Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

American Specialty Health named to fastest-growing company list on 2010 Inc. 5000

Health and wellness company American Specialty Health Incorporated (ASH) was recently named to Inc. magazine's fourth annual list of the 5,000 fastest growing privately-held companies in the United States for a second consecutive year. The list is a comprehensive look at one of the most important segments of the economy—America's independent-minded entrepreneurs—and serves as a unique illustration of the profound changes taking place in the U.S. economy.

11 Oct 2010

Doctors, med students face higher risks of suicide

News outlets report on workforce issues for doctors, including elevated suicide risk and hesitance to e-mail with patients.

11 Oct 2010

Takeda, Envoy enter three-year research alliance to develop schizophrenia drug

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, a global pharmaceutical company, and Envoy Therapeutics Inc., a recently formed drug discovery company, today announced that they have formed a three-year research alliance aimed at discovering drugs for schizophrenia that will have greater efficacy and safety compared to current therapies.

11 Oct 2010

Abbott to withdraw Meridia medicine from the U.S. market

Abbott will voluntarily withdraw Meridia (sibutramine) from the U.S. market at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

11 Oct 2010

Some herbal remedies for anxiety disorders effective

Two herbal remedies from passion flower extract and kava have shown to be effective in alleviating anxiety say scientists. The results came from an analysis of 24 studies involving more than 2,000 participants which also showed that combinations of the amino acids L-lysine and L-arginine may be useful anxiety remedies.

10 Oct 2010

Experts meet on ESMO Congress to bring new hope to cancer patients

"A congress of records," is how Professor David J. Kerr, President of the European Society for Medical Oncology described the 35th ESMO Congress, at the opening press conference for the biggest medical oncology event in Europe. "We have had record numbers of submitted and accepted abstracts and are expecting a record number of attendees." The ESMO meeting brings together cancer specialists, patients, industry representatives and members of the media. The 35th ESMO Congress takes place at Fiera Milano City, in Milan, Italy, from 8 to 12 October 2010.

8 Oct 2010

HHS, PEPFAR to invest $130 million to transform African medical education

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to invest $130 million over five years to transform African medical education and dramatically increase the number of practicing health care workers.

8 Oct 2010

IMNG relaunches websites for Internal Medicine News, Hospitalist News

International Medical News Group, an Elsevier company that provides medical news to physicians, today announced the relaunch of its websites for Internal Medicine News (www.internalmedicinenews.com) and Hospitalist News.

8 Oct 2010

Hard combat can devastate veterans until old age

The trauma from hard combat can devastate veterans until old age, even as it influences others to be wiser, gentler and more accepting in their twilight years, a new University of Florida study finds.

8 Oct 2010

New instrument to determine anxiety level

A new instrument developed by a Washington and Lee University psychologist is designed to help clinicians determine more objectively a patient's level of anxiety.

8 Oct 2010

Pfizer announces tasocitinib Phase 2 data for plaque psoriasis

Pfizer Inc. today announced that data from a Phase 2 efficacy and safety study of tasocitinib the company's investigational oral JAK inhibitor, met its primary endpoint of a statistically significant greater proportion of patients achieving at least a 75 percent reduction from baseline in PASI (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) at week 12 in individuals with chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

8 Oct 2010

Childhood abuse may lead to physiological consequences later in life

Seemingly healthy adults, if they were abused or neglected during childhood, may suffer physiological consequences decades later. In research published online last week by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, a team led by psychiatrists at Brown University and Butler Hospital found that healthy adults who reported being mistreated as kids appear to have an elevated inflammatory response to stress compared to adults who had happier childhoods.

8 Oct 2010

Patient personality can cause missed diagnoses of depression

Patient personality affects the accuracy of reports by friends and family members of mood history and symptoms and can cause missed diagnoses of depression, according to research published online by the journal International Psychogeriatrics.

8 Oct 2010

Parkinson’s disease pathology breakthrough

Researchers have found that brain cells of people with early Parkinson's disease have damaged powerhouses. In a new study they have identified 10 groups of gene sets related to the energy production problems in the brain cells of these people.

8 Oct 2010

Mass. attorney general recommends approval of Caritas sale; Calif. will require students to get whooping cough vaccine

Attorney General Martha Coakley yesterday recommended approval of the proposed sale of Caritas Christi Health Care to a New York private equity firm, a deal that would bring for-profit health care on a large scale to a state long dominated by nonprofit hospitals.

8 Oct 2010

WHO releases new guidelines for simplified treatment of common mental disorders

Millions of people with common, but untreated, mental, neurological and substance use disorders can now benefit from new simplified diagnosis and treatment guidelines released today by WHO. The guidelines are designed to facilitate the management of depression, alcohol use disorders, epilepsy and other common mental disorders in the primary health-care setting.

7 Oct 2010

SAMHSA awards grants to improve mental health services

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the award of 19 grants totaling 1.3 million for the first year and $3.9 million for up to three years to support consumer organizations in their work to improve mental health services for persons living with serious mental illnesses.

7 Oct 2010

HHS partners with PEPFAR to invest $130M for African medical education

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief with a plan to invest $130 million over five years to transform African medical education and dramatically increase the number of health care workers.

7 Oct 2010

American Cancer Society awards 94 national research, training grants to 70 institutions nationwide

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 national research and training grants totaling $46,633,000 to 70 institutions nationwide in the first of two grants cycles for 2011.

7 Oct 2010

Herbal supplements can treat anxiety disorders

A systematic review of research into the use of nutritional supplements for the treatment of anxiety disorders has found strong evidence for the use of extracts of passionflower or kava and combinations of L-lysine and L-arginine. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access Nutrition Journal pooled the results of 24 studies involving a total of more than 2000 participants, showing that some nutritional and herbal supplements can be effective, without the risk of serious side effects.

7 Oct 2010