Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

NIDA awards $17 million to University of California to establish TMARC

Igor Grant, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues have been awarded a $17 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to establish the Translational Methamphetamine AIDS Research Center (TMARC) at UC San Diego. Grant is director of the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC), a clinical research center designated and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

16 Nov 2009

Doctors face image problems; patients deal with shortages, are urged to question care

Doctors must not only face the fading image of primary care providers, but also physician shortage issues. Meanwhile, some experts suggest patients consider saying "no" to their doctor to control health care costs.

13 Nov 2009

Study confirms that people with severe mental disorders more at risk of dying from heart disease

A large new study confirms that people with severe mental disorders — such as schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders — are 25 percent to 40 percent more prone to die from heart disease than people without mental illness are.

13 Nov 2009

Veterans' health: Measuring the scope of mental health challenges

NPR profiles retired General Eric Shinseki, the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and his efforts to measure the scope of veterans' mental health issues. In his first nine months in this position, he "has spent hours just listening to veterans talk. Shinseki tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that he feels a strong obligation to 'give back' to the men and women he once served with." NPR reports on the task Shinseki faces: "Since 2001, more than 1 million new veterans have come into a system that is being stretched thin." One of Shinseki's missions to improve the care and resources available to these vets is to work with the Department of Defense to "create a computer-driven system that will track service personnel through their careers — including when they become veterans.

13 Nov 2009

Poor mental health in children and teenagers impacts on the length of time they will stay in school: Study

"Our study shows that poor mental health in children and teenagers has a large impact on the length of time they will stay in school," says Dr. Lehrer. He notes a large number of school-based programs have recently been introduced to prevent childhood obesity through lifestyle changes, but suggests the net should be cast more widely. "It's important for policymakers to target health conditions that are not the easiest to identify - like inattention - but may have larger impacts on one's future."

13 Nov 2009

PKCI/HINT1 gene associated with mood regulation

Removing the PKCI/HINT1 gene from mice has an anti-depressant-like and anxiolytic-like effect. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience applied a battery of behavioral tests to the PKCI/HINT1 knockout animals, concluding that the deleted gene may have an important role in mood regulation.

13 Nov 2009

Health Canada approves ONGLYZA for type 2 diabetes treatment

Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada and AstraZeneca Canada today announced that Health Canada has approved ONGLYZA(TM) (saxagliptin) which improves all three key measures of glycemic control - hemoglobin A1c (A1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and post-prandial glucose (PPG) - when taken in combination with other commonly used oral anti-diabetic agents (metformin or a sulfonylurea).

13 Nov 2009

New and effective medicines underway for treating a wide range of diseases affecting women

Women's Health Weekly recently reported that America's pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies are working on nearly 1,000 life-changing medicines for diseases affecting women, according to a new report released by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The medicines are awaiting approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or are in human clinical trials.

13 Nov 2009

Mithridion reports progress with its potential oral small-molecule drugs for AD and schizophrenia

Mithridion, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focusing on developing drugs for serious Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders, announced today progress with its pipeline of potential oral small-molecule drugs for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and schizophrenia.

13 Nov 2009

Today's selection of opinions and editorials

After months of discussion and debate, the House has passed its version of health care reform. But as many observers, including me, have already noted, health care reform has primarily become health insurance reform over the course of the year (Gail Wilensky, 11/12).

12 Nov 2009

Mental Health America and Prescription Audio team up to provide free sound therapy

Mental Health America today announced it is partnering with Prescription Audio, a Philadelphia-area based firm (Voorhees, N.J.), to make the company's scientifically based sound therapy available without charge as a download to veterans, active duty servicemen and women, their family members and health care providers.

12 Nov 2009

Results from an analysis emphasizes the financial burden of SMI on the criminal justice and HHS systems

Results from a large, retrospective analysis of inmates with a serious mental illness (SMI) underscores the financial burden of mental illness on the criminal justice and health and human services (HHS) systems, and may provide useful information to policy makers.

12 Nov 2009

Psychiatrist delivers high-risk meds, poor care in Chicago nursing homes

ProPublica/The Chicago Tribune examine the case of a controversial psychiatrist who delivered an anti-psychotic medication to thousands of Medicaid patients in Chicago's nursing homes. "Dr. Michael Reinstein is one of the most prolific providers of psychiatric care in Chicago-area nursing homes and mental health facilities. But he is trailed by lawsuits and complaints while getting government reimbursement for seeing a large number of patients."

12 Nov 2009

Malfunctioning circadian clock genes may be associated with bipolar disorder in children

Malfunctioning circadian clock genes may be responsible for bipolar disorder in children. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry found four versions of the regulatory gene RORB that were associated with pediatric bipolar disorder.

11 Nov 2009

Post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans on the rise, reveals survey

Recent survey results reveal that the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased 4 to 7 times following the invasion of Iraq.

11 Nov 2009

Veteran peer support is key to combat social isolation and post-traumatic stress disorder

Last month in Washington, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki made a staggering announcement: more veterans have committed suicide since 2001 than have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

11 Nov 2009

Two VA employees lose their lives in Ft. Hood shooting

In the midst of providing mental health services and other support to the Ft. Hood community following the recent shooting, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) learned about its own losses from the violence. Two VA employees, both serving on active duty with their Army Reserve units, were among the slain. A third VA health care worker on reserve duty was seriously wounded.

11 Nov 2009

Sports team participation increases unhealthy behaviors in teenage boys

Contradicting what most parents might think, participation in team sports doesn't necessarily result in teenage boys adopting healthier behaviors. Instead, new research finds that it is actually associated with increased fighting and drinking.

11 Nov 2009

Wounded Warrior Project calls for the Congress to pass the Family Caregiver Legislation

As Veterans Day approaches, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors, is urging Congress to pass crucial legislation that will assist the family caregivers of the most severely injured veterans.

11 Nov 2009

Women face higher risk of post-stroke depression

Depression occurs in as many as one-third of patients after a stroke, and women are at somewhat higher risk, according to a large new review of studies. Post-stroke depression is associated with greater disability, reduced quality of life and an increased risk of death.

11 Nov 2009

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

NIDA awards $17 million to University of California to establish TMARC

Doctors face image problems; patients deal with shortages, are urged to question care

Study confirms that people with severe mental disorders more at risk of dying from heart disease

Veterans' health: Measuring the scope of mental health challenges

Poor mental health in children and teenagers impacts on the length of time they will stay in school: Study

PKCI/HINT1 gene associated with mood regulation

Health Canada approves ONGLYZA for type 2 diabetes treatment

New and effective medicines underway for treating a wide range of diseases affecting women

Mithridion reports progress with its potential oral small-molecule drugs for AD and schizophrenia

Today's selection of opinions and editorials

Mental Health America and Prescription Audio team up to provide free sound therapy

Results from an analysis emphasizes the financial burden of SMI on the criminal justice and HHS systems

Psychiatrist delivers high-risk meds, poor care in Chicago nursing homes

Malfunctioning circadian clock genes may be associated with bipolar disorder in children

Post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans on the rise, reveals survey

Veteran peer support is key to combat social isolation and post-traumatic stress disorder

Two VA employees lose their lives in Ft. Hood shooting

Sports team participation increases unhealthy behaviors in teenage boys

Wounded Warrior Project calls for the Congress to pass the Family Caregiver Legislation

Women face higher risk of post-stroke depression

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Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

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