Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Scratching itchy skin causes the brain to release serotonin, intensifies itchy feeling

Turns out your mom was right: Scratching an itch only makes it worse. New research from scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that scratching causes the brain to release serotonin, which intensifies the itch sensation.

31 Oct 2014

Men with BPH need to discuss 'male orgasmic dysfunction' with doctors prior to any treatment

NeoTract, Inc., today welcomes the publication of a paper in the British Journal of Urology International which calls for men suffering from enlarged prostate to discuss with their doctors the likely impact of treatment options on their sexual function. Most procedures and many medications can cause sexual dysfunction. Clinical studies show that treatment with the UroLift system has not been associated with any new onset of sustained ejaculatory or erectile dysfunction.

31 Oct 2014

Study: Even mild depressive symptoms can weaken outcome of lumbar spinal stenosis surgery

Even mild depressive symptoms can weaken the outcome of lumbar spinal stenosis surgery, according to a recent study completed at the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital. Patients with depressive symptoms had a weaker functional capacity post-surgery even five years after surgery.

31 Oct 2014

Researchers discover link between seizures and migraines

Seizures and migraines have always been considered separate physiological events in the brain, but now a team of engineers and neuroscientists looking at the brain from a physics viewpoint discovered a link between these and related phenomena.

30 Oct 2014

Paternal age increases schizophrenia risk independently of IQ

Being born to an older father increases the risk of developing a schizophrenia spectrum disorder in adulthood but has no effect on premorbid IQ, say researchers from Denmark.

30 Oct 2014

Quality of life maintained during mRCC TKI therapy

Treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors does not appear to significantly impair health-related quality of life in Japanese patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, say researchers.

30 Oct 2014

Physical health management below par in schizophrenia patients

The diagnosis and treatment of physical ailments in patients with schizophrenia falls below acceptable standards, shows a national audit of patients in England and Wales.

30 Oct 2014

New blood test could predict early onset Alzheimer’s disease with high accuracy

The research team previously identified that changes in the brain occur two decades before patients show signs of dementia. These changes can be detected through expensive brain imaging procedures.

30 Oct 2014

UCSD researchers validate EEG test to study, treat schizophrenia

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have validated an EEG test to study and treat schizophrenia. The findings, published in two separate studies, offer a clinical test that could be used to help diagnose persons at risk for developing mental illness later in life, as well as an approach for measuring the efficacies of different treatment options.

29 Oct 2014

Genetic differences contribute to risk for autism

Small differences in as many as a thousand genes contribute to risk for autism, according to a study led by Mount Sinai researchers and the Autism Sequencing Consortium, and published today in the journal Nature.

29 Oct 2014

Researchers use DNA sequencing to uncover genes that heighten autism risk

In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers have used DNA sequencing to uncover dozens of genes that heighten the risk for autism. Joseph Buxbaum, Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, Mark Daly, Ph.D., Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and their colleagues examined more than 14,000 DNA samples from affected children, parents and unrelated people.

29 Oct 2014

Researchers find potential target for therapies to treat cocaine addiction

A study led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has identified a potential target for therapies to treat cocaine addiction.

29 Oct 2014

Teen binge drinking effects may last a lifetime, suggests UMass Amherst study

Binge drinking can have lasting effects on brain pathways that are still developing during adolescence, say neuroscience researcher Heather N. Richardson and her colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Louisiana State University.

29 Oct 2014

CHOP, Temple University to jointly investigate new methods for eradicating HIV

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Temple University have received a joint $4.3 million, four-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate new methods to eradicate HIV that lurks in brain cells despite conventional antiviral treatments.

28 Oct 2014

Study finds that mental health disorders double heart disease, stroke risks

People facing mental health challenges are significantly more likely to have heart disease or stroke, according to a study presented today at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.

28 Oct 2014

Engineered cells reveal changes associated with learning, memory and reward

Scientists have created cells with fluorescent dyes that change color in response to specific neurochemicals. By implanting these cells into living mammalian brains, they have shown how neurochemical signaling changes as a food reward drives learning, they report in Nature Methods online October 26.

27 Oct 2014

Family-focused intervention program leads to fewer drop-out rates among Mexican American children

New research findings from a team of prevention scientists at Arizona State University demonstrates that a family-focused intervention program for middle-school Mexican American children leads to fewer drop-out rates and lower rates of alcohol and illegal drug use.

27 Oct 2014

Sleep problems very common among young children receiving treatment for psychiatric disorders

John Boekamp, Ph.D., clinical director of the Pediatric Partial Hospital Program at Bradley Hospital recently led a study that found sleep difficulties - particularly problems with falling asleep - were very common among toddlers and preschool-aged children who were receiving clinical treatment for a wide range of psychiatric disorders.

27 Oct 2014

University of Derby wins award for collaborative social media campaign

The University of Derby has won an award at the inaugural East Midlands Innovation in Healthcare awards, for a collaborative social media campaign with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and ADHD Solutions.

From University of Derby Online Learning 25 Oct 2014

Mindfulness improves cardiovascular health

Pay attention to the implication of these new research results: People who pay more attention to their feelings and experiences tend to have better cardiovascular health.

25 Oct 2014