Psychiatry News and Research

RSS

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

Researchers find next generation of medications to help schizophrenics

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found that a new generation of medications called "atypical antipsychotics" can significantly lower the risk of violent behavior in people with schizophrenia who are being treated in community-based centers.

13 Apr 2004

Surprises found In gene variation associated with schizophrenia

Approximately two percent of Caucasians have a gene segment variation that can cause a certain form of schizophrenia. Most people with the variation, known as a polymorphism, do not have the disease. A University of Iowa Health Care study reveals a good prognosis for people who do have this form of schizophrenia.

12 Apr 2004

A protein involved in the release of neurotransmitters in the brain is essential to learning and memory

A study published today in Neuron offers the first evidence that lack of this protein - known as RIM1 alpha - causes profound deficits in the learning process. The discovery is a major step in understanding the molecular events that underlie learning and memory - complex processes that can be impaired in human neuropsychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, mental retardation and schizophrenia.

7 Apr 2004

Trauma Highly Prevalent Among Delinquents

Almost every boy and girl currently detained in a juvenile facility in the United States has experienced at least one major trauma, and a large proportion of these children have post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a study in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

6 Apr 2004

Research shows giving Tourette Syndrome patients the drug levodopa normalizes brain activity

Scientists have known for years that abnormal activity involving a brain chemical called dopamine is somehow connected to the movements and vocalizations, or tics, associated with Tourette syndrome. Now neuroscience researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found brain activity in these patients is abnormal during memory tasks, as well.

5 Apr 2004

Common cholinesterase inhibitor eases behavioral symptoms like agitation, depression, and psychosis in patients

The so-called "memory drugs" used to treat Alzheimer's disease and other causes of dementia also ease or prevent a barrage of troublesome behaviors that affect the majority of patients, ultimately lightening the burden on caregivers, researchers have found. They report their results in the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

5 Apr 2004

Yohimbe Tree Bark Hold Promise for Revolutionizing Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

New findings at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute demonstrate the potential of a substance found in yohimbe tree bark to accelerate recovery from anxiety disorders suffered by millions of Americans.

4 Apr 2004

Doctors Likelier to Delay Prescribing Antiretroviral Drugs for Women and Minority HIV Patients

A new UCLA study finds that doctors who follow guidelines recommending the delay of antiretroviral therapy for non-adherent HIV patients are likelier to put off that treatment for Latinos, women and poor patients than they do for others. In addition, doctors are slower to prescribe protease inhibitors for African American patients whether or not the physician follows the guidelines.

4 Apr 2004

FDA has approved Zyprexa, injectable anti-psychotic drug

Physicians have a new fast-acting option for controlling the potentially crippling effects of acute agitation in patients suffering with schizophrenia and bipolar mania. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zyprexa® IntraMuscular (olanzapine for injection), an injectable form of Lilly's top-selling medication.

30 Mar 2004

Study shows Levitra enhances patients' self-esteem by improving erections

The first clinical study to evaluate LEVITRA™ (vardenafil HCl) in men with mild Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and erectile dysfunction (ED) showed LEVITRA produced statistically significant improvements over baseline in all measures of erectile function (EF) and depression/self-esteem. In the study, men taking Levitra were nearly three times more likely to report improved erections than men taking placebo.

24 Mar 2004

Study tracks behaviour changes in Alzheimer sufferers

Alzheimer’s sufferers are having their DNA measured and behaviour monitored to pinpoint who is most at risk from developing behaviour problems from dementia.

24 Mar 2004

New pill for post-traumatic stress disorder

Every day, people suffer traumatic experiences that scar their minds. Combat, rape, bombings, burns, beatings, and horrific car accidents haunt them with memories impossible to suppress. Such day- and nightmares are part of a problem known as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

22 Mar 2004