Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Implementation of electronic health records in England likely to be a long, complex and iterative process

Interim results from the first comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of electronic health records in secondary care in England have found delays and frustration with the system, according to research published on bmj.com today.

3 Sep 2010

PCOS Challenge creates television series to help women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

In an effort to bring greater awareness to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, PCOS Challenge, Inc. has created a 13-week television series to help women with PCOS. PCOS is estimated to affect one-in-ten women of childbearing age. It can lead to other serious conditions including endometrial cancer, obesity, diabetes and infertility.

3 Sep 2010

BAP releases new guidelines on treatments for sleep disorders

Insomnia and other sleep disorders are very common, yet are not generally well understood by doctors and other health care professionals. Now the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) has released up-to-the-minute guidelines in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, to guide psychiatrists and physicians caring for those with sleep problems.

3 Sep 2010

Study reveals factors linked to cognitive impairment in Type 2 diabetes

Older adults with diabetes who have high blood pressure, walk slowly or lose their balance, or believe they're in bad health, are significantly more likely to have weaker memory and slower, more rigid cognitive processing than those without these problems, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.

3 Sep 2010

National Drug Control Policy announces $22 million grant in DFC program

Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), today announced $22 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 169 communities and 16 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country.

3 Sep 2010

Lack of sleep linked to depression and anxiety disorders in young

According to Australian research, youngsters getting inadequate sleep are at risk of mental ailments. Researcher Nicholas Glozier of the University of Sydney said, the increase in incidence of mental ailments in the young has been puzzling health experts. The answer may lie in inadequate sleep.

2 Sep 2010

Short sleep duration increases risk of psychological distress

Young adults who get fewer than eight hours of sleep per night have greater risks of psychological distress, a combination of high levels of depressive and anxious symptoms, according to a study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Sep 2010

Mindfulness training increases well-being in adolescents, reports new study

'Mindfulness', the process of learning to become more aware of our ongoing experiences, increases well-being in adolescent boys, a new study reports. Researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed 155 boys from two independent UK schools, Tonbridge and Hampton, before and after a four-week crash course in mindfulness. After the trial period, the 14 and 15 year-old boys were found to have increased well-being, defined as the combination of feeling good (including positive emotions such as happiness, contentment, interest and affection) and functioning well.

2 Sep 2010

OptimumCare Corporation reports increase in net revenue for second quarter 2010

OptimumCare Corporation, a behavioral healthcare and temporary staffing services provider, today reported that the company achieved profitability in the second three months of 2010, as well as the first six months of 2010.

2 Sep 2010

Orexigen and Takeda partner to develop, commercialize Contrave in US, Canada and Mexico

Orexigen® Therapeutics, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, today announced that they have entered into an exclusive partnership to develop and commercialize Contrave® (naltrexone SR/bupropion SR), Orexigen's investigational drug for the treatment of obesity, in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

2 Sep 2010

Chronic insomnia with objectively measured short sleep duration associated with increased mortality in men

A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found an elevated risk of death in men with a complaint of chronic insomnia and an objectively measured short sleep duration. The results suggest that public health policy should emphasize the diagnosis and appropriate treatment of chronic insomnia.

2 Sep 2010

Researcher awarded $1.8M grant to investigate sex differences in anxiety

Anxiety disorders afflict women twice as often as men, but estrogen might not be the reason. Testosterone, though, could be. That is one of the preliminary findings in the lab of Florida State University researcher Mohamed Kabbaj, associate professor in the College of Medicine. He recently was awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate the sex differences in anxiety.

2 Sep 2010

NAMI provides new dimension to Hearts & Minds initiative

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is providing a new dimension to its Hearts & Minds initiative, an educational program that promotes "mind and body" health practices for individuals who live with mental illness.

2 Sep 2010

Anxiety in school is seasonal and age dependent: Pediatric psychiatrists

With summer fading, anxiety is on the rise for some students anticipating the return of school. But it isn't just the first days of classes that can provoke angst -- anxiety in school is seasonal and age dependent, say pediatric psychiatrists.

2 Sep 2010

SAMe dietary supplement effective for major depressive disorders: Study

A new study conducted by investigators at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) suggests that S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAMe), an over-the-counter dietary supplement, can be an effective, relatively well-tolerated, adjunctive treatment for adults with major depressive disorders who do not respond to their treatment with antidepressant medication.

2 Sep 2010

UTHealth professor to receive NIH Director's Pioneer Award

Valentin Dragoi, Ph.D., an associate professor of neurobiology and anatomy at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), is one of 17 researchers to win a 2010 National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award. The award supports scientists who propose revolutionary, high-impact approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research.

2 Sep 2010

Doctor depression on the rise: Review

According to a review of Australian and international research released by Beyondblue this week, doctors use more prescription drugs and have a higher rate of suicide than the general population. General Practitioner Naomi Harris says doctors are less inclined to seek help for their own mental illness, resulting in some disturbing trends and she is urging doctors to come out for help being a member of an advisory committee formed to deal with the problem.

1 Sep 2010

Release of cortisol with fixed regularity can help cope with stress better

If your body releases cortisol with fixed regularity then you can cope with stress better, says NWO-funded researcher Angela Sarabdjitsingh. She investigated the rhythm of corticosterone production in rats. This rat hormone is comparable to the human stress hormone cortisol. Rats deal considerably less well with stress if the pattern of corticosterone release changes. An irregular release pattern is a characteristic of chronic stress and stress-related diseases. It might therefore be possible to treat these by restoring the rhythm.

31 Aug 2010

Over one-half of babies in poverty raised by mothers living with depression

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has raised added concern about a study released by The Urban Institute that shows more than one-half of babies in poverty are being raised by mothers living with depression - creating parenting and child development challenges.

31 Aug 2010

Royal Caribbean encourages consumers to use their hard-earned vacation days

Over-worked, over-tired and stressed-out workers have one more thing to worry about this coming Labor Day – how many vacation days they could potentially be losing this year. And if The President of the United States, who just returned from a respite on Martha's Vineyard, can still find time, then shouldn't everyone?

31 Aug 2010