Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Patients with pre-existing dementia may experience delirium when hospitalized

More than half of all patients with pre-existing dementia will experience delirium while hospitalized. Failing to detect and treat their delirium early leads to a faster decline of both their physical and mental health, according to health researchers.

17 Sep 2013

Oxytocin shows evidence of therapeutic value for autism, schizophrenia

The hormone oxytocin could play a role in treating psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, according to a review article in the September Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

17 Sep 2013

Hyperthyroidism sounds urinary problem alarm

Physicians should be alert to urinary problems in women with hyperthyroidism, say researchers who found an association between the endocrine disorder and bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis.

16 Sep 2013

Phone support boost to COPD patients

Researchers from Australia have found that even brief phone contact from medical professionals can provide benefits to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

16 Sep 2013

Case for targeting perfectionism in patients with bipolar disorder

Anxiety and stress symptoms may mediate the association between perfectionism and depressive symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder in a “transdiagnostic” process, say researchers.

16 Sep 2013

‘Risk circuits’ for schizophrenia refined

A study sheds further light on the brain circuits that may underlie risk for schizophrenia.

16 Sep 2013

Smoking-cessation in HIV-positive individuals: an interview with Dr Ellen R. Gritz, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

In the general population, current smoking prevalence is 18%. Persons living with HIV/AIDS smoke at a rate 2 to 3 times higher, up to almost 70% in some studies.

16 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 16, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about new polling indicating that the health law still faces an uphill climb.

16 Sep 2013

Study: Healthy diet may reduce risk of severe depression

A healthy diet may reduce the risk of severe depression, according to a prospective follow-up study of more than 2,000 men conducted at the University of Eastern Finland. In addition, weight loss in the context of a lifestyle intervention was associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms.

16 Sep 2013

Systematic review reveals exercise may help alleviate depression

Exercise may benefit people suffering from depression, according to an updated systematic review published in The Cochrane Library. The authors of the review found evidence to suggest that exercise reduces symptoms of depression, although they say more high quality trials are needed.

13 Sep 2013

Report: Rates of sexual abuse of children have declined, but reasons not fully understood

Rates of physical and sexual abuse of children have declined over the last 20 years, but for reasons not fully understood, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Yet, reports of psychological and emotional child abuse have risen in the same period, and data vary significantly as to whether child neglect is increasing, decreasing, or remaining constant.

13 Sep 2013

Longer looks: Understanding the mind; facebook depression; planning for a successful end of life

Every week reporter Ankita Rao selects interesting reading from around the Web.

13 Sep 2013

Data shows Americans are living longer, reporting fewer symptoms of disease

Thanks to medical advances, better treatments and new drugs not available a generation ago, the average American born today can expect to live 3.8 years longer than a person born two decades ago.

13 Sep 2013

New behavioral therapy improves antidepressant treatment of OCD

NIMH grantees have demonstrated that a form of behavioral therapy can augment antidepressant treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) better than an antipsychotic.

13 Sep 2013

Native Americans feel burden of mental health budget cuts

Native American tribes gave up millions of acres to the federal government in the 19th century in exchange for promises of funded health care, education and housing. But time and again, those funds have been cut.

13 Sep 2013

Adolescent emotion unravels social impact of psychotic symptoms

Emotional or behavioral problems may explain why some adolescents with psychotic symptoms find it hard to interact socially, researchers highlight.

12 Sep 2013

Depression highlighted as nonadherence risk in bipolar patients

The presence of residual depressive symptoms may result in patients with bipolar disorder being nonadherent to their medication, study findings suggest.

12 Sep 2013

Omeros announces positive data from OMS824 Phase 1 clinical trial

Omeros Corporation today announced positive data from the Company's Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the pharmacokinetics of OMS824, the lead compound in Omeros' phosphodiesterase 10 program, further supporting that OMS824 can achieve superior target engagement with lesser side effects compared to other PDE10 inhibitors in development.

12 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 12, 2013

Today's headlines include a range of stories related to the politics and policies in play as Oct. 1 -- the health law's big day -- quickly approaches.

12 Sep 2013

New Tailored Activity Program to ease troublesome symptoms of dementia

A transformation in the treatment of patients with dementia is quietly taking place at the Lakeside Medical Unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. There, as part of a collaboration with researchers at the Hopkins School of Nursing (JHUSON), clinicians are putting into practice a protocol that can ease the most troublesome symptoms of dementia, not through drugs but with behavior therapy.

12 Sep 2013