Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Autism treatment: Social impairments can be corrected by brain stimulation

Scientists are examining the feasibility of treating autistic children with neuromodulation after a new study showed social impairments can be corrected by brain stimulation.

13 Dec 2017

Fear compromises the health, well-being of immigrant families, survey finds

Luis Ramirez has lived in the U.S. without immigration papers for two decades, but he is more worried about deportation now than ever before.

13 Dec 2017

Anti-stress compounds provide new treatment approach for diabetes and obesity

For the first time, scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich could prove that a stress protein found in muscle has a diabetes promoting effect. This finding could pave the way to a completely new treatment approach.

13 Dec 2017

These annual checkups help seniors not only survive but thrive

Bea Lipsky shuffled into her wellness coach's office one morning this fall and parked her walker by the wall. Lipsky, 89, had had a trying year, enduring a hernia operation and two emergency room visits for heart problems.

13 Dec 2017

UQ researchers create new and improved version of ‘love hormone’

A new and improved version of the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin has been developed by University of Queensland researchers.

13 Dec 2017

Researchers developing smartphone app to help patients with eating disorders

With a new $50,000 award from the National Eating Disorders Association, a research team at the University of Kansas is developing a smartphone app for clinical use with patients receiving treatment for an eating disorder -- the deadliest of all mental disorders.

12 Dec 2017

Bipolar disorder may involve accelerated epigenetic aging, study finds

Bipolar disorder may involve accelerated epigenetic aging, which could explain why persons with the disorder are more likely to have - and die from - age-related diseases, according to researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

12 Dec 2017

'Virtual child' to help professionals learn key techniques to treat children with autism

Nearly one in 50 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, usually before age 3, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the number of people trained to help them isn't keeping pace with the demand.

12 Dec 2017

Researchers use new approach to identify casual mechanisms in depression

People with major depressive disorder have alterations in the activity and connectivity of brain systems underlying reward and memory, according to a new study by the University of Warwick.

12 Dec 2017

New scientific yardstick released to help early detection of Alzheimer's disease

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre released a new scientific yardstick, in the form of a certified reference material, to help early detection of Alzheimer's disease.

12 Dec 2017

An overlooked epidemic: Older Americans taking too many unneeded drugs

Consider it America’s other prescription drug epidemic. For decades, experts have warned that older Americans are taking too many unnecessary drugs, often prescribed by multiple doctors, for dubious or unknown reasons.

12 Dec 2017

Isolation during holidays can impact health of seniors

The holidays are supposed to be a happy time of the year, but many isolated seniors often are left feeling lonely - which can be harmful to their health.

12 Dec 2017

Patient satisfaction, good caregiver communication linked to reduced risk of hospital readmission

A survey of patients admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has found that patients reporting greater levels of satisfaction with their care and good communication with the health care providers were significantly less like to readmitted to the hospital in the 30 days after discharge.

11 Dec 2017

Study investigates link between cortisol levels of ICU patients’ family members and anxiety

When a loved one has been hospitalized in intensive care for a critical illness, many family members experience anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress or other negative effects lasting months, according to new research led by Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

11 Dec 2017

Researchers find link between brain structure and hallucination proneness, musical aptitude

New research published in Schizophrenia Research conducted at the University of Liverpool links brain structure to an individual's likelihood of experiencing hallucinations and to their musical aptitude.

11 Dec 2017

Study finds under-age marriage for women as marker of multiple vulnerabilities

A new study of four South Asian countries reveals complex associations between early marriage and women's education, health and nutrition that go beyond the impacts of early childbearing.

11 Dec 2017

Retirement’s revolving door: Why some workers can’t call it quits

In his view, Tim Franson utterly failed at retirement. After 20 years as a high-ranking vice president at drugmaker Eli Lilly, Franson and his wife, Chris, a successful real estate agent, thought they were quietly retiring nearly a decade ago to Bonita Springs, Fla.

11 Dec 2017