggested that some symptoms or personality traits associated with PTSD may be more common in the Second Generation than the general population.

9 Sep 2010

PTSD and traumatic brain injury common among returning troops

NPR reports on post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury in troops returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Though thousands of soldiers are diagnosed with PTSD, many more suffer without treatment. Among those who do seek treatment, doctors are finding another, distinctly different problem called traumatic brain injury, or TBI.

8 Sep 2010

VA prepares to expand Agent Orange related claims for Vietnam veterans

The Washington Post: "The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing for more than 150,000 Vietnam War veterans to apply for benefits in the next 18 months thanks to new regulations making it easier to compensate for health problems caused by exposure to the Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange. Changes set for publication in Tuesday's Federal Register could result in payouts of about $42 billion in the next decade, VA said.

2 Sep 2010

Veterans with PTSD at greater risk for dementia

Results of a study reported in the September issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggest that Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have a greater risk for dementia than Veterans without PTSD, even those who suffered traumatic injuries during combat.

31 Aug 2010

5 years after Katrina, Gulf area still struggles with access to quality health care, mental health counseling

"Finding quality health care continues to be a challenge in the New Orleans area. Five years ago, Hurricane Katrina flooded area hospitals, destroyed buildings and scattered patients. The health care industry has been slow to recover and in some cases, facilities still haven't opened. …

27 Aug 2010

Disaster response strategies should address needs of people with disabilities and mental disorders

As hurricane season gets into full swing, mental health teams will be ready to respond and help survivors cope with possible devastation. Psychologists have analyzed decades of research and found that disaster response strategies should address the needs of the population affected, specifically those with disabilities and mental disorders.

24 Aug 2010

Study finds post Katrina period increases mental health issues among children

Key findings documented in American Medical Association's Journal of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 60% of children - as many as 20,000 - displaced by Katrina either have serious emotional disorders, behavioral issues and/or are experiencing significant housing instability.One-third of children are reported to have been diagnosed with at least one mental health problem, but fewer than 50% of parents were able to access needed professional services.Children post-Katrina are 4.5 times more likely to have serious emotional disturbance than children not affected by the disaster

23 Aug 2010

Air quality along US Gulf Coast improves after stoppage of oil leak

The oil spill along the United States Gulf Coast poses health risks to volunteers, fishermen, clean-up workers and members of coastal communities, according to a new commentary by UCSF researchers who spent time in the region and are among the first to look into health problems caused by the oil spill. The good news, the authors say, is that one of the risk factors, coastal air quality, is improving now that the oil leak has been stopped.

17 Aug 2010

Widespread sexual violence, human rights abuses in DRC linked with physical, mental health outcomes

A recent survey of men and women in specific territories of Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo found sexual violence and human rights violations were prevalent and were associated with physical and mental health outcomes, according to an article in the August 4 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

5 Aug 2010

Researchers assess long-term burden of PTSD in a region of Liberia

Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health assessed the geographical distribution of the long-term burden of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in a region of Liberia and report that the prevalence of PTSD remains high nearly two decades after the principal conflict there and five years after war in Liberia ended entirely.

31 Jul 2010

POA releases consensus statement on CIRS-WDB

Policyholders of America released a consensus statement written by treating physicians and researchers in the field on the mechanism and treatment of illness found in people sickened by exposure to water-damaged buildings. This illness has been the subject of heated debate that has resulted in harsh allegations being lobbed at patients by experts hired by industry to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the illness.

28 Jul 2010

Students with ADHD less likely to finish high school graduation: Study

Teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder - the most common childhood psychiatric condition in the United States - are less likely to finish high school on time than students with other mental-health disorders that often are considered more serious, a large national study by researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine has found. The study found that nearly one third of students with ADHD, twice the proportion as students with no psychiatric disorder, either drop out or delay high school graduation.

28 Jul 2010

Number of soldiers leaving the army because of mental health issues jumps 64%

USA Today: "The number of soldiers forced to leave the Army solely because of a mental disorder has increased by 64% from 2005 to 2009 and accounts for one in nine medical discharges, according to Army statistics.

26 Jul 2010

Today's OpEds: The challenge of medicare spending; Two views of Massachussets; Regulating premiums

Health reform can be assessed from the perspective of four groups that collectively include most Americans. For those who are now in Medicaid or who are uninsured, reform will be a major gain. For those who obtain health insurance in the individual and small-group markets, reform should bring improvements. For those who have health insurance from midsize- and large-group insurers, reform will bring little change. Finally, for Medicare beneficiaries, reform promises to bring positive change.

23 Jul 2010

MDMA (Ecstasy) holds promise for chronic treatment-resistant PTSD

MDMA (-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as Ecstasy), may one day offer hope for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), even people for whom other treatments have failed. Clinical trial results out today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, suggests that MDMA can be administered to subjects with PTSD without evidence of harm and could offer sufferers a vital window with reduced fear responses where psychotherapy can take effect.

20 Jul 2010

New studies explore how child soldiers adjust after they return to their homes

Despite international bans, more than 250,000 children fight as soldiers in 86 countries across the globe, almost half of them in Africa. Two new studies explored how these children adjust after they return to their homes. Key to successful adaptation, the studies found, was the characteristics of the communities to which the children returned.

16 Jul 2010

Columbia scientists discover new way to alleviate chronic pain

Columbia scientists working to combat injury-related depression, substance abuse and suicide due to unremitting, persistent pain may have discovered a new way of treating that pain: a powerful analgesic dubbed N60 that leads to neither tolerance nor addiction.

16 Jul 2010