Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Brown University neuroscience professor awarded EUREKA grant

Brown University neuroscience professor Gilad Barnea will receive a nearly $1.3 million, four-year federal grant toward development of a method to selectively monitor the activation of each of the five receptors for the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain.

4 Sep 2009

Survey reveals health plan costs to increase in 2010

According to The Segal Company’s just-completed survey of projected 2010 health plan costs, medical plan cost trends will continue to be more than four times greater than the annual increase in average hourly earnings and in sharp contrast to changes in the consumer price index for urban consumers, which have been relatively flat or negative in the past 12 months.

4 Sep 2009

Expedited access for members of Blue Shield affected by Southern California fires

Blue Shield of California announced today that it will be ensuring expedited access to needed prescriptions and mental health services for Blue Shield members impacted by the fires in Southern California.

4 Sep 2009

Medtronic's COPE-HCV clinical study commences

Medtronic, Inc., today reported the initiation and first enrollments of patients in COPE-HCV (COntinuous Interferon Delivery via the Medtronic Paradigm Pump Infusion System Clinical Evaluation for Chronic HCV), the company’s first-ever clinical study using an external pump infusion system to treat patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

3 Sep 2009

Pfizer pleads guilty of defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and other government-funded health care programs

Pfizer, Inc. announced today it has agreed to plead guilty to criminal conduct and to pay more than $2 billion in criminal and civil fines, penalties and damages to settle allegations made in multiple whistleblower lawsuits that the pharmaceutical giant defrauded Medicare, Medicaid and other government-funded health care programs in connection with its market practices for four of its drugs. The settlement is the largest qui tam settlement in U.S. history.

3 Sep 2009

Neuronetics raises funds to expand sales team for NeuroStar TMS Therapy

New Leaf Venture Partners (NLV Partners) announced today it has led a $30 million Series D financing round in Neuronetics, Inc., maker of NeuroStar TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) Therapy® for the treatment of depression.

3 Sep 2009

Brookhaven Retreat to raise awareness on substance abuse

An estimated 22 million Americans suffered from substance dependence or abuse, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 2002. September is National Recovery Month and Brookhaven Retreat, a multidisciplinary treatment facility that helps women overcome emotional trauma and addiction challenges, is working to raise awareness about one of the nation’s biggest health crises: substance abuse and how recovery is essential to regain the balance a person once had over their life.

3 Sep 2009

Brain profiling tool to detect at-risk combat soldiers

According to a recent Washington Post study, approximately 20% of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are psychologically damaged. Among them are a substantial number with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the high rate of suicide among PTSD sufferers has become unacceptable to Army commanders and the soldiers' families.

3 Sep 2009

Sepracor to be acquired by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma for $2.6 billion

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (“DSP”, TSE: 4506) and Sepracor Inc. (“Sepracor”, Nasdaq: SEPR) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which DSP will acquire Sepracor for approximately $2.6 billion through a cash tender offer of $23.00 per share, followed by a merger to acquire all remaining outstanding Sepracor shares at the same price paid in the tender offer.

3 Sep 2009

Alloantigen-specific Treg cells targeted for organ transplantation

An increased understanding of the role of the body's immune system in the development of diseases such as prostate cancer, squamous cell carcinoma (a type of skin cancer), type 1 diabetes, autoimmune liver disease, and in the rejection of transplanted organs by some transplant patients, has paved the way for a pioneering research programme which aims to develop 'enhanced' cells as therapies.

3 Sep 2009

Colorado braces for mental health cuts, Florida nursing homes brace for Medicare cuts, and other developments

Kaiser Health News: "Three years after Massachusetts implemented a state program to provide near universal health care, officials said that a key to their success was that stakeholders from the state's health care sector and the business community had a commitment to implementing the program." Despite successes, one state official said cost containment remains a challenge (Marcy, 9/1).

3 Sep 2009

Wisconsin Bridge Community Health Clinic to implement HealthPort's EMR and RCM applications

HealthPort, a top-25 company in the healthcare information technology industry, today announced that Bridge Community Health Clinic in Wausau, Wisconsin has partnered with the company to implement three of HealthPort’s technology solutions: HealthPort Practice Management (PM), HealthPort Electronic Medical Record (EMR); and HealthPort Revenue Cycle Management (RCM). HealthPort serves approximately 12 percent of the community health centers (CHCs) nationwide making them a leading technology solutions provider for this increasingly important industry segment.

2 Sep 2009

Kaiser Foundation invites nominations for 2010 National Awards for Excellence Program

The Kaiser Foundation is pleased to announce the Call for Nominations for the 2010 National Awards for Excellence Program in mental health and addictions initiatives.

2 Sep 2009

University of North Carolina awarded the Center of Excellence in Genomic Science

To seek answers, the National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Institute of Mental Health has named the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill a Center of Excellence in Genomic Science and awarded UNC $8.6 million over five years to fund a new Center for Integrated Systems Genetics, or CISGen.

2 Sep 2009

New research on post-traumatic stress disorder to be presented at MHRF

New research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is being presented this week at the Military Health Research Forum (MHRF), a scientific conference hosted by the Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). Depending on the conflict in which they served, 10 to 30 percent of soldiers who have spent time in war zones experience the debilitating and life-altering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

2 Sep 2009

Legal immigrants to receive scaled back health care benefits in Massachusetts

Thousands of legal immigrants in Massachusetts will face scaled-back health care benefits, the governor announced Monday.

2 Sep 2009

Alcohol consumption disrupts circadian rhythm in humans

Chronic alcohol consumption blunts the biological clock's ability to synchronize daily activities to light, disrupts natural activity patterns and continues to affect the body's clock (circadian rhythm), even days after the drinking ends, according to a new study with hamsters.

1 Sep 2009

Six-month period financial results released by Cannasat Therapeutics

Cannasat Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing products to treat neurological disorders such as neuropathic pain and schizophrenia, today announced its results for the six months ended June 30, 2009. Unless specified otherwise, all amounts are in Canadian dollars.

1 Sep 2009

Nighttime acid reflux symptoms impair sleep quality

There has been much debate about the relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep. Three new studies in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology explore GERD's effect on sleep quality and the health-care system as well as how a widely prescribed sleeping pill may mask the disease.

1 Sep 2009

State wrap: Mental illness in Arizona, stimulus "windfall" in Texas, Medicaid expansion in Nebraska

Local newspapers report on health care issues including mental health in Arizona, the stimulus "windfall" in Texas and a family health insurance plan in Nebraska.

1 Sep 2009