Psychiatry News and Research

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

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

Teenage stress carries forward to adulthood

Most of us remember our teenage years with a mix of fondness and relief. Fondness for the good memories, and relief that all that teenage stress, angst and drama - first love, gossip, SATs, fights with parents - is behind us.

11 Mar 2009

Simple balance test may predict cognitive decline in Alzheimer's Disease

A simple balance test may predict cognitive decline in Alzheimer's Disease, according to a study published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

11 Mar 2009

Helping someone who hoards

Even though Elizabeth Nelson was raised in an upper-middle class suburb, she felt a deep sense of shame about her living conditions growing up.

10 Mar 2009

Effective stem cell treatment for strokes a step closer

Effective stem cell treatment for strokes has taken a significant step forward today (09 March) as scientists reveal how they have replaced stroke-damaged brain tissue in rats.

8 Mar 2009

High levels of mental distress in Southern Sudan long after end of conflict

The first study of mental health in post-conflict Southern Sudan has found high levels of mental distress, and revealed evidence of continued exposure to traumatic events.

5 Mar 2009

Combination of genes and prenatal exposure to smoking increases teens' risk of disruptive behavior

A study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a component of the National Institutes of Health, shows that prenatal exposure to smoking combined with a specific genetic variant places children at greatest risk for behavioral problems.

5 Mar 2009

Naked mole rats may hold clues to successful aging

Naked mole rats resemble pink, wrinkly, saber-toothed sausages and would never win a beauty contest, even among other rodents.

4 Mar 2009

Off-label drug uses wasting millions, raising health risks

A recent study in Oregon suggests that drugs designed for treating the most severe mental illnesses are often prescribed at inappropriately low doses and at considerable expense, for use in conditions where their benefit has not been established.

4 Mar 2009

History of major depression increases risk for heart disease more than genetics or environment

A history of major depression increases the risk of heart disease over and above any genetic risks common to depression and heart disease, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the VA.

4 Mar 2009

Faulty signalling in the brain may cause schizophrenia

In the biggest study of its kind, scientists looking in detail at brain samples donated by people with the condition have identified 49 genes that work differently in the brains of schizophrenia patients compared to controls.

3 Mar 2009

Personality factors can influence the development of alcohol dependence

Researchers examined a group of AD individuals with the inactive form of aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) - persons who would normally have a low incidence of alcoholism because the inactive form of ALDH2 causes flushing, nausea, and headaches. Results indicate that a strong need for novelty and little need for avoiding harm appear to increase the risk of AD.

3 Mar 2009

UB and AHRM, Inc. help Buffalo join the electronic medical revolution

The Obama administration's push to move health care from handwritten charts and prescriptions into the electronic age is getting a boost in Western New York with new funding to establish a Medication Management Research Network in the University at Buffalo's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.

3 Mar 2009

Ex-servicemen under 24 at increased risk of suicide

Young men who have served in the British Armed Forces are up to three times more likely to take their own lives than their civilian counterparts, research published tomorrow (March 3) has found.

From The University of Manchester 2 Mar 2009

Young adults with PTSD may be more likely to attempt suicide

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - but not exposure to traumatic events without the development of PTSD - may be associated with subsequent attempted suicide in young adults, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

2 Mar 2009

Untreated psychiatric disorders common in single mothers on welfare

Urban single mothers nearing the end of their welfare eligibility appear more likely to have substance use and psychiatric disorders than women in the general population, and often do not receive treatment, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

2 Mar 2009

What role does the brain play in some women's lack of sexual desire?

More than 40 percent of women ages 18-59 experience sexual dysfunction, with lack of sexual interest - hypoactive sexual desire disorder, or HSDD - being the most commonly reported complaint, according to medical researchers.

2 Mar 2009

Researchers discover gene variation linked to cocaine addiction and cocaine-induced paranoia

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, have discovered that variants in the á-endomannosidase (MANEA) gene are associated with cocaine addiction and cocaine-induced paranoia in European American and African American populations.

2 Mar 2009