Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Roundup: Medicaid cuts coming in Pa., Kansas; Mass. insurance hikes

Come Tuesday morning, bad news will abound in the Capitol - and it will be in the billions. That is when Gov. Corbett is to unveil, at last, the closely guarded details of his first state budget to the legislature and the people of Pennsylvania.

8 Mar 2011

$100 million in grants for medical research announced

More than $100 million in grants was announced this Tuesday for an ambitious research project that will try to find what makes cancer so hard to beat. This project received $21.3 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council grants.

8 Mar 2011

Nursing professors to develop new device for older adults

For those of us living the frenetic modern lifestyle, sitting in one place for a long period might seem like a vacation. But for those who are retired, it can lead to health complications.

8 Mar 2011

New study represents major reversal in thinking about universal screening programs

Screening every woman who comes to a health care centre does increase the number who acknowledge they have been abused by their partners, a new study confirms.

8 Mar 2011

Discovery of potent class of anti-cancer compounds by Scripps Research and MIT scientists

Working as part of a public program to screen compounds to find potential medicines and other biologically useful molecules, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered an extremely potent class of potential anti-cancer and anti-neurodegenerative disorder compounds.

8 Mar 2011

New screening program to identify children with behavioral, emotional problems

A study published in the March 2011 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine shows that Massachusetts' new court-ordered mental health screening and intervention program led to more children being identified as behaviorally and emotionally at risk. The program is called the Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI).

8 Mar 2011

New clinical trial to assess antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected individuals based on CD4 counts

A major new clinical trial seeks to determine whether HIV-infected asymptomatic individuals have less risk of developing AIDS or other serious illness if they begin taking antiretrovirals sooner rather than later, based on their level of CD4+ T-cells.

8 Mar 2011

Study: Moderate drinking can reduce risk of dementia even among older adults

3202 German individuals attending general practitioners , who were free of dementia were studied at baseline, were followed up 1.5 years and 3 years later by means of structured clinical interviews including detailed assessment of current alcohol consumption and DSM-IV dementia diagnoses.

8 Mar 2011

Top-line results from Repligen RG2417 Phase 2b trial results in patients with bipolar depression

Repligen Corporation announced today results of a Phase 2b clinical trial of RG2417, an oral formulation of uridine, in patients with bipolar depression.

8 Mar 2011

Prevalence of eating disorders higher than previously thought

A new study shows that many American adolescents suffer from an eating disorder and struggle with related psychiatric disorders, including suicidal tendencies. The researchers write, “The prevalence of these disorders is higher than previously expected in this age range, and the patterns of [co-existing illnesses], role impairment and suicidality indicate that eating disorders represent a major public health concern.” Led by Sonja A. Swanson, of the National Institute of Mental Health, the research team reported the findings online March 7 in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Mar 2011

Prevalence of bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric disorder that swings between depression and mania. It strikes early and can cause lifelong disability. Reports show that it is chronically undertreated in many low-income countries.

7 Mar 2011

Down’s syndrome could be detected in mother’s blood test

European researchers have devised a blood test that could help pregnant women avoid the invasive procedures now used to diagnose Down syndrome prenatally and make the diagnosis with 100% accuracy. The study report was published this Sunday in Nature Medicine.

7 Mar 2011

5a-reductase inhibitors for male health problems can affect sexual health

A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine reveals that, for the first time, 5a-reductase inhibitors commonly used to treat urinary problems in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and found in popular medications to treat hair loss, can produce, persistent erectile dysfunction (ED), depression and loss of libido, even after the medication has been discontinued.

7 Mar 2011

Pennsylvanians to observe Problem Gambling Awareness Week

The state departments of Health, Revenue and Agriculture – along with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board – are working together to highlight "Problem Gambling Awareness Week," March 6-12, to ensure that Pennsylvanians with gambling addiction problems know that help is available.

5 Mar 2011

Scientific symposium to examine new approaches to schizophrenia drug development

Despite significant investment in research and development by pharmaceutical companies, the last decade has seen a marked decline in the number of drugs developed and approved for schizophrenia. A multi-day symposium at the New York Academy of Sciences on Wednesday, March 9 - Friday, March 11 will convene world-leading experts in clinical, translational, and basic neuroscience to address this problem by examining novel, state-of-the-art approaches to schizophrenia drug development.

5 Mar 2011

State roundup: After Vinson stay, Alaska to implement health law

After allowing the application deadline to pass for $1 million in federal health care assistance, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said Thursday he will begin implementing the new health care law after all, now that a Florida judge has told the states to do just that.

5 Mar 2011

Brain enzyme can restore even old, fading memories, say researchers

Even long after it is formed, a memory in rats can be enhanced or erased by increasing or decreasing the activity of a brain enzyme, say researchers supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health.

4 Mar 2011

Alcohol, marijuana and methamphetamines are common abuse substances

A new study shows that the most commonly abused substances among those 18 and older referred to substance abuse treatment from parole or probation was alcohol, followed by marijuana and methamphetamines.

4 Mar 2011

Nevirapine reduces HIV transmission risk from mother to breastfeeding infants by 75%

Giving breastfeeding infants of HIV-infected mothers a daily dose of the antiretroviral drug nevirapine for six months halved the risk of HIV transmission to the infants at age 6 months compared with giving infants the drug daily for six weeks, according to preliminary clinical trial data presented today.

4 Mar 2011

Study finds variation in drinking patterns among men, women depending on neighborhood type

Men living in low-income neighbourhoods consume more than three times as many alcoholic drinks each week compared to women in these neighbourhoods, according to a study led by St. Michael's researcher Flora Matheson.

4 Mar 2011