Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

School, body-image pressure, and worries affect young girls' mental health

More and more young girls seek help for mental problems. "Generally, girls take things more seriously than boys. This applies to school, friends, and family," says researcher Anders Bakken.

14 Mar 2018

Education and academic achievement can lessen effects of child abuse, neglect

The emotional and sexual abuse that some children endure can lead them to commit crimes later in life. But when children achieve good grades and don't skip school, the likelihood of self-reported, chronic criminal behaviors declines significantly, according to researchers at the University of Michigan and University of Washington.

14 Mar 2018

Opioid maker funds efforts to fight addiction: Is it ‘blood money’ or charity?

A program to give naloxone overdose-antidote kits and training to front-line officers. Funding for pill disposal boxes in pharmacies, clinics and police stations across North Carolina. A radio campaign in Connecticut warning of the dangers of opioid abuse. A new medicine to treat opioid-induced constipation.

14 Mar 2018

California’s tax on millionaires yields big benefits for people with mental illness, study finds

A statewide tax on the wealthy has significantly boosted mental health programs in California's largest county, helping to reduce homelessness, incarceration and hospitalization, according to a report released Tuesday.

14 Mar 2018

New class of menopause drugs provides beneficial effects in just three days

A new class of experimental drugs reduces hot flushes in menopausal women by almost three-quarters in just three days.

14 Mar 2018

Antiviral drug for treating influenza does not increase suicide risk in pediatric patients

A new study finds that use of oseltamivir, an antiviral drug used to treat influenza A and B, does not increase risk of suicide in children.

14 Mar 2018

Study highlights divergent molecular mechanisms contributing to depression in men and women

Men and women with major depressive disorder have opposite changes in the expression of the same genes, according to a new postmortem brain study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.

14 Mar 2018

Suppressing emotions appears to reduce negative memories

By peering at the brains of study subjects prompted to suppress negative emotions, scientists have gained new insights into how emotional regulation influences negative feelings and memories. The researchers hope the findings will lead to new methods to combat depression.

13 Mar 2018

Researchers identify B immune cells that promote axon myelination in developing neurons

Neurons are specialized cells of the nervous system that communicate using electrical signals, which propagate down long, wire-like projections called axons. The conduction of these signals requires myelin, a fatty substance that surrounds axons in much the same way that plastic coating surrounds an electrical wire.

13 Mar 2018

Mindfulness meditation training helps prevent major depression

Among primary care patients with subthreshold depression, mindfulness meditation training reduces the incidence of major depression and improves depression symptoms.

13 Mar 2018

Genetic link to insomnia found

A new study has found certain genes that predispose a person to develop insomnia or sleep problems. This was one of the largest genome wide studies undertaken on insomnia. The study led by psychiatrist Murray Stein from the University of California San Diego was published in the latest issue of the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

13 Mar 2018

Moderate facebook use linked to happiness among adults with ASD

Among adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a new study has shown that those who use Facebook, in moderation, are happier than those who do not.

13 Mar 2018

Heavy smoking linked to higher risk of psychoses

Smoking at least ten cigarettes a day is linked to a higher risk of psychoses compared to non-smoking young people. The risk is also raised if the smoking starts before the age of 13. This has been shown in a study led by Academy Research Fellow, Professor Jouko Miettunen. The results were recently published in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.

12 Mar 2018

Medicaid is rural America’s financial midwife

Brianna Foster, 23, lives minutes away from Genesis Hospital, the main source of health care and the only hospital with maternity services in southeastern Ohio's rural Muskingum County.

12 Mar 2018

Findings about childhood trauma could redefine schizophrenia treatment

Researchers have established a link between childhood trauma and common symptoms of schizophrenia that could lead to the development of new treatments.

12 Mar 2018

Britain announces £300 million for its elderly population in a healthy aging initiative

Britain is embarking upon a multi-million government scheme that will develop products and services that allow the elderly to stay independently in their own homes for longer.

12 Mar 2018

We may be genetically wired to be empathic finds study

According to a new study, the level of empathy we display may not be a result of our experiences and upbringing alone but also genetic. Researchers from Cambridge studied and made this novel discovery that appeared in the latest issue of the journal Translational Psychiatry.

12 Mar 2018

Researchers report genomic sequencing of 250,000 developmental cells

Researchers from the global Human Cell Atlas Consortium report that they have sequenced a quarter of a million separate cells that are of importance for early development of organs such as the liver, skin and kidneys. Sten Linnarsson at Karolinska Institutet is participating in the project.

9 Mar 2018

No-go for Idaho: Back to the drawing board on state-based health plans

No, you can't. That's what federal officials told Idaho regulators and the state's governor late Thursday regarding the state's plan to allow insurers to sell health plans that fall short of the Affordable Care Act's requirements.

9 Mar 2018

Team-based game decreases hyperactivity and problem behavior in kids

A game that encourages good behavior, positive reinforcement and self-regulation can keep children on task and out of trouble, according to researchers at the University of Georgia and Pennsylvania State University.

9 Mar 2018