Psychiatry News and Research

RSS

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

Psychiatric disorders common in adults who have had anorexia

Many adults who were diagnosed as teenagers to be suffering from anorexia nervosa cannot work due to psychiatric disorders. A follow-up 18 years after the onset of anorexia has shown that one in four are on disability benefit or have been signed off sick. The long-term follow-up by the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, does, however, show some encouraging results.

26 Mar 2009

Oxycodone effective against shingles pain

The painkiller oxycodone is effective at treating the acute pain of shingles, an illness that often causes severe pain which can become long-lasting and sometimes even permanent.

26 Mar 2009

Inconsistent performance speed among children with ADHD may underlie how well they use memory

Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show more variable or inconsistent responses during on 'working' or short-term, memory tasks when compared with typically developing peers, a study by UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Julie Schweitzer has found.

24 Mar 2009

fMRI shows some advice shuts down key decision-making areas of the brain

A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) shows that expert advice may shut down areas of the brain responsible for decision-making processes, particularly when individuals are trying to evaluate a situation where risk is involved.

23 Mar 2009

Thinning of right hemisphere in brain a marker for familial form of depression

Findings from one of the largest-ever imaging studies of depression indicate that a structural difference in the brain - a thinning of the right hemisphere - appears to be linked to a higher risk for depression, according to new research at Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

23 Mar 2009

Gulf War veterans display abnormal brain response to specific chemicals

A new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers is the first to pinpoint damage inside the brains of veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome - a finding that links the illness to chemical exposures and may lead to diagnostic tests and treatments.

22 Mar 2009

The brain maintains language skills in spite of alcohol damage by drawing from other regions

Prior neuroimaging studies have shown alcoholism-related damage to the frontal lobes and cerebellum.

20 Mar 2009

Insights into Parkinson's disease and deep-brain stimulation

About the only thing doctors have understood about deep-brain stimulation, which is widely used to treat Parkinson's disease symptoms, is that somehow it works for many patients.

20 Mar 2009

Naltrexone can reduce relapse rates among alcohol-dependence patients

Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist approved in 1994 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for alcohol-dependence (AD) treatment, can reduce relapse rates among AD patients.

20 Mar 2009

Low to moderate drinking releases 'feel-good' endorphins in the brain, not heavy drinking

Scientists know that alcohol affects the brain, but the specifics remain unclear.

20 Mar 2009

Heightened level of amygdala activity may cause social deficits in autism

Something strange is going on in the amygdala - an almond-shaped structure deep in the human brain - among people with autism.

20 Mar 2009

Understanding mental illness through gene-environment interactions

Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, is very pleased to present a special section of its February 1st issue devoted to fundamental new insights into epigenetics, a field of research devoted to understanding how the environment can produce long-lasting or even heritable changes in gene function without altering the DNA sequence.

17 Mar 2009

New strategy to weaken traumatic memories

Imagine that you have been in combat and that you have watched your closest friend die in front of you.

17 Mar 2009

Link between religious coping and aggressive treatment in terminally ill cancer patients

In a new study of terminally ill cancer patients, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that those who draw on religion to cope with their illness are more likely to receive intensive, life-prolonging medical care as death approaches –– treatment that often entails a lower quality of life in patients' final days.

17 Mar 2009

Hearing could hold key to unlocking schizophrenia mystery

Measuring brain waves in response to hearing a variety of tones appears to be a useful way to begin understanding the underlying genetic abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, says a study headed by researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital.

17 Mar 2009

Shire withdraws European application for Daytrana (Methylphenidate Transdermal System)

Shire plc has announced that it has decided to withdraw the European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Daytrana (methylphenidate transdermal system) for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

16 Mar 2009

First treatment for muscular dystrophy a step closer

Genetic researchers at Children's National Medical Center and the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry in Tokyo published the results of the first successful application of "multiple exon-skipping" to curb the devastating effects of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in an animal larger than a mouse.

16 Mar 2009

Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative announces completion of genome-wide analysis

Researchers announced today that a high-density genome wide analysis of participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI; www.adni-info.org) is more than 95% complete and that data will be shared with scientists around the world for further analysis.

16 Mar 2009

Novel genetic technology for canine form of muscular dystrophy

Using a novel genetic technology that covers up genetic errors, researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have developed a successful treatment for dogs with the canine version of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a paralyzing, and ultimately fatal, muscle disease.

16 Mar 2009

Does stress damage the brain?

In the March 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, a paper by Tibor Hajszan and colleagues provides an important new chapter to this question.

16 Mar 2009