Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

HHS: Pica eating disorder hospitalizations on the rise in the U.S.

An unusual eating disorder that many people have never even heard of is attracting attention because of a recent government study that indicated the disorder is on the rise in the United States.

13 Oct 2011

Roundup: N.Y. health insurers seek to keep premium memos secret

Major health insurance companies seeking steep premium increases in New York have submitted memos to state officials to justify the higher rates. Now they are fighting to keep the memos from the public, saying they include trade secrets that competitors could use against them.

13 Oct 2011

Kenya to increase public investment in mental health, Medical Services Minister says

"Kenyans marked the World Mental Health Day Monday with a pledge to increase public investments in the treatment of mental illnesses, which affects at least 10 million people in the East African nation," Afrique en ligne reports, adding, "Kenya's Medical Services Minister Anyang Nyong'o said estimates show that at least one in every four Kenyans suffer from one form of mental-health related ailment."

13 Oct 2011

Black Canadians with darker skin more likely to report poorer health

A new University of British Columbia study finds that Black Canadians with darker skin are more likely to report poorer health than Black Canadians with lighter skin. The study also suggests that a mismatched racial identity can negatively affect health.

13 Oct 2011

Mental health services are 'critical' to comprehensive approach for people living with HIV

In this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," Melissa Sharer, AIDSTAR-One senior care and support officer at John Snow, Inc., writes, "Although treatment is now widely available and people living with HIV (PLHIV) are able to live normal and active lives for many years, their mental health needs are often overlooked in care, treatment, and support programs." Sharer highlights the success of programs in Vietnam and in Uganda that "combine mental health and existing health services."

13 Oct 2011

U of U researchers to investigate long-term effects of TBI in soldiers

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects many Americans: high school athletes, drivers and passengers in motor vehicle accidents, and victims of domestic violence, to name a few. Some of the most striking effects of brain injury are seen in our soldiers and veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Two University of Utah researchers are teaming up with the Department of Defense to investigate the long-term effects of TBI in these returning soldiers.

13 Oct 2011

SAMHSA, BJA announce 10 new grant awards to enhance adult drug court services

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) at the U.S. Department of Justice today announced 10 new grant awards to enhance adult drug court services, coordination and treatment. Drug courts provide an alternative to incarceration for people involved with the criminal justice system and in need of substance abuse treatment services.

13 Oct 2011

Folic acid in early pregnancy leads to an early talking toddler: Study

According to a new Norwegian study, women who took folic acid supplements in the first two months of pregnancy were less likely to have kids with severe language delays.

12 Oct 2011

Restless legs syndrome linked to hypertension

Up to 15 percent of the population has restless legs syndrome. Restless legs syndrome is characterized by crawling sensations and repeated muscle twichings in one or both legs, and an uncontrollable urge to move them - which may compel a person to walk in circles for hours at night.

12 Oct 2011

SAMHSA announces 29 new grants to leverage health information technology

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced today it is awarding up to 29 new grants, totaling up to $25 million over three years, to expand use of health information technology to increase access to behavioral health services.

12 Oct 2011

A 'one-size-fits-all' approach to mental health leads to global 'diagnostic inflation'

In this Globalist opinion piece, Ian Dowbiggin, an author and professor of history at the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada, examines the issue of "diagnostic inflation" within the psychiatry field in the last half century and how, "as Ethan Watters and others have argued, lately American psychiatry has been exporting its diagnoses and treatments to other cultures, 'homogenizing how the world goes mad.'"

12 Oct 2011

Activating brown adipose tissue may help combat obesity, type 2 diabetes

Activating a specialized type of fat, known as brown adipose tissue, may help combat obesity as well as result in better glucose control for type 2 diabetes, according to new research conducted by scientists at the UC Metabolic Diseases Institute.

12 Oct 2011

FDA approves NDA for Edgemont's Fluoxetine 60 mg tablet

Edgemont Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a neuroscience focused company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its New Drug Application (NDA) for Fluoxetine Tablets 60 mg.

12 Oct 2011

Health situation grim as Greece weathers economic crisis

Researchers warn that the health of people in Greece could be in danger in the wake of the financial crisis. Writing in The Lancet, they said cuts to hospitals' budgets meant they were being overstretched.

11 Oct 2011

Many cancer survivors continue to have poorer health years after completion of treatment

Forty-five per cent of cancer survivors in Northern Ireland suffer from physical and mental health problems years after their treatment has finished, according to new research from Macmillan Cancer Support and Queen's University Belfast.

11 Oct 2011

Brown signs Calif. measures to aid children with autism, ban kids younger than 18 from using tanning beds

In other state news, Wisconsin last month began scrutinizing health insurance rate increases, Los Angeles County steps in ahead of health law's mandated coverage expansions and a Georgia report notes the state's progress in providing services for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities.

11 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Obama fighting back; putting a price on compassion; questions for GOP candidates

As part of his newfound assertiveness, President Obama is using the term "Obamacare," the Republicans' sneering dismissal of the Democratic health care reforms. We are skeptical that he will be able to turn it into a term of approbation. But it is heartening to see him finally out there defending his pioneering policy with no apologies and an uncharacteristic feistiness.

11 Oct 2011

WHO releases report highlighting global underinvestment in mental health care as world commemorates Mental Health Day

The WHO "is calling on governments to increase services for people suffering from mental, neurological and substance use disorders," VOA News reports. The WHO's "Mental Health Atlas 2011," "released to coincide with World Mental Health Day, which falls on October 10, finds countries all over the world spend very little on the treatment of mental illness," according to VOA.

11 Oct 2011

Our brain may filter out negativity to provide a rosier picture: Study

A new study shows that a reason why optimists retain a positive outlook even in the face of reality could be that the brain rejects bad news. The study published in Nature Neuroscience adds that in some people, anything negative is practically ignored - with them retaining a positive world view.

10 Oct 2011

Cannabis use leads to increased risk of depression in young people with specific genotype

Young people who are genetically vulnerable to depression should be extra careful about using cannabis: smoking cannabis leads to an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms.

10 Oct 2011

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

HHS: Pica eating disorder hospitalizations on the rise in the U.S.

Roundup: N.Y. health insurers seek to keep premium memos secret

Kenya to increase public investment in mental health, Medical Services Minister says

Black Canadians with darker skin more likely to report poorer health

Mental health services are 'critical' to comprehensive approach for people living with HIV

U of U researchers to investigate long-term effects of TBI in soldiers

SAMHSA, BJA announce 10 new grant awards to enhance adult drug court services

Folic acid in early pregnancy leads to an early talking toddler: Study

Restless legs syndrome linked to hypertension

SAMHSA announces 29 new grants to leverage health information technology

A 'one-size-fits-all' approach to mental health leads to global 'diagnostic inflation'

Activating brown adipose tissue may help combat obesity, type 2 diabetes

FDA approves NDA for Edgemont's Fluoxetine 60 mg tablet

Health situation grim as Greece weathers economic crisis

Many cancer survivors continue to have poorer health years after completion of treatment

Brown signs Calif. measures to aid children with autism, ban kids younger than 18 from using tanning beds

Viewpoints: Obama fighting back; putting a price on compassion; questions for GOP candidates

WHO releases report highlighting global underinvestment in mental health care as world commemorates Mental Health Day

Our brain may filter out negativity to provide a rosier picture: Study

Cannabis use leads to increased risk of depression in young people with specific genotype

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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