Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Study identifies genetic variation linked with increased risk of major depression

Numerous studies have shown that the brain molecule neuropeptide Y (NPY) helps to restore calm after stressful events. A team of University of Michigan-led researchers has now found that people whose genes predispose them to produce lower levels of NPY are more responsive to negative stimuli in key brain circuits related to emotion - and are therefore less resilient in the face of stress and may be at higher risk for developing a major depressive disorder.

8 Feb 2011

Schizophrenia patients who consume antipsychotics appear to lose small amount of brain tissue

Patients with schizophrenia who take antipsychotic medications appear to lose a small but measurable amount of brain tissue over time, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Feb 2011

Study reports significant decline in second-generation medication use for dementia

As loved ones with dementia disappear into symptoms of aggression, agitation or delusions, families are left with few good medical solutions. A new generation of antipsychotic medications gained popularly in the 1990s because they avoided side effects such as Parkinson's syndrome associated with conventional antipsychotic medications used to treat dementia.

8 Feb 2011

Immune system genes linked to personality traits, mental illness and suicidal behaviour

Genes linked to the immune system can affect healthy people's personality traits as well as the risk of developing mental illness and suicidal behaviour, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

8 Feb 2011

Study: Cannabis use appears to be linked with earlier onset of psychotic illness

Cannabis use appears to be associated with an earlier onset of psychotic illness, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Feb 2011

Personalized feedback can serve as effective tool for people with addictive behaviors

As mental health care costs and problem gambling rates continue to rise, University of Missouri researchers are developing a personalized feedback tool that could serve as an effective and inexpensive way for people with addictive behavior-related problems to get the help they need.

7 Feb 2011

NIMH awards two BUSM members with BRAINS grant for innovative research on mental disorders

Two Boston University School of Medicine faculty members, Pietro Cottone, PhD, an assistant professor of pharmacology and psychiatry and Michael Silverstein, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics, were each awarded the prestigious National Institute of Mental Health Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientisits grant with ten other investigators from around the country.

7 Feb 2011

Nutritional deficiencies among indigenous populations: two studies

They find iodine deficiency for the first time among an Aboriginal population in the NT. This deficiency was previously thought to occur only in the nation’s south-eastern states. The study involved nearly 400 teenagers of aboriginal origin living in remote as well as urban areas of the Darwin Health Region, which covers 120,000 km-square of the top end of the NT.

7 Feb 2011

State Roundup: Setting up health insurance exchanges; Community-based clinics cuts; Autism legislation; End-of-life care

The board of the Health Benefit Exchange is going to be small and mighty. ... This exchange will concentrate the health insurance buying power of millions of Californians, and will be the central force in implementing national health care reform in California (Gorn, 2/4).

7 Feb 2011

AstraZeneca, Targacept commence TC-5214 Phase 2b clinical trial for major depressive disorder

AstraZeneca and Targacept, Inc. today announced initiation of a Phase 2b clinical trial of TC-5214, a nicotinic channel blocker, as a "switch" monotherapy treatment for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who do not respond adequately to initial antidepressant therapy. This study is in addition to the companies' Phase 3 RENAISSANCE Program for TC-5214 as an adjunctive treatment for MDD.

7 Feb 2011

MHCC to support Bell Let's Talk on February 9

The Mental Health Commission of Canada is proud to support Bell Let's Talk - an anti stigma campaign culminating on February 9, Bell Let's Talk Day. On that occasion, Bell will contribute 5¢ for every long distance call and text message its customers make to further fund and support mental health initiatives throughout Canada.

5 Feb 2011

AMGA convenes leadership teams from 16 medical groups, organized systems of care

The American Medical Group Association recently convened leadership teams from 16 leading medical groups and organized systems of care at the inaugural meeting of the AMGA ACO Implementation Collaborative in Scottsdale, Arizona.

5 Feb 2011

Mental health, substance abuse spending grew more slowly than all other health spending: Study

Spending on psychiatric drugs grew by 5.6 percent from 2004 to 2005, down from the 27.3 percent growth from 1999 to 2000 according to a study published today in the February issue of Health Affairs.

5 Feb 2011

WINCS device can detect and measure serotonin levels in brain: Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic researchers have concluded that, through deep brain stimulation, a Wireless Instantaneous Neurotransmitter Concentration System can detect and measure serotonin levels in the brain. The findings suggest that in the future such measurements of serotonin may help establish a therapeutic mechanism of deep brain stimulation for psychiatric disease.

5 Feb 2011

Canisius College professor explains long-term benefits of leisure

According to leisure expert Dr. E. Christine Moll, "play" is as important to a person's health as keeping cholesterol levels in check and getting regular exercise. Moll, a professional counselor and professor of counseling and human services at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, explains that leisure is like medicine.

5 Feb 2011

U-M Medical School earns $368.7 million in NIH research funding during federal fiscal year 2010

University of Michigan Medical School physicians and scientists earned more than $368.7 million in National Institutes of Health research funding in federal fiscal year 2010, according to NIH data. In all, the School's faculty brought in $481.8 million in research funding from all sources in U-M fiscal year 2010.

5 Feb 2011

Research provides new clues to understand link between deficits of AGPO-3, depression

The link between deficits of omega-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids and the onset of depressive disorders is not new in the medical field. However, what has not been known until now is the brain mechanism by which diet can condition mental health to a certain extent.

5 Feb 2011

Waismann Method examines link between chronic pain and Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia

Results from a recent study issued by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration revealed that treatment admissions for prescription painkiller abuse rose 345 percent over a 10 year period extending from 1998 to 2008.

5 Feb 2011

Systematic review confirms benefits of taking exercise in natural environment

A systematic review carried out by a team at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry has analysed existing studies and concluded that there are benefits to mental and physical well-being from taking exercise in the natural environment. Their findings are published in the leading research journal Environmental Science and Technology today, 4th February 2011.

5 Feb 2011

Ascend Health opens Mother-Infant Outpatient Program to treat post-partum depression

Ascend Health Corporation, through Cedar Hills Hospital, announced the opening of the Mother-Infant Outpatient Program, the first in the Pacific Northwest region where new mothers can receive treatment with their children in a safe, caring and convenient setting. Cedar Hills Hospital is a facility of Ascend Health Corporation.

5 Feb 2011

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Study identifies genetic variation linked with increased risk of major depression

Schizophrenia patients who consume antipsychotics appear to lose small amount of brain tissue

Study reports significant decline in second-generation medication use for dementia

Immune system genes linked to personality traits, mental illness and suicidal behaviour

Study: Cannabis use appears to be linked with earlier onset of psychotic illness

Personalized feedback can serve as effective tool for people with addictive behaviors

NIMH awards two BUSM members with BRAINS grant for innovative research on mental disorders

Nutritional deficiencies among indigenous populations: two studies

State Roundup: Setting up health insurance exchanges; Community-based clinics cuts; Autism legislation; End-of-life care

AstraZeneca, Targacept commence TC-5214 Phase 2b clinical trial for major depressive disorder

MHCC to support Bell Let's Talk on February 9

AMGA convenes leadership teams from 16 medical groups, organized systems of care

Mental health, substance abuse spending grew more slowly than all other health spending: Study

WINCS device can detect and measure serotonin levels in brain: Mayo Clinic

Canisius College professor explains long-term benefits of leisure

U-M Medical School earns $368.7 million in NIH research funding during federal fiscal year 2010

Research provides new clues to understand link between deficits of AGPO-3, depression

Waismann Method examines link between chronic pain and Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia

Systematic review confirms benefits of taking exercise in natural environment

Ascend Health opens Mother-Infant Outpatient Program to treat post-partum depression

Digital pathology and the PathoVerse: A conversation with Dr. Singh

Bioprocess Efficiency with Cell Density Monitoring

Exploring electron microscopy for plant and microbial imaging at the John Innes Centre

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Digital pathology and the PathoVerse: A conversation with Dr. Singh

Bioprocess Efficiency with Cell Density Monitoring

Exploring electron microscopy for plant and microbial imaging at the John Innes Centre

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