Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Fragile X syndrome study to reveal more

Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability in the world. Medical experts, including the Mater Hospital's Dr Helen Heussler, are today launching a new push to uncover the secrets of a disorder that affects a child born in Australia every week. Fragile X is passed from parent carriers who often exhibit very few symptoms. Estimates suggest more than 100,000 Australians either carry the gene mutation that causes Fragile X or have the syndrome, yet the vast majority have not been diagnosed, according to the Fragile X Association of Australia.

25 Jul 2011

When psoriasis strikes the famously beautiful

It appears that psoriasis spares none. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has been reportedly diagnosed with the skin condition. Her condition was revealed on a recent episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” on E!.

25 Jul 2011

Study explores factors for misuse of prescription opioid in young injection drug users

A new study by researchers at Drexel University's School of Public Health suggests that abuse of prescription painkillers may be an important gateway to the use of injected drugs such as heroin, among people with a history of using both types of drugs.

25 Jul 2011

MHCC, U of C partner to evaluate 'The Mind Course' for medical students

The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has partnered with the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine to evaluate a special course for second year medical students which aims to reduce the prejudice and discrimination associated with mental illness.

25 Jul 2011

Hendra virus continues in Queensland

Experts have confirmed the eighth outbreak of the deadly Hendra virus in Queensland in a horse on the western Darling Downs. It is not known yet if a large number of people have been exposed to the sick animal, with passers-by and neighbours possibly having stroked it on the Chinchilla property where it lived as a pet.

24 Jul 2011

CDR recommends reimbursement for schizophrenia drug, ABILIFY

Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada is pleased to announce that the Common Drug Review (CDR) has recognized the value of ABILIFY® (aripiprazole) for the treatment of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders by recommending it be reimbursed by provincial drug plans for patients who have a contraindication to less-expensive antipsychotic agents or who have failed a trial of less expensive antipsychotic agents due to intolerance or lack of response.

22 Jul 2011

State news: Florida effort could cost consumers $60 million in rebates

The JMH Health Plan, the insurance wing of the Jackson Health System, has become a huge money-loser that must be fixed quickly, board members were told Thursday. So far this year, the plan has lost $30.4 million — almost half of the $71.7 million that Jackson Health System has lost for the entire fiscal year.

22 Jul 2011

SAMHSA report provides insight on scope and nature of behavioral health issues affecting states

A new report providing state-by-state analyses of a wide range of behavioral health issues reveals that despite some wide variations among the states in the types and levels of problems they confront -- every state must deal with these issues.

22 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 22, 2011

Even as the debt talks continue, some news outlets explore the impact of this uncertainty on Medicare, Medicaid and state budgets.

22 Jul 2011

UCSF, Kaiser Permanente achieve first major milestone in genomics project

One of the nation's largest and most diverse genomics projects has reached its first major milestone in just 15 months. Scientists have genotyped the DNA and analyzed the length of chromosome tips in more than 100,000 Kaiser Permanente members who agreed to be part of the research.

22 Jul 2011

GLB teens more likely to live away from their families

Roughly 1 in 4 lesbian or gay teens and 15 percent of bisexual teens are homeless, versus 3 percent of exclusively heterosexual teens, finds a Children's Hospital Boston study of more than 6,300 Massachusetts public high school students.

22 Jul 2011

Study on maternal employment, child socio-emotional behaviour in the UK

Parents struggling to combine paid work with bringing up their children now have some positive news thanks to a new study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) on maternal employment and child socio-emotional behaviour in the UK.

22 Jul 2011

Roundup: Ore. cuts insurer's rate increase; Ga.'s effort to curb TB struggles; psychiatric care hard to get in Boston

The Oregon Insurance Division will allow the state's largest health insurer to raise rates on individual premiums an average 12.8 percent, far lower than the 22.1 percent the company had requested.

22 Jul 2011

Leading cancer specialists and researchers establish Australia’s first comprehensive ‘Cancer Survivors Centre’

Australia’s first comprehensive treatment and research centre for the growing number of cancer survivors will be announced at the annual Ride for Life luncheon at NSW Parliament House today.

22 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Will Gang of Six compromise work?; endorsing birth control recommendations; Minn. budget deal

Not surprisingly, the plan has drawn complaints from the left about cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and from the right about defense cuts and tax increases. But the senators are right about the need to simplify and broaden the tax code and to put entitlements on a sustainable footing without slashing aid to the most vulnerable.

22 Jul 2011

Researchers at Macquarie trial new program to help improve neglected area of aged care

In a world first, researchers at the Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University are developing psychological treatments, which simultaneously target both anxiety and depression in older adults. Despite the fact that symptoms of anxiety and depression are typically suffered together, no program currently exists which is aimed at helping older adults tackle both disorders at once.

21 Jul 2011

Experts present new research at 2011 Alzheimer's Association ICAD

Experts from the Center of Excellence on Brain Aging at NYU Langone Medical Center will present new research at the 2011 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's disease to be held in Paris, France from July 16 - 21.

21 Jul 2011

Diabetes trends in Alberta

The Alberta Diabetes Surveillance System was created in 2006 in partnership between Alberta Health and Wellness and the Institute of Health Economics. Led by Jeff Johnson in the University of Alberta's School of Public Health, the group has been identifying trends in diabetes, its associated health conditions and monitoring trends in accessing health-care services and has published a comprehensive report called a Diabetes Atlas every two years.

21 Jul 2011

Study: Access to outpatient psychiatric care in Boston is severely limited

A new study by Harvard Medical School researchers published today in the Annals of Emergency Medicine finds that access to outpatient psychiatric care in the greater Boston area is severely limited, even for people with reputedly excellent private health insurance.

21 Jul 2011

Intense visual stimulation renders nerve cells more receptive to subsequent learning

Dr. Ed Ruthazer is a mapmaker but, his landscape is the developing brain - specifically the neuronal circuitry, which is the network of connections between nerve cells. His research at The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro at McGill University, reveals the brain as a dynamic landscape where connections between nerves are plastic, changing and adapting to the demands of the environment.

21 Jul 2011