Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

World's first PET/MR images of the human brain

The world's first PET/MR images of the human brain, taken simultaneously by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and magnetic resonance (MR), debuted during the 54th Annual Meeting of SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals, June 2-6 in Washington, D.C.

From Siemens Healthineers 5 Jun 2007

Advanced cancer patients have less quality sleep

Patients with stage four cancer are more prone to disturbed sleeping patterns due to factors such as pain, treatment side effects and psychological causes, according to a study published in the June 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

3 Jun 2007

Urgent need for countries to provide a network of community mental health services

For the first time, WHO invited people living with mental disorders to attend the Forum, sending a message to countries that it is important to give a voice to this excluded group to claim their rights and secure their participation in society.

3 Jun 2007

Adding medication improves recovery for elderly with depression

Adding a medication to a standard treatment regimen for major depressive disorder in the elderly improves chances of recovery in those who do not adequately respond to the first-course therapy or who relapse from it, finds a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association.

3 Jun 2007

Overt and subtle racial discrimination and mental health

Subtle racism - which can include social slights and ambiguous remarks that are hard to pin down - is more dangerous to mental health than overt discrimination, according to a study of 180 Korean immigrants living in Canada.

1 Jun 2007

Interventions for pediatricians only partially successful

Continuing medical education, newsletters and resource guides were only partially successful in changing the way that pediatricians handled behavioral health problems, according to a follow-up study at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

1 Jun 2007

Better understanding of deep brain stimulation

Brain "pacemakers" that have helped ease symptoms in people with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders seem to work by drowning out the electrical signals of their diseased brains.

1 Jun 2007

New mothers often not asked about depression

The majority of doctors in North Carolina do not probe for signs of postpartum depression in new mothers, according to a survey conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

1 Jun 2007

JRRD releases issue on pain

Effects of depression and pain severity on satisfaction in medical outpatients: Analysis of the Medical Outcomes Study, pg. 143 Patient satisfaction is a critical measure of healthcare quality.

1 Jun 2007

Needle-less intravascular catheter connector valve could lead to patient infections

Patients might be at greater risk for developing bloodstream infections due to a common device used in hospitals around the country, according to a research team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska.

1 Jun 2007

Personality test could help doctors detect dementia with Lewy bodies

The study found that even before diagnosis, people with dementia with Lewy bodies displayed passive personality changes, such as diminished emotional response, disinterest in hobbies, repetitive behaviors, and growing apathy, or lack of interest, more often than those with Alzheimer's.

30 May 2007

Interventions for Pediatricians only partially successful

30 May 2007

Depression is a risk factor for osteoporosis

Evidence is accumulating that depression is a risk factor for osteoporosis, reports the June 2007 issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch.

30 May 2007

British nurses stressed out, underpaid, under-valued and their sex lives suffer

In a survey of nurses in the UK, it has been found that almost half of nurses feel their sex lives are damaged by the emotional stress of their job.

29 May 2007

Post traumatic stress disorder and brain injury affecting more soldiers

According to California researchers more and more soldiers are returning from active service in Iraq and Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and brain injury.

28 May 2007

Depression among type 2 diabetes rural Appalachian clinic attendees

In Appalachia, diabetes hits hard. Depression does, too. Together, they form a difficult pair to beat.

28 May 2007

Restrictive medical studies exclude blacks and women

Treatment studies that exclude the homeless, illicit drug users or people with mental problems disproportionately curb the number of African-Americans and/or women eligible to participate in medical research, according to a new study from investigators at Stanford University.

28 May 2007

Lesbian/gay parenting

The birth of Mary Cheney's son today will create great public interest in same-sex parenting.

28 May 2007

Researchers identify a function of neuregulin1 - impact on schizophrenia

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) researchers have identified a function of neuregulin1 (NRG1), a gene previously linked to schizophrenia but whose role in the disease was unknown.

28 May 2007

Tracing the path of depression

David Nutt, Professor of Psychopharmacology, said: "The development of one of these radioactive tracers to enable the study of noradrenaline and its related processes in those suffering depression is critical to our proper understanding of this disease.

27 May 2007