Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

New film on depression, drugs and alternative paths to better mental health

A new film on depression, drugs and alternative paths to better mental health will premiere Wednesday, May 12th at UltraStar Cinemas in Del Mar, CA. An answer to the pharmaceutical industry's media blitz, Living Life Films' "Changing Our Minds" questions society's values while revealing interesting and disturbing truths about psychiatry and the drug industry.

6 May 2010

Round-up: Minnesota budget news; Coverage expansions in S.D. and Oregon; and states' opposition to federal health reform

The Minnesota House passed a bill on health care Tuesday that readies the state for implementing the federal health care overhaul and makes $170 million in cuts to mental health and other social programs, The (St. Paul, Minn.) Pioneer Press reports. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has promised to veto the bill over what he sees as a tax increase.

6 May 2010

Sermo Category Report: About 30% of patients suffer from depression

Sermo, the world's largest online community for physicians, today announced a Sermo Category Report titled Antidepressant Treatment Behaviors. The report surveyed more than 200 primary care physicians and covers a variety of topics including product choice drivers, treatment paths, referring habits, and overall issues in depression management.

6 May 2010

Researchers to identify rare genetic mutation to produce histamine against TS

A single, very unusual family with Tourette syndrome has led Yale School of Medicine researchers to identify a rare mutation in a gene that is required to produce histamine. The finding provides a new framework to understand many years of data on the role of histamine function in the brain and points to a potentially novel approach to treatment of tics and Tourette.

6 May 2010

Scientists use specialized fluorescent protein to study nerve cell activity

Electrical currents are invisible to the naked eye - at least they are when they flow through metal cables. In nerve cells, however, scientists are able to make electrical signals visible. Working with fellow experts from Switzerland and Japan, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg successfully used a specialized fluorescent protein to visualize electrical activity in neurons of living mice.

6 May 2010

Making stem cells in the lab: a training program and a study

Young researchers will now be trained for the first time by the Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) in scientific techniques of using and growing human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in research. This training will be through StemCore iPS Cell Workshop, the ASCC's national facility for the provision of stem cells and advice.

5 May 2010

Spouses of dementia sufferers at higher risk of developing dementia

Older married adults whose spouse has dementia are at significantly higher risk for developing dementia themselves, compared to similar older married adults whose spouse never develops dementia. This is the key finding of a study published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

5 May 2010

Researchers analyze spine surgery patients' existing comorbdities in relationship to hospital stay, costs

It is estimated that between 75 and 85 percent of all Americans will suffer from low back pain and/or neck pain at some point in their lives. An estimated 12 million Americans suffer from degenerative disc disease, with over one million patients undergoing surgery each year. The cost of treating back pain is currently estimated at more than $100 billion annually in the U.S. Many patients with back pain have comorbidities that impact spine surgery.

5 May 2010

Pre-treatment quality-of-life scores predict malignancy in patients with pancreatic disease

Quality-of-life measures used routinely to assess treatment outcomes for patients with pancreatic disease may be used to predict both malignancy and survival for those patients, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital.

5 May 2010

Ventral striatum plays important role in circuitry of reward-oriented behavior: Researchers

An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older - about one in four adults - suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder every year, which equates to approximately 57.7 million adults. Severe psychiatric illness affects a much smaller number of people - about 6 percent, or 1 in 17. Worldwide, an estimated 340 million people suffer from an episode of major depression every year.

5 May 2010

Health Net reports net earnings of $16.1M in 2010 first quarter

Health Net, Inc. today announced 2010 first quarter GAAP net income of $16.1 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared with $22.0 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2009.

5 May 2010

Older adults with depression do not respond to emotional stimuli, says study

Scientists have found an important clue in the quest to understand why people who suffer from depression in later life are harder to treat and keep well in the long term.

5 May 2010

Deloitte Survey: Consumers still profess to know very little about health care system in the U.S.

Following widespread media coverage of health care reform, political debates and legislative initiatives over the past year, consumers still profess to know very little about the health care system in the United States, according to the 3rd Annual Deloitte Center for Health Solutions Survey of Health Care Consumers.

5 May 2010

Additional pivotal Phase 3 trial data for MoxDuo IR released

QRxPharma announced today the release of additional pivotal Phase 3 trial data for MoxDuo IR, an immediate-release Dual-Opioid pain therapy. Required for New Drug Application submission with the United States Food and Drug Administration, this "combination rule" study compared the efficacy and safety profiles of MoxDuo IR against component doses of morphine and oxycodone alone for the management of moderate to severe post-operative pain following bunionectomy surgery.

5 May 2010

Understanding the biology of postpartum blues

Greater levels of a brain protein called monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) - may explain why postpartum blues and clinical depression are so common after childbirth according to an important study published today in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

5 May 2010

Living with a dementia sufferer may affect spouse

In a new study researchers have revealed that partners of patients suffering from dementia or degeneration of memory and other mental faculties are six times more likely to develop the condition themselves.

4 May 2010

Healthy & happy lifestyle – key to touching 100 years of life, says study

In a new study the secret for a longer life is uncovered. Not surprisingly it lies more in a healthy and happy lifestyle than in just genetics. Researchers say that being a Centenarian is increasingly more common these days.

4 May 2010

Par Pharmaceutical reports total revenues of $291.9 million for first-quarter 2010

Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. today reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

4 May 2010

Techne declares dividend of $0.26 per share for quarter ended March 31, 2010

Techne Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has decided to pay a dividend of $0.26 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. The quarterly dividend will be payable May 28, 2010 to all common shareholders of record on May 14, 2010. Future cash dividends will be considered by the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis.

From BiosPacific, Inc. 4 May 2010