Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Drugs to treat ADHD should be a last resort

According to new guidelines in Britain on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), drugs should be the last resort in treating the disorder and parents need to learn how to cope with their child's unruly behaviour.

24 Sep 2008

Anthropologists explore cultural dynamics of mental health in native North America:

In September's special issue of Ethos-the Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology-three investigators explore mental health discourses and practices in three diverse Native North American communities, illuminating how clinical and Western ideas of medicine and healing could be reconsidered.

23 Sep 2008

House could remove provision from mental health parity bill banning some referrals to specialty hospitals

House leaders said they will change plans to move stand-alone mental health parity legislation after Senate Republicans opposed a provision of the bill that would offset costs by banning physician referrals to specialty hospitals in which the doctors have an ownership interest, CQ Today reports.

22 Sep 2008

Newsweek examines the effect of aging on people living with HIV/AIDS

Newsweek on Thursday examined the effects of aging on HIV-positive people older than age 50, who currently comprise the fastest-growing group of people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. From 1990 to 2005, the number of HIV cases among people older than 50 increased by more than 700%, according to local Department of Health studies.

22 Sep 2008

World Health Organization cautions against claims made by ‘electronic cigarette’ manufacturers

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an attack on advertisers who are claiming that an electronic cigarette - a battery-powered product usually made of stainless steel and resembling a real cigarette - is a safe or legitimate nicotine replacement therapy for smokers trying to quit.

22 Sep 2008

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) have begun "reviewing their support" for prescription drug reimportation in response to recent cases of contaminated medications and other products from other nations, advisers to the candidates said on Thursday during the annual conference of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association in Washington, D.C., Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

22 Sep 2008

House leaders say they will consider mental health parity as stand-alone bill this week

House leaders on Thursday told mental health lobbyists that mental health parity legislation will be taken up as a stand-alone bill next week under suspension of the rules, a procedure that prohibits amendments and requires a two-thirds majority for the bill to pass, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 9/19).

22 Sep 2008

National positive thinking trial aims to prevent childhood depression

More than 7,000 school pupils from across the UK will be taking part in the trial of a new positive thinking programme led by the University of Bath designed to prevent children developing problems with depression.

21 Sep 2008

Study on controversial treatment for autism 'scuppered' by U.S. health officials

The study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) intended to examine the effectiveness of a type of treatment advocated by some autism activists as alternative medical therapy for children with the condition.

18 Sep 2008

Mylan receives FDA approval for generic version of Risperdal

Mylan Inc today announced that its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Risperidone Tablets USP, 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg, 3 mg and 4 mg.

16 Sep 2008

Carbon nanotube coating improves electrical stimulation therapy used for Parkinson's, depression, chronic pain

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have designed a way to improve electrical stimulation of nerves by outfitting electrodes with the latest in chemically engineered fashion: a coating of basic black, formed from carbon nanotubes.

16 Sep 2008

Study questions use of newer antipsychotic drugs in children

A new study has found that older antipsychotic drugs are as effective as newer ones for some children.

16 Sep 2008

Older antipsychotic drugs as effective, offer fewer side effects in children than newer drugs, study finds

The two most frequently prescribed antipsychotic drugs for children and adolescents offer no additional benefit and are more likely to cause side effects than an older, less costly medication, according to a National Institute of Mental Health study published on Monday, the New York Times reports.

16 Sep 2008

Newer atypical antipsychotic medications no better than older drug in treating child and adolescent schizophrenia

Two newer atypical antipsychotic medications were no more effective than an older conventional antipsychotic in treating child and adolescent schizophrenia and may lead to more metabolic side effects, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

15 Sep 2008

New cannabis-like drugs could block pain without affecting brain

A new type of drug could alleviate pain in a similar way to cannabis without affecting the brain, according to a new study published in the journal Pain on Monday 15 September.

15 Sep 2008

30 years on from Alma-Ata and the pendulum is swinging back to primary health care

Thirty years on from the signing of the historic Alma-Ata declaration, the famous rallying call to the global health community, the concept of Primary Health Care, which lay at its heart, is back on the global agenda.

15 Sep 2008

Neuroscientists discover a critical early step of memory formation

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine report in the July issue of Neuron how nerve cells in the brain ensure that Arc, a protein critical for memory formation, is made instantly after nerve stimulation. Paradoxically, its manufacture involves two other proteins - including one linked to mental retardation - that typically prevent proteins from being made.

14 Sep 2008

Depressed dialysis patients more likely to be hospitalized or die, researcher finds

Dialysis patients diagnosed with depression are nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized or die within a year than those who are not depressed, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has found.

14 Sep 2008

Untapped potential of antidepressants for cancer

A comprehensive review of current scientific literature, published in the peer-reviewed journal ecancer, has suggested that antidepressants can help the human body fight cancer by boosting its own immune response, amongst other mechanisms.

11 Sep 2008

Depression common among youth in Rwanda orphaned by AIDS, genocide, survey finds

Depression is common among teenage and young adult orphans in Rwanda who head households and provide care for younger children, according to a survey conducted by researchers at Tulane University that was published last month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the New York Times reports.

11 Sep 2008

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Drugs to treat ADHD should be a last resort

Anthropologists explore cultural dynamics of mental health in native North America:

House could remove provision from mental health parity bill banning some referrals to specialty hospitals

Newsweek examines the effect of aging on people living with HIV/AIDS

World Health Organization cautions against claims made by ‘electronic cigarette’ manufacturers

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

House leaders say they will consider mental health parity as stand-alone bill this week

National positive thinking trial aims to prevent childhood depression

Study on controversial treatment for autism 'scuppered' by U.S. health officials

Mylan receives FDA approval for generic version of Risperdal

Carbon nanotube coating improves electrical stimulation therapy used for Parkinson's, depression, chronic pain

Study questions use of newer antipsychotic drugs in children

Older antipsychotic drugs as effective, offer fewer side effects in children than newer drugs, study finds

Newer atypical antipsychotic medications no better than older drug in treating child and adolescent schizophrenia

New cannabis-like drugs could block pain without affecting brain

30 years on from Alma-Ata and the pendulum is swinging back to primary health care

Neuroscientists discover a critical early step of memory formation

Depressed dialysis patients more likely to be hospitalized or die, researcher finds

Untapped potential of antidepressants for cancer

Depression common among youth in Rwanda orphaned by AIDS, genocide, survey finds

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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