Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

New study finds link between childhood abuse and suicide in later life

Children who experience physical, sexual, and emotional abuse or neglect are at least two to three times more likely to attempt suicide in later life, according to the largest research review carried out of the topic.

9 Jan 2019

Mapping a person's genetic makeup can help save billions each year in health costs

A UniSA scientist has called for Australia to embrace pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing to deliver medication more effectively and slash around $2.4 billion wasted each year through unsafe and ineffective drug prescriptions.

9 Jan 2019

Study: Two-thirds of stroke survivors are in complete mental health

Two-thirds of stroke survivors are in complete mental health despite the impact of their stroke, according to a large, nationally representative Canadian study conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

9 Jan 2019

Schizophrenia patients have higher levels of antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus, study shows

New research from Johns Hopkins Medicine and Sheppard Pratt Health System shows that people in the study with schizophrenia also have higher levels of antibodies against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a herpes virus that causes infectious mononucleosis, so-called mono.

9 Jan 2019

Study of Millennials highlights social media behaviors linked with major depression

Certain social media factors were linked with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a Journal of Applied Biobehavioural Research study of Millennials.

9 Jan 2019

To get mental health help for a child, desperate parents relinquish custody

When Toni and Jim Hoy adopted their son Daniel through the foster care system, he was an affectionate toddler. They did not plan to give him back to the state of Illinois, ever.

9 Jan 2019

Developmental dysfunction of prefrontal cortex causes cognitive deficits related to mental illness

Faulty wiring of the prefrontal cortex during development leads to abnormal brain activity and cognitive impairments related to mental illness, according to a mouse study published in JNeurosci.

From Society for Neuroscience 9 Jan 2019

Study shows how specific mutations in SYNE1 gene may increase bipolar disorder risk

A new study by researchers at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT finds that the protein CPG2 is significantly less abundant in the brains of people with bipolar disorder and shows how specific mutations in the SYNE1 gene that encodes the protein undermine its expression and its function in neurons.

9 Jan 2019

Older age, obesity, and depression associated with chronic hip pain

In a representative sample of the German population, older age, obesity, and depressive disorder were associated with experiencing chronic hip pain.

9 Jan 2019

Researchers reveal five insomnia types

Researchers at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience revealed that there are five types of insomnia. This finding was published on Monday January 7 by The Lancet Psychiatry. A commentary in the journal stated that the finding could be a new page in the history of insomnia, promoting discoveries on mechanisms and interventions.

8 Jan 2019

Essential nutrient may hold promise in the war against Alzheimer's disease

In a new study, researchers at the Biodesign Institute explore a safe and simple treatment for one of the most devastating and perplexing afflictions: Alzheimer's disease.

8 Jan 2019

Therapists should regularly assess depression symptoms and augment treatment for insufficient responders

Adolescents with depression who were treated with interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-A) had significantly better outcomes when their therapists regularly assessed depression symptoms and augmented treatment for insufficient responders after four weeks of therapy rather than waiting until Week 8, reports a study published in the January 2019 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

8 Jan 2019

Study: Facebook use linked to perceptions of worsening physical health

Facebook use linked to perceptions of worsening physical health, new research from the University of Surrey, reports.

8 Jan 2019

Exercise hormone can prevent Alzheimer's finds study

According to a large worldwide study, the hormone that is produced in the body during exercise called irisin, can prevent and delay the onset of mental faculty decline and Alzheimer’s disease. The results of the study were published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

8 Jan 2019

Hearing challenges still reported by high proportion of older people with hearing aids

A high proportion of older people with hearing aids, especially those with lower incomes, report having trouble hearing and difficulty accessing hearing care services, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

7 Jan 2019

Therapeutic implications of caffeine in neuropsychiatric disorders

An important new article reviews recently discovered properties of adenosine A2A receptor-dopamine D2 receptor and adenosine A1 receptor-dopamine D1 receptor heteromers--both of which are main targets for caffeine--and discusses the therapeutic implications of these findings.

7 Jan 2019