Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Less than 1 percent of health plan members are actually diagnosed with alcoholism or related disorders

Less than 1 percent of health plan members are actually diagnosed with alcoholism or related disorders, according to data from a national performance measurement project released today in New York City at the American Medical Association Media Briefing, Alcohol Dependence: From Science to Solutions.

24 Jul 2005

UK health services regulator says NHS still leaves a lot to be desired

The UK Healthcare Commission, in its second annual report to Parliament, says that a quarter of people waited more than two days for an appointment with their GP, despite Government assurances that almost everyone can see a doctor within 48 hours.

23 Jul 2005

UK medical watchdog wants more proof on value of Alzheimer's drugs

In the UK the country's watchdog for cost-effectiveness in medical treatments, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), has asked drug makers for more evidence about the benefits of their Alzheimer's medicines.

21 Jul 2005

New guide to help patients who drink too much

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has released a new guide for health care practitioners to help them identify and care for patients with heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders. Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much: A Clinician's Guide (PDF) is now available free online and in print.

21 Jul 2005

Cocaine induces abnormal enhancement of neuronal connections

Researchers working with rats have zeroed in on the brain circuitry mechanism whose disruption contributes to the impulsive behavior seen in users of cocaine as well as other psychostimulant drugs. The same circuitry has been implicated in such disorders as schizophrenia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, wrote the researchers.

21 Jul 2005

FDA approval for VNS Therapy will help people with epilepsy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy for treatment of chronic depression provides a novel single-treatment option for two major symptoms suffered by people with epilepsy.

21 Jul 2005

Evaluating how hospitals deliver medical care standardizes practices and improves care

In recent years, American hospitals have made significant improvements on standardized, evidence-based measures of clinical performance for several medical conditions, including heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia.

20 Jul 2005

Americans need to eat more fish

The sooner people start eating more fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon and tuna the better. Having fallen out of favor due to past mercury warnings aimed at pregnant women, new data show that consumers are doing their bodies a disservice if they continue to avoid this food.

19 Jul 2005

Potential use of NH neurotransmitters as novel source for psychiatric drugs

Physiologists and medical researchers have long recognized the important endocrine roles played by the pituitary hormones oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP) on peripheral systems in lactation, uterine contraction and urine concentration.

19 Jul 2005

Spontaneous contractions suppressed in late-term rat pregnancy

A long-time aim of obstetrical research has been to find agents that could delay or diminish pre-term labor because even today pre-term birth is a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity.

19 Jul 2005

Two regions of the human genome that appear to explain variation in IQ

It may be that IQ tests are not the only way to measure human intelligence. Scientists at The Queensland Institute of Medical Science (QIMR) have identified two regions of the human genome that appear to explain variation in IQ. Their work was published this week in the American Journal of Human Genetics and has drawn world-wide interest.

19 Jul 2005

Vagal nerve stimulation, an innovative therapy for depression

The Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center medical team involved in the research and development of an innovative therapy for depression - vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) - is starting a new clinic for patients who have treatment-resistant depression.

19 Jul 2005

Researchers have identified a protein that is crucially involved in how our memories are stored and processed

University of Queensland researchers have identified a protein that is crucially involved in how our memories are stored and processed, paving the way for new strategies to treat conditions certain mental disorders.

18 Jul 2005

Oral midazolam more effective than rectal diazepam for the emergency treatment of seizures in children

Administering a drug called midazolam via the mouth cavity is more effective than rectal diazepam for the emergency treatment of seizures in children, concludes a study published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

14 Jul 2005

Current recommendations for prescribing antidepressants should be reconsidered

Most people with depression are initially treated with antidepressants, and prescribing has risen by 253% in 10 years. Yet recent studies show that SSRIs have no clinically meaningful advantage over placebo, write Joanna Moncrieff and Irving Kirsch.

14 Jul 2005

Five basic steps to help doctors identify and treat insomnia in elderly patients

Researchers outline five basic steps to help doctors identify and treat insomnia in elderly patients. This article is published in a special insomnia themed supplement of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

14 Jul 2005

Biologists determine structure of a common-cold virus

Biologists at Purdue University have determined the combined structure of a common-cold virus attached to a molecule that enables the virus to infect its host, information that ultimately may help researchers develop methods for treating certain viral infections.

13 Jul 2005