Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

No clear link between the levels of vitamin D in the blood and depression

A lack of Vitamin D, due to reduced sunlight, has been linked to depression and the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but research by the University of Warwick shows there is no clear link between the levels of vitamin D in the blood and depression.

17 Mar 2009

Shire withdraws European application for Daytrana (Methylphenidate Transdermal System)

Shire plc has announced that it has decided to withdraw the European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Daytrana (methylphenidate transdermal system) for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

16 Mar 2009

Depression almost twice as high in people with epilepsy

A new study published in Epilepsia finds that the prevalence of depression is almost twice as high in people with epilepsy compared to the general population.

16 Mar 2009

American Indian youth group to perform in Minneapolis to mark native HIV/AIDS awareness day

An American Indian youth theater group on Friday will perform in Minneapolis to mark National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which is scheduled for March 20, the AP/Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

16 Mar 2009

Does stress damage the brain?

In the March 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, a paper by Tibor Hajszan and colleagues provides an important new chapter to this question.

16 Mar 2009

Researchers look at genetic dynamics of inbreeding depression

Researchers have taken a first look at the broad genetic changes that accompany reproductive declines in inbred populations.

12 Mar 2009

Body clock regulates energy levels in cells

UC Irvine researchers have discovered that circadian rhythms - our own body clock - regulate energy levels in cells.

12 Mar 2009

Giving up smoking before surgery decreases complications

More than a third of patients who took part in an eight-week smoking cessation programme before and after planned surgery were able to give up and most of them were still smoke free after a year, according to research in the March issue of Anaesthesia.

12 Mar 2009

Research shed new light on anergia

With the help of a non-invasive method of monitoring human activity, doctors and researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are shedding new light on a syndrome affecting nearly 40 percent of older adults with heart failure: anergia.

11 Mar 2009

Toxoplasmosis linked to schizophrenia, bipolar disorders

Scientists have discovered how the toxoplasmosis parasite may trigger the development of schizophrenia and other bipolar disorders.

11 Mar 2009

Salt could be 'nature's antidepressant' according to new research

Most people consume far too much salt, and a University of Iowa researcher has discovered one potential reason we crave it: it might put us in a better mood.

11 Mar 2009

A nanotech coating for brain implants

Biomedical and materials engineers at the University of Michigan have developed a nanotech coating for brain implants that helps the devices operate longer and could improve treatment for deafness, paralysis, blindness, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.

11 Mar 2009

Identifying and treating depression plus exercise in African-Americans may reduce heart disease

Identifying and treating depression, including increasing physical activity, may improve quality of life and reduce cardiovascular disease and death in African Americans, according to reports presented at the American Heart Association's 2009 Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.

11 Mar 2009

Can brain training games help prevent Alzheimer's?

Loss of thinking power is a fear shared by many aging baby boomers.

11 Mar 2009

Studies investigate end-of-life healthcare

Patients with advanced cancer who discuss end-of-life care with their physicians appear to have lower health care costs in the final week of life than those who do not, according to a report in the March 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

10 Mar 2009

Insomnia often a persistent condition

About three-fourths of individuals with insomnia report experiencing the condition for at least one year and almost half experience it for three years, according to a report in the March 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

10 Mar 2009

Relationship between depressive symptoms and cardiac events

New data published in the March 17, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggest that relatively healthy women with severe depression are at increased risk of cardiac events, including sudden cardiac death (SCD) and fatal coronary heart disease (CHD).

10 Mar 2009

Children of older fathers perform less well in a range of cognitive tests during infancy and early childhood

In contrast, the study finds that children with older mothers gain higher scores in the same tests - designed to measure the ability to think and reason, including concentration, learning, memory, speaking and reading skills.

10 Mar 2009

Children seriously affected when a parent suffers from depression

Life is hard for the children of a parent suffering from depression.

8 Mar 2009

Discovery of new gene associated with Lou Gehrig's disease

A collaborative research effort spanning nearly a decade between researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MIT, the Broad Institute, King's College London (KCL) and other institutions has identified a novel gene for inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).

5 Mar 2009