Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Despite public programs, food insecurity remains an intractable problem in the US

Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, ethnic minorities, and low-income households are disproportionately affected by food security, despite the extensive private and public food safety net in the United States, according to a new report by RTI International.

27 Jul 2014

Pediatrician currently utilizes Quotient ADHD test on patients

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood condition characterized by more than normal difficulty with focus, behavior control, impulsivity and hyperactivity.

26 Jul 2014

Massage therapy can alleviate symptoms of multiple sclerosis

An estimated 2.3 million people worldwide live with multiple sclerosis (MS) each day, a debilitating disease that can often cause severe pain, muscle spasms, poor circulation, anxiety, stress and clinical depression.

26 Jul 2014

GOP and Dems' feud over funding threatens bill to fix VA

With only a week before the August recess, negotiations broke down over how much money to spend and how to pay for it.

26 Jul 2014

Friendships allow children to value companionship, affection, and empathy

Friends play an extremely important role in a person's life. From infancy on, we have a desire to connect and those early relationships help to mold and develop our adult character.

25 Jul 2014

Study: Dementia carers may require more support with medication management

Family carers of people with dementia may need more support with medication management, according to a recent study.

25 Jul 2014

Highlights: Texas abortion rates falls dramatically; start-up problems for Virginia's psychiatric reforms

A four-month-old psychiatric-bed registry that is supposed to provide up-to-the-minute information for Virginians who need emergency mental health treatment is being updated as seldom as once a day, state officials told a panel of lawmakers this week (Shin, 7/22).

25 Jul 2014

Blacks with depression and diabetes receive inadequate mental health treatment

A new study in General Hospital Psychiatry confirms that Blacks with depression plus another chronic medical condition, such as Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure, do not receive adequate mental health treatment.

25 Jul 2014

Children who experience stress early in life have emotional, physical health problems

Children who have been abused or neglected early in life are at risk for developing both emotional and physical health problems.

25 Jul 2014

Protein once seen as promising anti-cancer compound helps to stabilize neural circuits

Researchers at UC San Francisco (UCSF) have discovered that endostatin, a protein that once aroused intense interest as a possible cancer treatment, plays a key role in the stable functioning of the nervous system.

25 Jul 2014

Unemployment increases risk of death, but recessions decrease it

Being unemployed increases your risk of death, but recessions decrease it. Sound paradoxical? Researchers thought so too.

25 Jul 2014

Impaired emotion recognition runs in families with psychosis

Difficulty recognising facial emotions is common to patients with psychosis and their close relatives, shows research.

24 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 24, 2014

Today's headlines include more analysis of this week's conflicting appeals courts' decisions regarding a key part of the health law.

24 Jul 2014

Scientists work to detect chronic traumatic encephalopathy in earliest stages

Autopsies have shown that some high-profile athletes who suffered repeated blows to the head during their careers have unusual protein clumps in their brains.

24 Jul 2014

More genetic suspects for schizophrenia brought to light

A meta-analysis from the Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium has revealed a large number of previously unreported genetic loci that may have a role in schizophrenia.

23 Jul 2014

Impulse control predicts euthymia in bipolar disorder

Patients with bipolar disorder who have good trait impulse control are likely to respond better to treatment than those with poor impulse control, say researchers.

23 Jul 2014

Severe pain during and post delivery linked to postpartum depression

Controlling pain during childbirth and post delivery may reduce the risk of postpartum depression, writes Katherine Wisner, M.D., a Northwestern Medicine- perinatal psychiatrist, in a July 23 editorial in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

23 Jul 2014

Astrocytes may be behind mental disorders, new research reveals

Astrocytes, the cells that make the background of the brain and support neurons, might be behind mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, according to new research by a Portuguese team from the ICVS at the University of Minho.

23 Jul 2014

Research findings could lead to new approaches for treating schizophrenia

As part of a multinational, collaborative effort, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have helped identify over 100 locations in the human genome associated with the risk of developing schizophrenia, in the largest genomic study published on any psychiatric disorder to date, conducted with 80,000 people.

23 Jul 2014

Highlights: Florida officials crack down on direct Medicaid marketing; a wellness plan in Washington state breaks the mold

[Florida] health officials are taking a cue from past problems and are banning health insurance companies from marketing their plans directly to Medicaid consumers as the state is rolling out a massive overhaul by transitioning millions into managed care. Insurance companies are allowed to market to consumers under the contracts, but only if the state gives prior approval (Kennedy, 7/22).

23 Jul 2014