Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Disaster response strategies should address needs of people with disabilities and mental disorders

As hurricane season gets into full swing, mental health teams will be ready to respond and help survivors cope with possible devastation. Psychologists have analyzed decades of research and found that disaster response strategies should address the needs of the population affected, specifically those with disabilities and mental disorders.

24 Aug 2010

Fla.'s Jackson Health System struggles with nursing home and hospital losses; Advocates push marijuana cultivation in Calif.

The Miami Herald: As the Jackson Health System's "governing board prepares to vote Monday on a proposed budget for 2011, its two money-losing nursing homes stand as a symbol for the challenges the system faces as it attempts to cut losses. Almost 100 of the 289 nursing home patients in the Jackson Health System are uninsured. Half of those are undocumented immigrants under age 50.

24 Aug 2010

Researchers find new drug to treat circadian rhythm disorders

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have successfully used a drug to reset and restart the natural 24 hour body clock of mice in the lab. The ability to do this in a mammal opens up the possibility of dealing with a range of human difficulties including some psychiatric disorders, jet lag and the health impacts of shift work.

24 Aug 2010

HHS to offer $32 million to increase health care access for rural Americans

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today more than $32 million in FY 2010 funds to increase access to health care for Americans living in rural areas. The funds reach across seven programs administered by the Office of Rural Health Policy in HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration.

24 Aug 2010

First Edition: Aug. 23, 2010

Today's headlines include news about developments related to the nation's medical privacy rules and the power struggle surrounding implementation regulations for a key section of the new health law.

23 Aug 2010

Study finds post Katrina period increases mental health issues among children

Key findings documented in American Medical Association's Journal of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 60% of children - as many as 20,000 - displaced by Katrina either have serious emotional disorders, behavioral issues and/or are experiencing significant housing instability.One-third of children are reported to have been diagnosed with at least one mental health problem, but fewer than 50% of parents were able to access needed professional services.Children post-Katrina are 4.5 times more likely to have serious emotional disturbance than children not affected by the disaster

23 Aug 2010

Hospira Japan receives approval for long term use of Precedex IV sedative

Hospira Japan Co., Ltd. today announced it has received an approval for the long-term (greater than 24 hour) use of the sedative "Precedex IV™200ug" (generic name: dexmedetomidine hydrochloride). This approval follows Hospira's first launches earlier this year of Precedex in Canada and in South Korea, important milestones for Hospira as the company continues to build the molecule's global presence.

23 Aug 2010

Beer psoriasis link for women and psoriasis plus depression

According to a new study, women who regularly drink beer may be increasing their risk of developing psoriasis – a disease of the skin. Light beer and wine are not associated with such a risk, the study says. Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease characterised by itchy red scaly patches that most commonly appear on the knees, elbows and scalp or anywhere else in the body.

23 Aug 2010

New diagnostic tool proves cost-effective in identifying rare genetic disorders

Mutations in a single gene can cause several types of developmental brain abnormalities that experts have traditionally considered different disorders. With support from the National Institutes of Health, researchers found those mutations through whole exome sequencing - a new gene scanning technology that cuts the cost and time of searching for rare mutations.

23 Aug 2010

Palliative care prolongs metastatic lung cancer patient’s life: Study

A precedent-setting study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, August 19 demonstrates definitively that early referrals to palliative care prolongs life for patients living with metastatic lung cancer.

21 Aug 2010

Female sexual offenders often unrecognised and underreported

Sexual offenses committed by women, while often unrecognised and underreported, have become the subject of a new book by a University of Montreal professor. Female Sexual Offenders: Theory, Assessment and Treatment (Wiley), is the first volume of its kind to provide an overview of female-perpetrated sexual abuse, statistics on the crime, as well as treatment options for offenders.

21 Aug 2010

Educational intervention program encourages Latina women towards postpartum care

Latinas participating in an educational intervention program were two-and-a-half times more likely to seek postpartum care than were those who did not have access to a similar program, a new study finds.

20 Aug 2010

Study demonstrates association between yoga postures, increased GABA levels and decreased anxiety

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that yoga may be superior to other forms of exercise in its positive effect on mood and anxiety. The findings, which currently appear on-line at Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, is the first to demonstrate an association between yoga postures, increased GABA levels and decreased anxiety.

20 Aug 2010

Study on fear of falling and its impact on risk of fall among older people

Fear of falling is likely to lead to future falls among older people, irrespective of their actual fall risk, finds a study published on bmj.com today.This indicates that measures of both actual and perceived fall risk should be included in fall risk assessments to help tailor interventions for preventing falls in older people, say the authors.

20 Aug 2010

Study finds ketamine restores connection in chronic stress affected brain cells

Yale researchers have discovered how a novel anti-depressant can take effect in hours, rather than the weeks or months usually required for most drugs currently on the market.

20 Aug 2010

Palliative care recipients live longer and in less pain, study finds

The New York Times: "In a study that sheds new light on the effects of end-of-life care, doctors have found that patients with terminal lung cancer who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer.

20 Aug 2010

Study on multisensory processing in autistic children

A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has provided concrete evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) process sensory information such as sound, touch and vision differently than typically developing children.

20 Aug 2010

SAMHSA provides guidance for NREPP program submission

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today provided guidance for those interested in submitting programs and practices to its National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

20 Aug 2010

Chelsea Therapeutics announces new investigator to conduct phase II clinical study of Droxidopa

Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd. announced that a new investigator-led phase II clinical study of Droxidopa, an oral synthetic precursor of norepinephrine, has been initiated in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

20 Aug 2010

Significant increase in GP consultations for mental health: Research

Individuals on long term incapacity benefit because of mental health problems could be identified by their GPs three years before they stop working.The research, led by Professor Jill Morrison at the University of Glasgow, also says that there is no significant variation across GP practices in the UK in the rate of patients claiming long term sick benefit.

19 Aug 2010