Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Patients to discuss future of health care system at Canadian Patient Summit

More than 100 patients living with chronic medical conditions will share their solutions for ensuring that patients are part of government decisions on the future of Canada's health care system.

24 Mar 2010

The Children's Aid Society applauds healthcare reform bill

The following is a statement by Richard R. Buery, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, The Children's Aid Society: "This morning when President Obama signed the historic Affordable Health Care for America Act, he took great strides towards improving the health of all children in the U.S.

24 Mar 2010

Research on approaches to assess and treat cognition in schizophrenia

Research shows that neuro and social cognition have a decisive influence on functional outcome in people with schizophrenia. In this publication, world-renowned experts summarize the latest research on approaches to assessing and treating cognition in schizophrenia. The book is organized to take the reader through the steps from definitions and assessment of cognition to research on the relevance of cognition in everyday life, to chapters which focus on treatments for cognitive disorders.

24 Mar 2010

President signs historic health reform measure into law

At a White House ceremony this morning, President Barack Obama signed into law the Senate version of health insurance reform.

24 Mar 2010

St. Jude Medical's Brio DBS system for treating Parkinson’s disease receives Australian TGA approval

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced regulatory and reimbursement approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration of its Brio™ deep brain stimulation system for treating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

23 Mar 2010

Heavy drinkers more likely to have adverse health-related practices

Women and men who engage in frequent heavy drinking report significantly worse health-related practices, according to a Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study in the journal Addiction Research & Theory.

23 Mar 2010

Clinical Data completes NDA submission for vilazodone

Clinical Data, Inc., today announced that the Company has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for vilazodone for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Vilazodone is a dual-acting potent and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and a 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist. The Company expects that the NDA submission, if accepted, will be subject to a standard review.

23 Mar 2010

Pew Home Visiting Campaign director comments on maternal and infant home visiting provisions

John Schlitt, director of the Pew Home Visiting Campaign, a project of the Pew Center on the States, issued the following statement today, commenting on maternal and infant home visiting provisions included in Health Care Reform legislation as passed by the 111th United States Congress. The bill establishes a $1.5 billion federal grant program for evidence-based state home visitation for new and expectant families.

23 Mar 2010

SAMHSA study shows how psychiatric drugs prescribed for medical conditions

A new study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration outlines the conditions that physicians around the country reported treating with psychiatric drugs such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety drugs.

23 Mar 2010

Undiagnosed autistic traits deny children needed support

There has been a major increase in the incidence of autism over the last twenty years. While people have differing opinions as to why this is (environment, vaccines, mother's age, better diagnostic practice, more awareness etc.) there are still many children who have autistic traits that are never diagnosed clinically. Therefore, they do not receive the support they need through educational or health services.

23 Mar 2010

FC scans can help clinicians predict effects of strokes and other brain injuries

Clinicians may be able to better predict the effects of strokes and other brain injuries by adapting a scanning approach originally developed for study of brain organization, neurologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

23 Mar 2010

Adrenal fatigue: Vitamins, supplements may do more harm than good

Taking vitamins or supplements to treat “adrenal fatigue” may do more harm than good, says Todd Nippoldt, M.D., a Mayo Clinic expert in hormone disorders affecting the adrenal glands.

23 Mar 2010

You and your baby may need vitamin D supplementation says research

This report appeared in the respected Journal Pediatrics this week. There has been growing awareness regarding deficiency of Vitamin D in children and adults. This vitamin is important for healthy bones, immunity and other bodily processes. In children inadequacy of this vitamin in diet may lead to bone damage, rickets, repeated infections and heart disease in later life.

23 Mar 2010

Physical therapy exercise improves postnatal well-being and reduces risk for PND

A physical therapy exercise and health education program is effective in improving postnatal well-being and reducing the risk for postnatal depression, according to a randomized controlled trial published in the March issue of Physical Therapy, the scientific journal of the American Physical Therapy Association.

23 Mar 2010

Treatment options available for GAD

A little worry is normal, but people who constantly worry about daily concerns, even when times are good, may have generalized anxiety disorder.

22 Mar 2010

Unrealized educational expectations do not always lead to frustration and anxiety

"Is There a Downside to Shooting for the Stars? Unrealized Educational Expectations and Symptoms of Depression," which was published in the American Sociological Review (http://asr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/full/75/1/151), is the first large, national study to look at the mental health consequences of failing to meet educational expectations.

20 Mar 2010

Investigation on spread of illegal drug use in social networks

Recent studies have shown that behaviors such as happiness, obesity, smoking and altruism are "contagious" within adult social networks. In other words, your behavior not only influences your friends, but also their friends and so on.

20 Mar 2010

Melancholy - not just a ‘state of mind’ but maybe a mental illness

Melancholia was first identified by the Greek physician Hippocrates, who described sufferers as being plagued with ''fears and despondencies''. But due to lack of exact biochemical and clinical features this condition has been struck off the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used worldwide to diagnose mental illnesses.

19 Mar 2010

New research project studies interactions between police and people with mental illness

One of the most challenging issues facing law enforcement today is handling encounters involving people with mental illness. Although the majority of people with mental illness do not commit criminal acts, around 1 in 5 will come into contact with the law as police officers are often the first to respond to incidents.

19 Mar 2010

Predominantly white, insured and sick patients frequently use ER

Frequent users of the emergency department are predominantly white, insured and at greater risk for hospitalization due to serious illness, despite public perceptions of them as abusers of the healthcare system with minor complaints and no health insurance. This is the consensus of a systematic review of two dozen published studies of so-called "frequent flyers" ("Frequent Users of Emergency Departments: The Myths, the Data, and the Policy Implications").

19 Mar 2010