Psychiatry News and Research

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

Gene variants protect sexually-abused victims from alcohol dependence, says study

Exposure to severe stress early in life increases the risk of alcohol and drug addiction. Yet surprisingly, some adults sexually abused as children - and therefore at high risk for alcohol problems - carry gene variants that protect them from heavy drinking and its effects, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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

Supportive environment and intensive observation can prevent suicides among mental health patients

Between 1997 and 2006, 38% of out-of-clinic suicides by mental health patients were carried out by people absent without leave from the hospital. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry suggest that measures to improve the ward environment or prevent patients from leaving psychiatric wards without staff agreement could avoid up to 50 suicide deaths every year.

3 Feb 2010

Extended nicotine patch therapy benefits relapsing smokers trying to quit

New research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine may help more smokers keep their New Year's resolution by helping them quit smoking. Extended use of a nicotine patch - 24 weeks versus the standard eight weeks recommended by manufacturers - boosts the number of smokers who maintain their cigarette abstinence and helps more of those who backslide into the habit while wearing the patch, according to a study which will be published in the February 2 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

2 Feb 2010

MDLinx announces new Omnibus offering for international pharmaceutical market research

MDLinx, a division of M3 USA, announced today a new Omnibus offering for international pharmaceutical market research. The new offering, launched at the Pharmaceutical Market Research Conference, enables market researchers a new, simplified, reduced-cost means of accessing specialty physicians around the world.

2 Feb 2010

Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may reduce risk of psychotic disorders

Individuals at extremely high risk of developing psychosis appear less likely to develop psychotic disorders following a 12-week course of fish oil capsules containing long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Feb 2010

Genetic mutations may trigger suicidal behavior in depressed patients

Single mutations in genes involved with nerve cell formation and growth appear to be associated with the risk of attempting suicide among individuals with depression, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the April print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Feb 2010

People with body dysmorphic disorder have difficulties in processing visual input, say UCLA researchers

Everyone checks themselves in the mirror now and then, but that experience can be horrifying for individuals suffering from body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD, a psychiatric condition that causes them to believe, wrongly, that they appear disfigured and ugly. These people tend to fixate on minute details - every tiny blemish looms huge - rather than viewing their face as a whole.

2 Feb 2010

Evidence suggests antidepressants may improve post-stroke recovery

Patients who received the antidepressant escitalopram following a stroke appeared to recover more of their thinking, learning and memory skills than those taking placebo or participating in problem-solving therapy, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Feb 2010

Shire announces the Canadian availability of VYVANSE prodrug therapy for ADHD treatment

Canadian families managing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have a new treatment option. Today, Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced the Canadian availability of VYVANSE (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate capsule), the first and only prodrug therapy approved for ADHD treatment in Canada.

2 Feb 2010

Study: Schizophrenia patients may experience beneficial brain changes in response to exercise

Potentially beneficial brain changes (an increase in the volume of an area known as the hippocampus) occur in response to exercise both in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

1 Feb 2010

Interim positive data from Phase IIa clinical study of SYN115 for Parkinson’s disease

Synosia Therapeutics today announced interim positive data from a Phase IIa clinical study of an adenosine 2a (A2a) receptor antagonist (SYN115) in Parkinson’s disease.

1 Feb 2010

Northwestern Memorial HealthCare completes its formal plans to affiliate with Lake Forest Hospital

Northwestern Memorial HealthCare has completed its formal plans to affiliate with Lake County's Lake Forest Hospital. Northwestern's health system has obtained both federal and state approvals to proceed with an affiliation agreement that will make Lake Forest Hospital a wholly owned entity of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare along with Northwestern Memorial Hospital on February 1, 2010.

30 Jan 2010

AA attendance may alleviate depression

One of many reasons that attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings helps people with alcohol use disorders stay sober appears to be alleviation of depression.

29 Jan 2010

New methods to help elderly dementia patients regain their eating skills

A pioneering international study involving academics from the University of Sheffield has shown for the first time that it is possible to improve the eating skills and nutritional status of older people with dementia.

29 Jan 2010

New Tel Aviv University study shows early intervention could prevent mind altering disorder

The onset of schizophrenia is not easy to predict. Although it is associated with as many as 14 genes in the human genome, the prior presence of schizophrenia in the family is not enough to determine whether one will succumb to the mind-altering condition. The disease also has a significant environmental link.

29 Jan 2010

NIDA supports Omeros' Addiction program

Omeros Corporation today announced that the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is providing support for the Company's Addiction program. NIDA will fund substantially all of the costs of a Phase 2 clinical study to be conducted by New York State Psychiatric Institute researchers.

28 Jan 2010

Blocking CRF may prevent excessive alcohol consumption

A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found that a specific stress hormone, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in animal models.

28 Jan 2010

Posible new method to assess loss of consciousness

The brains of people under anesthesia respond to stimuli as they do in the deepest part of sleep - lending credence to a developing theory of consciousness and suggesting a new method to assess loss of consciousness in conditions such as coma.

28 Jan 2010

Depression raises risks of advanced and severe complications from diabetes

Depression raises risks of advanced and severe complications from diabetes, according to a prospective study of Group Health primary-care patients in western Washington. These complications include kidney failure or blindness, the result of small vessel damage, as well as major vessel problems leading to heart attack or stroke.

28 Jan 2010

Psychiatry News and Research

Further Reading

Gene variants protect sexually-abused victims from alcohol dependence, says study

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

Supportive environment and intensive observation can prevent suicides among mental health patients

Extended nicotine patch therapy benefits relapsing smokers trying to quit

MDLinx announces new Omnibus offering for international pharmaceutical market research

Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may reduce risk of psychotic disorders

Genetic mutations may trigger suicidal behavior in depressed patients

People with body dysmorphic disorder have difficulties in processing visual input, say UCLA researchers

Evidence suggests antidepressants may improve post-stroke recovery

Shire announces the Canadian availability of VYVANSE prodrug therapy for ADHD treatment

Study: Schizophrenia patients may experience beneficial brain changes in response to exercise

Interim positive data from Phase IIa clinical study of SYN115 for Parkinson’s disease

Northwestern Memorial HealthCare completes its formal plans to affiliate with Lake Forest Hospital

AA attendance may alleviate depression

New methods to help elderly dementia patients regain their eating skills

New Tel Aviv University study shows early intervention could prevent mind altering disorder

NIDA supports Omeros' Addiction program

Blocking CRF may prevent excessive alcohol consumption

Posible new method to assess loss of consciousness

Depression raises risks of advanced and severe complications from diabetes

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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