Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Catherine Zeta Jones treated for bipolar disorder

Catherine Zeta Jones – the 41-year-old Welsh actor checked into a day clinic in Connecticut for five days earlier this month for the treatment of bipolar disorder. “After dealing with the stress of the past year, Catherine made the decision to check in to a mental health facility for a brief stay to treat her Bipolar II Disorder,” said publicist Cece Yorke said in a statement adding, “She's feeling great and looking forward to starting work this week on her two upcoming films.”

13 Apr 2011

Brain starts shrinking in Alzheimer’s disease a decade earlier: Study

According to American researchers, brain scans of healthy people showed signs that the brain was shrinking in Alzheimer's-affected areas nearly a decade before the disease was diagnosed. This comes in the latest issue of the journal Neurology and it may offer a new way to detect the disease early, an advance that could help in the development of effective treatments for Alzheimer's, a brain-wasting disease that affects up to 26 million people globally.

13 Apr 2011

Active efforts towards happiness

Now the world's first membership organization dedicated to spreading happiness has been officially launched. It is called “Action for Happiness” and claims to have 4,500 members in more than 60 countries.

12 Apr 2011

Scientists discover how anti-depressants make new brain cells

For the first time in a human model, scientists have discovered how anti-depressants make new brain cells. This means that researchers can now develop better and more efficient drugs to combat depression.

12 Apr 2011

American Red Cross helps communities directly affected by severe spring weather

Severe spring weather continues to affect thousands of people across the country and the American Red Cross is responding on several fronts to help the communities directly affected by tornadoes, wildfires or flooding.

12 Apr 2011

Research on workplace injustices

A woman, who's running a fever, shivering, and coughing, tries to call in sick, but her supervisor screams, "I don't care what illness you have, if you're not in the office today, I'll consider it your resignation!" These are real examples of workplace bullying that cause stress, depression, and anxiety. The National Mental Health Association estimates that each year, more than one billion sick days can be attributed to mental health disorders caused by work stress.

12 Apr 2011

Rockefeller University professor earns recognition in developmental psychobiology

Weill Cornell Medical College and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons have announced that The Mortimer D. Sackler, M.D. Prize for Distinguished Achievement in Developmental Psychobiology has been awarded to The Rockefeller University's Dr. Fernando Nottebohm for his seminal work in songbirds that has led to the discovery of neuronal replacement.

12 Apr 2011

Study to discover mysterious biological cause of Gulf War Illness

For nearly two decades following the 1991 Gulf War, doctors noticed a trend in many of veterans of that conflict: an unexplainable cluster of symptoms including but not limited to chronic fatigue, memory loss, and depression. It wasn't until 2008 that a scientific panel from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs concluded that a third of American troops who served in the Gulf War were suffering from combinations of these symptoms, now recognized collectively as Gulf War Illness (GWI).

12 Apr 2011

Depression can sabotage efforts to effectively treat Hepatitis C

Adherence to interferon, an important medication used to treat Hepatitis C, is critical to successfully clearing the virus that causes the disease. A new observational analysis by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. finds that when Hepatitis C patients are also being treated for depression -- a frequent side effect of interferon use -- they are more likely to remain on their interferon therapy.

12 Apr 2011

State roundup: Texas hospital tax; IBM challenges Vt. single payer

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that the state can cut off medical assistance to legal noncitizens who have been in the country fewer than five years, clearing the way to implement a 2009 budget cut that had been stalled because of legal action.

12 Apr 2011

Alzheimer’s drug – a failure of sorts: Study

Results from the study shows that drug, memantine, is no better than a dummy pill when it comes to ameliorating disease symptoms, including the decline of mental abilities and also helping patients with moderate Alzheimer's, the researchers say. Sold under the brand Namenda by Forest Laboratories Inc and Germany's Merz Pharma, the drug had U.S. sales of about $1.2 billion last year.

11 Apr 2011

Vanda initiates Fanapt Phase I study in patients with schizophrenia

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, an affiliate of Vanda's sublicensor Novartis Pharma AG, has initiated a clinical study to evaluate the long-acting injectable formulation of Fanapt.

11 Apr 2011

ACP's paper provides brief updates on changes to Medicaid program

A reformed Medicaid program must put coordinated primary care at the forefront of its efforts, the American College of Physicians said in a new position paper released today at Internal Medicine 2011, ACP's annual scientific meeting.

11 Apr 2011

Tai chi, green tea may help reduce inflammatory diseases in postmenopausal women

C.S. Lewis, the famous author and Oxford academic, once proclaimed "You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." We sip it with toast in the morning, enjoy it with sweets and biscuits in the afternoon, and relax with it at the end of the day.

11 Apr 2011

Investigational drug effective for patients with obesity

An investigational combination of drugs already approved to treat obesity, migraine and epilepsy produced up to a 10 percent weight loss in obese individuals participating in a one-year clinical trial, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

11 Apr 2011

Air pollution on freeways may lead to brain damage: Study

Earlier research has shown that air pollution from cars and trucks on Southern California freeways – that contains soot, pavement dust and other toxic substances - can cause respiratory disease, heart attacks, cancer and premature death. Now a new study has shown that exposure to pollution particles roughly one-thousandth the width of a human hair may lead to brain damage in mice, including signs associated with memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. The study comes from University of Southern California and is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

10 Apr 2011

Real-time brain feedback can help gain greater control over thoughts

As humans face increasing distractions in their personal and professional lives, University of British Columbia researchers have discovered that people can gain greater control over their thoughts with real-time brain feedback.

8 Apr 2011

State News: N.Y. billing for disabled patients questioned

While the nation's attention has been focused on state worker battles in union strongholds such as Ohio and Wisconsin, quiet but consequential labor battles are breaking out in Kansas, Texas and other states where collective bargaining rights for public workers were weak or non-existent to begin with. The outcome of these confrontations will have a big impact.

8 Apr 2011

Survivors of severe critical illness requiring intensive care do not regain physical or psychological health

A unique and richly detailed long-term study of survivors of severe critical illness requiring intensive care found that even those who were previously healthy, young and working did not regain the physical or psychological health they had before their illness.

8 Apr 2011

First Edition: April 8, 2011

Today's headlines include stories tracking the partisan negotiations surrounding a current-year spending bill. Currently at an impasse, the differences between the GOP and Democrats as well as the White House surrounds more than just the total dollar figure attached to spending cuts. It also involves controversial "policy riders." Meanwhile, without resolution, a government shutdown is just hours away.

8 Apr 2011