Psychiatry News and Research

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

Evidence for ADHD due to delay in brain development

Is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) due to a delay in brain development or the result of complete deviation from typical development? In the current issue of Biological Psychiatry, Dr. Philip Shaw and colleagues present evidence for delay based on a study by the National Institutes of Health.

30 Jul 2012

Insight into neural basis of human consciousness

Which areas of the brain help us to perceive our world in a self-reflective manner is difficult to measure. During wakefulness, we are always conscious of ourselves. In sleep, however, we are not. But there are people, known as lucid dreamers, who can become aware of dreaming during sleep. Studies employing magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) have now been able to demonstrate that a specific cortical network consisting of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the frontopolar regions and the precuneus is activated when this lucid consciousness is attained.

30 Jul 2012

Long-term use of reverse geometry lenses may induce inflammatory response

Continuous long-term overnight use of reverse geometry lenses results in a significantly increased presence of inflammatory mediators compared with wearing 30-night silicone-hydrogel contact lenses or wearing no lenses, show study results.

27 Jul 2012

Rehab benefit for meth abuse not crystal clear

Community-based residential rehabilitation significantly reduces methamphetamine use compared with detoxification, but the effect only lasts for up to a year, researchers report.

27 Jul 2012

Long-term interferon beta benefits unclear in MS

A large “real-world” study fails to show reduced disability progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis given interferon beta.

26 Jul 2012

Illiteracy linked to schizophrenia risk

The risk for schizophrenia is significantly higher among illiterate than literate individuals in China, particularly among younger age groups, results from a population-based study show.

26 Jul 2012

Insomnia: an interview with Dr Darryle Schoepp

Insomnia is a very common disorder. In medical terms it can affect a third of people. It affects elderly as well as non-elderly people, and is more common in women.

26 Jul 2012

Malaria commonly misdiagnosed and mistreated in Afghanistan

Findings published in the BMJ suggest that malaria is being significantly misdiagnosed in Afghanistan, with many patients with fever alone being given antimalarial drugs and antibiotics despite having negative laboratory results for the disease.

25 Jul 2012

Brain response to emotion altered in BD youth

Results from a US study show that adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD) have altered activation in certain brain regions in response to facial expressions of emotion.

25 Jul 2012

Reduced white matter integrity in schizophrenia patients

Patients with schizophrenia show widespread reductions in white matter integrity, particularly in fronto-temporal regions, researchers report.

25 Jul 2012

Study uncovers pathways by which yoga impacts biological processes

Six months ago, researchers at UCLA published a study that showed using a specific type of yoga to engage in a brief, simple daily meditation reduced the stress levels of people who care for those stricken by Alzheimer's and dementia. Now they know why.

25 Jul 2012

NBTI participates in ICT-107 phase II trial for glioblastoma multiforme

Researchers at Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute (NBTI) are seeking to understand if a vaccine made from a patient's own blood cells may slow the growth of a type of brain tumor.

25 Jul 2012

New classification scheme for psychiatric symptoms

The traditional approach to psychiatric diagnosis is based on grouping patients on the basis of symptom clusters. This approach to diagnosis has a number of problems, as symptoms are not necessarily specific to a single diagnosis.

25 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Aurora shootings show need for more aggressive psych treatment; Venture capitalist says health exchanges can curb costs

Looking at guns, looking at video games -; that's starting from the wrong perspective. People who commit spree killings are usually suffering from severe mental disorders. The response, and the way to prevent future episodes, has to start with psychiatry, too. The best way to prevent killing sprees is with relationships -; when one person notices that a relative or neighbor is going off the rails and gets that person treatment before the barbarism takes control. But there also has to be a more aggressive system of treatment options, especially for men in their 20s.

25 Jul 2012