Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

New study says nurses could carry some of the GP work load

According to new research Australia's "crisis in manpower" currently being experienced regarding general practice doctors could be alleviated if better use was made of the expertise of practice nurses.

3 Mar 2008

Smoking from a hookah - harmful and addictive

A new fad among college students and other young people - smoking from a hookah - is raising public health concerns.

1 Mar 2008

Scottish suicide rates in men fall by over 40 percent

In the 1980s and 90s, Scotland was known for its alarmingly high suicide rate. But since 2000, suicide rates have fallen sharply. A study published in the online open access journal BMC Public Health found this reduction is associated with a significant drop in hangings as a means of suicide.

1 Mar 2008

Brain differences between women and men

What was once speculation is now being confirmed by scientists: the brains of women and men are different in more ways than one.

1 Mar 2008

AstraZeneca submits sNDA for SEROQUEL XR for treatment of major depressive disorder

AstraZeneca has announced the submission of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for once- daily SEROQUEL XR (quetiapine fumarate) Extended-Release Tablets to seek approval for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) as monotherapy, adjunct therapy, and maintenance therapy in adult patients.

1 Mar 2008

Hydroxyurea for sickle cell patients

An independent panel convened this week by the NIH concluded that the use of hydroxyurea for sickle cell patients should be increased in adolescents and adults.

28 Feb 2008

New genetic link to schizophrenia

Schizophrenia emerges from an altered pattern of brain development, and researchers continue to search for the genes that cause the brain to develop along a path that ultimately leads to schizophrenia.

28 Feb 2008

Music may help ease symptoms of depression

Music therapy might help ease the symptoms of depression, though its effectiveness as a stand-alone intervention is not certain, according to a recent review of five small studies.

28 Feb 2008

Low-intensity exercise reduces fatigue symptoms by 65 percent

Sedentary people who regularly complain of fatigue can increase their energy levels by 20 percent and decrease their fatigue by 65 percent by engaging in regular, low intensity exercise, according to a new University of Georgia study.

28 Feb 2008

Lilly knocked back by FDA on Zyprexa for schizophrenia treatment

Eli Lilly and Company has received a not approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Zyprexa long-acting injection (olanzapine LAI) for the treatment and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults, the company announced.

28 Feb 2008

Treatment of children and adolescents with schizophrenia

There is a wealth of scientific literature available on the treatment of adults diagnosed with schizophrenia.

28 Feb 2008

UCLA to study health care disparities affecting minorities

The UCLA Department of Family Medicine, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has launched the Network for Multicultural Research on Health and Healthcare, a group that will study health care disparities affecting minorities with chronic diseases.

28 Feb 2008

Restricting insulin doses increases mortality risk in women with type 1 diabetes

A new study led by researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center has found that women with type 1 diabetes who reported taking less insulin than prescribed had a three-fold increased risk of death and higher rates of disease complications than those who did not skip needed insulin shots.

28 Feb 2008

New view of human brainstem

A team of scientists from Princeton University has devised a new experimental technique that produces some of the best functional images ever taken of the human brainstem, the most primitive area of the brain.

28 Feb 2008

Possible brain basis for parental instinct

Why do we almost instinctively treat babies as special, protecting them and enabling them to survive? Darwin originally pointed out that there is something about infants which prompts adults to respond to and care for them which allows our species to survive.

28 Feb 2008

Antidepressants only benefit some

A new study published today in PLoS Medicine suggests that antidepressants only benefit some, very severely depressed patients.

27 Feb 2008

Depressed teens respond well to combination therapy

More than half of teenagers with the most debilitating forms of depression that do not respond to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) show improvement after switching to a different medication combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and their colleagues in a multicenter study have found

27 Feb 2008

Adding therapy helps adolescents with depression not responding to SSRIs

For adolescents with depression not responding to an initial treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI; a class of antidepressant drugs), switching medications and adding cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in an improvement in symptoms, compared to just changing medications, according to a study in the February 27 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

27 Feb 2008

Tenofovir gel safe for daily use over an extended period

A vaginal microbicide that incorporates an antiretroviral (ARV) drug normally used to treat people with HIV is safe for sexually active HIV-negative women to use every day over an extended period, suggest results of a clinical trial of tenofovir topical gel.

27 Feb 2008

Cognitive impairment among older Americans is declining

Rates of cognitive impairment among older Americans are on the decline, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) comparing the cognitive health of older people in 1993 and 2002.

27 Feb 2008