Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Psychotic experiences show shared genetic liability

Study findings provide support for psychotic experiences being an early marker of increased risk of psychosis transition and an important intermediary phenotype in transdiagnostic research on psychosis.

11 Dec 2014

Researchers find that one in six Ontario adults reports a history of TBI

Nearly seventeen per cent of adults surveyed in Ontario said they have suffered a traumatic brain injury that left them unconscious for five minutes or required them to be hospitalized overnight, according to new research. These same adults also reported more substance use, smoking and recent psychiatric distress.

11 Dec 2014

Research links increase in sudden cardiovascular death with consumption of cocaine

A joint piece of research conducted by the UPV/EHU, the Basque Institute of Forensic Medicine, and the Biomedical Research Centre Network into Mental Health of the Carlos III Institute of Health links, for the first time, the increase in sudden cardiovascular death with the recent consumption of cocaine. In people in the 19-49 age bracket this risk is quadrupled.

11 Dec 2014

New case study assesses immediate, ongoing response to the 9/11 disaster

Fourteen years after the attack on the World Trade Center (WTC), a case study in the current issue of Annals of Global Health identifies several elements that have had a critical impact on the evolution of the WTC response and, directly or indirectly, on the health of the WTC-exposed population.

11 Dec 2014

New technique allows rapid, large-scale studies of gene function

Using a gene-editing system originally developed to delete specific genes, MIT researchers have now shown that they can reliably turn on any gene of their choosing in living cells.

11 Dec 2014

ECT improves general neurocognitive function in bipolar patients

A randomised trial shows that electroconvulsive therapy improves overall neurocognition in patients with treatment-resistant bipolar depression.

10 Dec 2014

Cerebellar cortical volume reduction specific to schizophrenia

Reduced cerebellar cortical volume occurs only in patients with schizophrenia, rather than all those with psychosis, say researchers.

10 Dec 2014

UTHealth opens Trauma and Grief Center for Youth

Children who are having difficulty processing trauma or loss can now turn to the Trauma and Grief Center for Youth at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

10 Dec 2014

Cancer Council urges partners of men diagnosed with prostate cancer to reach out for support

Cancer Council is calling on partners of men with prostate cancer to reach out for support, with research showing partners experience high levels of distress related to the diagnosis of their loved one.

10 Dec 2014

Report supports potential of focused ultrasound to treat certain OCD patients

A recently published report in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry supports the potential of focused ultrasound to treat certain patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

10 Dec 2014

Novel drug target could lead to better antipsychotic medications

Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have identified a novel drug target that could lead to the development of better antipsychotic medications.

10 Dec 2014

Laughing gas could be used as treatment for severe depression

Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, has shown early promise as a potential treatment for severe depression in patients whose symptoms don't respond to standard therapies. The pilot study, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is believed to be the first research in which patients with depression were given laughing gas.

10 Dec 2014

ADHD, conduct disorder increase alcohol and tobacco use in young adolescents

A new study links ADHD and conduct disorder in young adolescents with increased alcohol and tobacco use. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study is among the first to assess such an association in this age group.

10 Dec 2014

Excess mortality in schizophrenia ‘not attributable to antipsychotics’

The relationship between antipsychotic use and mortality in people with schizophrenia shows a clear U-shape curve, with the highest risk of death seen in those with no antipsychotic exposure, a Swedish cohort study has found.

9 Dec 2014

Experts launch new interdisciplinary scientific collaboration to improve health in urban areas

Aiming to empower planners and policy-makers to achieve better health for billions of people living in fast-growing urban areas, world health, environmental, behavioural and social science experts today launched a major new interdisciplinary scientific collaboration.

9 Dec 2014

McMaster University researchers identify hormone that contributes to obesity, diabetes

Researchers from McMaster University have identified an important hormone that is elevated in obese people and contributes to obesity and diabetes by inhibiting brown fat activity.

8 Dec 2014

Study highlights causes of postpartum disorders in new mothers

In the days shortly after giving birth, most mothers experience a period of increased calmness and decreased stress responses, but around 20% of mothers experience anxiety. Some women may become depressed, and around one in a thousand can develop psychosis. The latest evidence indicates that these distressing responses to motherhood are still poorly understood, but that animal research could provide valuable clues to their causes.

8 Dec 2014

Low doses of fluoxetine could hold key to preventing PMS symptoms

Low doses of fluoxetine - better known as the anti-depressant Prozac - could hold the key to preventing PMS symptoms, an international team of researchers has found.

8 Dec 2014

Older Latinos living in safe, walkable neighborhoods less likely to develop severe depressive symptoms

Older Latinos living in the U.S. who perceive their neighborhoods as safer and more walkable are less likely to develop severe depressive symptoms, and the effect may be long term, a new study suggests.

8 Dec 2014

UC Berkeley study finds self-worth key to diagnoses of psychopathologies

Donald Trump's ego may be the size of his financial empire, but that doesn't mean he's the picture of mental health. The same can be said about the self-esteem of people who are living from paycheck to paycheck, or unemployed. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, underscores this mind-wallet connection.

8 Dec 2014