Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Older men with HIV often have sex without condoms

As many as four out of ten HIV positive African-American men could be putting their partners at risk by not using condoms, according to research in the latest UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing.

16 Oct 2007

The costly business of depression in the work place

According to a new government report caregivers, waiters and social workers have the highest rates of depression among full-time workers in the United States.

16 Oct 2007

Continuous positive airway pressure improves symptoms of depression in obstructive sleep apnea patients

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who also suffer from depression often find that continued use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) relieves them of symptoms of depression, according to a study published in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM).

16 Oct 2007

Depression among patients with coronary artery disease

Depression has long had a popular link to cardiovascular disease and death. However, only during the last 15 years scientific evidence supporting this common wisdom has been available (Glassman et al., 2007a).

16 Oct 2007

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality expands research on therapeutics program

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced the award of $41.6 million over the next 4 years for a new coordinating center and 10 research centers as part of its Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) program.

16 Oct 2007

The importance of the endocannabinoid-system

Cannabis (marijuana) is the most widely produced plant-based illicit drug worldwide and the illegal drug most frequently used in Europe.

15 Oct 2007

Breast cancer radiation does not affect women's immune system

A new study shows that neither of two commonly used radiation treatments for early-stage, node-negative breast cancer has any effect on a woman's immune system, even though women who receive five-day partial-breast radiation therapy (MammoSite brachytherapy) (PBRT) have improved energy and quality of life compared to women who undergo six weeks of whole-breast radiation therapy (WBRT).

15 Oct 2007

What's wrong with being shy?

What's wrong with being shy, and just when and how did bashfulness and other ordinary human behaviors in children and adults become psychiatric disorders treatable with powerful, potentially dangerous drugs?, asks a Northwestern University scholar in a new book that already is creating waves in the mental health community

12 Oct 2007

Researchers focus on neuregulin gene and schizophrenia

Queen's scientists have started research on a human gene that will lead to a better understanding of schizophrenia.

12 Oct 2007

Poor self-esteem can trigger the primal fight-or-flight response

Few can tolerate such romantic or professional rebuffs as "It's not you, it's me" and "we regret to inform you that your application was not successful." But while a healthy dose of self-esteem can absorb the shock of rejection, poor self-esteem can trigger the primal fight-or-flight response, according to a new study from the University of California, Berkeley.

12 Oct 2007

Promoting mental health requires cultural sensitivity in mental health services and programs

One out of 35 people in the world is an immigrant, and in virtually every country, different languages, beliefs and cultures coexist.

10 Oct 2007

Stress is a contributing factor in human disease

In a review of the scientific literature on the relationship between stress and disease, Carnegie Mellon University psychologist Sheldon Cohen has found that stress is a contributing factor in human disease, and in particular depression, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS.

10 Oct 2007

Stress and disease likely linked

A new commentary in the Oct. 10 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association explores whether psychological stress leads to disease and concludes that the link is likely.

10 Oct 2007

Connection between substance abuse and violence examined

Approximately 50 percent of Americans over the age of 12 currently drink alcohol, according to a 2003 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

10 Oct 2007

Cautious optimism for new Alzheimer's medications

Alzheimer's disease takes a long time to develop, which suggests that it may be possible to design drugs that work early in the disease process, to delay the start of symptoms.

10 Oct 2007

Just one week of meditation helps

Researchers in the U.S. have found that in order to benefit from meditation, months of practice are not essential and benefits can be achieved in just one week.

10 Oct 2007

Bad marriage equals a bad heart

The epidemiologists at University College London, Britain, found that even after taking into account other factors that could contribute to heart disease, such as depression, men and women with negative aspects in their relationships still had a 25 percent increase in heart disease risk.

9 Oct 2007

Study links chemical to inhibited milk synthesis, secretion in humans

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have identified the neurotransmitter serotonin as the chemical responsible for inhibiting milk production and secretion in human mammary glands.

9 Oct 2007

Negative aspects of close relationships linked to heart disease risk

Individuals whose close relationships have negative aspects, such as conflict and adverse exchanges, appear to have an increased risk of heart disease than those with more positive close relationships, according to a report in the Oct. 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Oct 2007

Depression in the elderly can act as a predictor of future intellectual decline

Depression in the elderly increases the risk of subsequent mental impairment and can act as a predictor of future intellectual decline, a study by University of Rochester Medical Center psychiatrists and researchers has found.

9 Oct 2007