Psychiatry News and Research

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

4 percent of US adults have some form of bipolar disorder

Approximately 4.4 percent of U.S. adults may have some form of bipolar disorder during some point in their lifetime, including about 2.4 percent with a "sub-threshold" condition, according to an article in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 May 2007

10.3 percent of U.S. adults appear to have problems with drug use or abuse

Approximately 10.3 percent of U.S. adults appear to have problems with drug use or abuse during their lives, including 2.6 percent who become drug dependent at some point, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

8 May 2007

Electroconvulsive therapy helps patients with severe depression who don't respond to other treatments

Electroconvulsive therapy has been shown to be a highly effective, safe, and even life-saving treatment for persistent and severe depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

8 May 2007

Bipolar disorder may be more accurately characterized as a spectrum disorder

A new study supports earlier estimates of the prevalence of bipolar disorder in the U.S. population, and suggests the illness may be more accurately characterized as a spectrum disorder.

8 May 2007

Children with autism cannot read facial expressions

When we have a conversation with someone, we not only hear what they say, we see what they say.

8 May 2007

Drug abuse in the U.S. not confined to minority groups

Researchers in the U.S. say more than 10 percent of American adults at some point in their lives, abuse or become addicted to drugs.

8 May 2007

New understanding of genetic mutation that contributes to autism

The investigators now know more about how the mutation causes problems with a specific gene and are testing for additional mutations of the same gene in other people with autism.

4 May 2007

Study looks at effect of methylphenidate on young ADHD drivers

When a song on the radio or the cell phone on the car seat next to a young driver beckon, she may not resist the temptation to turn up the dial or take a call while maneuvering in traffic.

4 May 2007

Tight diabetes control does not impact cognitive ability in type 1 diabetes

A study led by researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center provides good news for patients with type 1 diabetes who want to maintain tight blood glucose control and thus significantly reduce their risk of developing the devastating complications of the disease, heart disease, kidney failure, eye disease and blindness and nerve damage.

4 May 2007

Men and women at risk for alcohol dependence are more likely to choose a mate who also is at risk

Alcoholism is more common among partners of alcoholics than among partners of non-alcoholics, but it isn't as common as it might be. The researchers found that in some cases, one spouse's excesses with alcohol actually could help protect the other from alcohol dependence.

4 May 2007

Psychotherapy extends the lives of cancer patients

Previously-published research has given credence to the notion that psychotherapy extends the lives of people with cancer.

2 May 2007

Monthly interpersonal psychotherapy effective in preventing recurrence of depression in women

Most women with recurrent depression may be able to prevent subsequent depressive episodes with monthly maintenance interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), say researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

2 May 2007

Green tea shows potential for HIV-associated dementia prevention

A compound derived from green tea greatly diminished the neurotoxicity of proteins secreted by the human immunodeficiency virus, suggesting a new approach to the prevention and treatment of HIV-associated dementia, also known as AIDS dementia complex.

2 May 2007

Ultra fast and ultra active: the strange life of the extraocular muscles

The eye, often called the window to the soul, may become a window to the mysteries of muscular dystrophy, a debilitating muscle disease that often leads to death in early adulthood.

2 May 2007

St. Lawrence University in pilot project to improve depression screening

Fifteen percent of college students suffered from depression last year, up from 10 percent in 2000, according to The American College Health Association. Mental health professionals on college campuses expect the percentage to rise again this year.

1 May 2007

New understanding of sleep

Sleep remains one of the big mysteries in biology. All animals sleep, and people who are deprived of sleep suffer physically, emotionally and intellectually. But nobody knows how sleep restores the brain.

1 May 2007

Adolescent risk inventory can help decrease teen risk behaviors

Research shows that adolescents who engage in one form of risky behavior, like drug or alcohol use, are likely to engage in other risky behaviors like self-harm, or having unprotected sex, but often times these behaviors are not discussed during a medical or mental health exam.

1 May 2007