Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

New insight into how the nervous system processes sensory information

The Stowers Institute's Yu Lab has published the results of large-scale imaging experiments examining how social signals are represented in the sensory system.

24 Apr 2008

Smokers more depressed

The risk of suffering depression increases 41% in smokers, in comparison with non-smokers. This was the conclusion of a study undertaken with 8,556 participants by scientists of the University of Navarra, in collaboration with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Harvard School of Public Health (USA), and which demonstrates in a pioneering way the direct relationship between tobacco use and this disease.

24 Apr 2008

Discovery of gene behind new form of intellectual disability

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has discovered a new form of intellectual disability involving mental retardation (MR) along with the eye defect retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

24 Apr 2008

Interventions for enhancing medication adherence

Patients often do not take the medicines their doctors prescribe, and a new review of existing research suggests that there is no proven way to get them to follow directions for long periods.

24 Apr 2008

Senators request resignation of VA Mental Health Director

Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and committee member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Tuesday called for the resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Director Ira Katz, alleging he withheld important information regarding suicide risk among veterans, the AP/Washington Post reports.

23 Apr 2008

U.S. prisons missing opportunities to provide HIV testing, education, prevention, panel says

The U.S. correctional system is missing valuable opportunities to provide HIV testing, educating and prevention to its more than two million state, federal and local inmates, panelists said at a recent briefing on HIV/AIDS in correctional settings, CQ HealthBeat reports.

23 Apr 2008

Different processes govern sight, light detection - findings could point toward help for SAD, insomnia patients

A Johns Hopkins University biologist, in research with implications for people suffering from seasonal affective disorder and insomnia, has determined that the eye uses light to reset the biological clock through a mechanism separate from the ability to see.

23 Apr 2008

Functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals brain circuitry associated with social status

Human imaging studies have for the first time identified brain circuitry associated with social status, according to researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the National Institutes of Health.

23 Apr 2008

Major step forward in understanding how memory works

Our ability to remember the objects, places and people within our environment is essential for everyday life, although the importance of this is only fully appreciated when recognition memory beings to fail, as in Alzheimer's disease.

23 Apr 2008

Class-action lawsuit over veterans health care system begins

Arguments began on Monday in a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs that alleges the agency is unequipped to provide medical services to treat the mental health problems of soldiers returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the New York Times reports. The lawsuit was filed by two groups, the Veterans for Common Sense and the Veterans United for Truth, in a federal court in San Francisco (MacFarquhar, New York Times, 4/22).

22 Apr 2008

Link found between relational victimization in adolescence and depression and anxiety in early adulthood

Spreading rumors and gossiping may not cause bruises or black eyes, but the psychological consequences of this social type of bullying could linger into early adulthood, a new University of Florida study shows.

22 Apr 2008

Black women less likely to develop urinary incontinence than white women

The good news for black women: They have less than half the chance of developing urinary incontinence as do white women, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System.

22 Apr 2008

Omega-3 fatty acids for bipolar disorder

Despite intriguing findings that omega-3 fatty acid supplements could alleviate depression symptoms, there is still not enough evidence to say whether omega-3s are useful treatments for people with bipolar disorder, according to a review of recent studies.

22 Apr 2008

Migraine exacerbates skin sensitivity or pain

People with migraine are more likely to experience exacerbated skin sensitivity or pain after non-painful daily activities such as rubbing one's head, combing one's hair and wearing necklaces or earrings, compared to people with other types of headache, according to a study published in the April 22, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

21 Apr 2008

Nasal surgery improves quality of life for those with obstructive sleep apnea

Nasal surgery to remove obstructions from the airway is associated with improvements in quality of life for patients with obstructive sleep apnea and symptoms of nasal blockages, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

21 Apr 2008

First comprehensive look at treatment practices for nonepileptic seizures

A new nationwide clinician survey provides the first comprehensive look at what is community care or 'treatment as usual' for nonepileptic seizures (NES), laying the groundwork for clinical trials aimed at identifying effective treatments for this neuropsychiatric disorder.

21 Apr 2008

St. Jude Medical awarded U.S. patent for neurostimulation therapy for depression

St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced it has been awarded a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for treating depression using neurostimulation therapy in an area of the brain known as Brodmann Area 25.

21 Apr 2008

New Australian legislation on the way to ban flavoured cigarettes and regulate use of solariums

As a result of an agreement between state and federal health ministers, the sale of flavoured cigarettes will be banned in Australia.

20 Apr 2008

300,000 soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan have post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression

Nearly one in five, or about 300,000, soldiers who has served in Iraq or Afghanistan has post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression -- illnesses that could cost the U.S. as much as $6.2 billion over two years in care, lost productivity and lost lives through suicide, according to a RAND report released on Thursday, the Washington Post reports (Scott Tyson, Washington Post, 4/18).

18 Apr 2008

Less educated, older men more likely to view depression negatively

Less educated, older men are more likely to view depression negatively, while almost one in five Australians say they wouldn't work with someone suffering depression, according to researchers from The Australian National University.

18 Apr 2008