Psychiatry News and Research

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

New research with agitated monkeys may help predict childhood anxiety & depression

According to the latest discovery from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, there may be a possible link between brain activity and childhood anxiety.

12 Aug 2010

Healthcare professionals need to develop empathic skills: Tischler's book on mental health

Doctors and other healthcare professionals should use the arts and humanities to develop their empathic skills and improve mental healthcare practice, according to a new book.Mental Health, Psychiatry and the Arts, edited by Dr Victoria Tischler in the Division of Psychiatry at The University of Nottingham, argues that visual art, poetry writing, novels and music can be used in the education of medical and nursing students and other mental health professionals to improve their understanding of the patient experience.

12 Aug 2010

Study examines cosmetic impact of surgical procedure for body dysmorphic disorder

A new study finds that while many who suffer from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) seek cosmetic procedures, only two percent of procedures actually reduced the severity of BDD. Despite this poor long-term outcome, physicians continue to provide requested surgeries to people suffering from BDD. The study was recently published in Annals of Plastic Surgery.

12 Aug 2010

Increased brain activity predicts anxious temperament in young primates

A new study focused on anxiety and brain activity pinpoints the brain regions that are relevant to developing childhood anxiety. The findings, published in the Aug. 12 edition of the journal Nature, may lead to new strategies for early detection and treatment of at-risk children.

12 Aug 2010

Shire announces divestiture of Daytrana to Noven Pharmaceuticals

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced the divestiture of Daytrana (methylphenidate transdermal system) to Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Daytrana, which is approved and marketed in the US for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children and adolescents, will continue to be available for patients through Noven.

11 Aug 2010

Healthcare professionals should use arts, humanities to improve mental healthcare practice: New book

Doctors and other healthcare professionals should use the arts and humanities to develop their empathic skills and improve mental healthcare practice, according to a new book.

11 Aug 2010

Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute implants two Heartware ventricular assist devices

The Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital recently implanted a patient with two of the smallest experimental ventricular assist devices (VADs) currently available for study in humans. VADs are designed to assist either the right (RVAD) or left (LVAD) ventricle, or both (BiVAD) at once. This is the first time that two Heartware VADs have been implanted in the left and right ventricles anywhere in North America—a "game changer" in the realm of heart assist devices according to Patrick M. McCarthy, MD, chief of the hospital's division of cardiac surgery and director of the hospital's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.

11 Aug 2010

Jazz Pharmaceuticals second-quarter net product sales increase 49% to $39.5 million

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010 and updated financial guidance for 2010. The company's updated financial guidance reflects higher expected sales of XYREM® (sodium oxybate) and the effects of recent financing activities.

11 Aug 2010

New findings identify mGlu2/3 receptors as a promising treatment target for cocaine addicts

Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, which has been implicated in drug addiction. Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) represent a family of G-protein coupled receptors that modulate glutamate transmission. Glutamate is an important neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory. Today, these receptors are considered to be promising targets for drug discovery, with therapeutic potential to treat various neurological and psychiatric disorders, including drug addiction.

11 Aug 2010

Scientists identify chemical system effective in cocaine-addiction cure

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a chemical system in the brain that reacts differently in cocaine addicts, findings that could result in new treatment options for individuals addicted to the drug."We found that the amount of blood flow in areas of the brain known to be involved in the rewarding effects of cocaine and craving was different in cocaine addicts, compared with healthy subjects," said Dr. Bryon Adinoff, professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern and lead author of a study that appeared in Neuropsychopharmacology. "Now we have a new target for pharmacologic intervention."

11 Aug 2010

Older Americans suffer from full-blown depression: Report

Maureen Duffy's memories of her grandmother are cloudy. Not because of time, but by a condition that cast a shadow over the woman Duffy had visited as a child.

10 Aug 2010

Mild sleep restriction for several nights can affect cognitive tasks: Research

Many people are sleep restricted, either because they have to or because they choose to be, she says. "Instead of going to bed when they are tired, like they should, people watch TV and want to have an active social life," she says. "People count on catching up on their sleep on the weekends, but it may not be enough."

10 Aug 2010

Study on ethnic disparities in pediatric asthma in Latino and non-Latino children

A new study by researchers at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and the University of Puerto Rico may help explain some of the well-documented ethnic disparities in pediatric asthma.

10 Aug 2010

SIRIUS XM Radio to broadcast call-in show for autism spectrum disorders

SIRIUS XM Radio today announced that in partnership with Autism Speaks it will broadcast Doctor Radio Reports: Understanding Autism - Looking for Answers, a live, two-hour call-in show hosted by veteran journalist Perri Peltz on which a panel of world-class doctors, experts, scientists and parents of affected children will explore the latest research and treatment options for autism and disorders on the autism spectrum and take calls from listeners across the country.

7 Aug 2010

Asynchronous telepsychiatry provides primary-care physicians greater access to psychiatric consultation

A new study by researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine has found that psychiatrists can accurately assess a patient's mental health by viewing videotaped interviews that are sent to them for consultation and treatment recommendations.

7 Aug 2010

Drugs that reduce activity of ABDH6 enzyme can prevent brain damage: Study

A newly discovered molecular mechanism helps control the amount and effectiveness of a substance that mimics an active ingredient in marijuana, but that is produced by the body's own nerve cells.

7 Aug 2010

Research Roundups: Expanding Medicaid; More spending doesn't reduce mortality; Colonoscopy cost effectiveness; Kids, asthma and access to care

Health Affairs: Little Evidence Of Correlation Between Growth In Health Care Spending And Reduced Mortality - This study examines differences in hospital mortality and cost between 2000 and 2004 for patients at 122 U.S. hospitals, with seven common medical diagnoses: acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, community-acquired pneumonia, congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular accident (also called ischemic stroke), sepsis, or urinary tract infection.

7 Aug 2010

Adversity-exposure may protect against psychiatric disturbances that occur with CBP: Study

A new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of California, Irvine, to be published in the September issue of the journal Pain, reveals that, for people with chronic back pain, having a little adversity in your life can be protective and beneficial.

6 Aug 2010

Vyvanse Capsules CII demonstrates significant improvement in adults with ADHD: Phase 3b study

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that a Phase 3b study published in Behavioral and Brain Functions found adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder who took once-daily Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) Capsules CII demonstrated significant improvement in attention.

6 Aug 2010

New insights into development and applications of pharmacogenomics in psychiatry

In recent years, there have been major developments in the fields of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics, with the potential to make drug treatments in psychiatric medicine more effective. However, improvements in drug efficacy and tolerability, as well as finding the optimal dosage, can only be realized if in vivo mechanisms of drug action and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) processes (pharmacokinetics) of psychopharmacological agents are better understood.

5 Aug 2010

Psychiatry News and Research

Further Reading

New research with agitated monkeys may help predict childhood anxiety & depression

Healthcare professionals need to develop empathic skills: Tischler's book on mental health

Study examines cosmetic impact of surgical procedure for body dysmorphic disorder

Increased brain activity predicts anxious temperament in young primates

Shire announces divestiture of Daytrana to Noven Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare professionals should use arts, humanities to improve mental healthcare practice: New book

Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute implants two Heartware ventricular assist devices

Jazz Pharmaceuticals second-quarter net product sales increase 49% to $39.5 million

New findings identify mGlu2/3 receptors as a promising treatment target for cocaine addicts

Scientists identify chemical system effective in cocaine-addiction cure

Older Americans suffer from full-blown depression: Report

Mild sleep restriction for several nights can affect cognitive tasks: Research

Study on ethnic disparities in pediatric asthma in Latino and non-Latino children

SIRIUS XM Radio to broadcast call-in show for autism spectrum disorders

Asynchronous telepsychiatry provides primary-care physicians greater access to psychiatric consultation

Drugs that reduce activity of ABDH6 enzyme can prevent brain damage: Study

Research Roundups: Expanding Medicaid; More spending doesn't reduce mortality; Colonoscopy cost effectiveness; Kids, asthma and access to care

Adversity-exposure may protect against psychiatric disturbances that occur with CBP: Study

Vyvanse Capsules CII demonstrates significant improvement in adults with ADHD: Phase 3b study

New insights into development and applications of pharmacogenomics in psychiatry

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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