Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

State highlights: Medicaid pilot project costs $32B more than expected

A selection of health policy stories from the District of Columbia, New York, Georgia, Minnesota, Illinois, North Carolina, Colorado and California.

24 Jul 2013

GSD receives FDA Clearance for 25-OH Vitamin D Total ELISA test

Gold Standard Diagnostics, Corp., a leading manufacturer and marketer of clinical laboratory instrumentation and assays for the in vitro diagnostics market, announced 510k FDA Clearance of its 25-OH Vitamin D, Total ELISA.

24 Jul 2013

Child cancer survival: an interview with Prof Kathy Pritchard-Jones, University College London

Back in the early 1960s, just before chemotherapy really started to be used, only about 30% of children survived cancer. That was mainly because they had cancers that were amenable to surgery.

24 Jul 2013

International Consortium receives grant to examine genetic reasons of schizophrenia in deletion syndrome patients

Today, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) will host a two day International Brain and Behaviour Consortium meeting on Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS).

24 Jul 2013

Use of acronyms leads to poor understanding by practitioners in mental health services

Use of abbreviations is common among mental health professionals but a significant number of acronyms used are either ambiguous or poorly understood by nursing staff, a study has found.

24 Jul 2013

TYRX's AIGISRx Antibacterial Envelope gets FDA clearance

TYRX, Inc. announced today that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance to market the AIGISRx Antibacterial Envelope for use with vagus nerve stimulators, which are currently used to treat seizure disorders and depression.

24 Jul 2013

Fibromyalgia diagnosis: an interview with Dr. Bruce Gillis, CEO of EpicGenetics

Presently, it is a diagnosis of exclusion. Patients end up spending, according to what’s been published in the medical literature, as many as 3 - 5 years going from doctor to doctor seeking a diagnosis because they tend to have nonspecific symptoms of a subjective nature.

23 Jul 2013

IT issues pose challenges for health law

News outlets also report on how other changes are affecting small business owners, hospitals and students.

23 Jul 2013

Findings show oxytocin strengthens bad memories and increases fear, anxiety

It turns out the love hormone oxytocin is two-faced. Oxytocin has long been known as the warm, fuzzy hormone that promotes feelings of love, social bonding and well-being. It's even being tested as an anti-anxiety drug. But new Northwestern Medicine- research shows oxytocin also can cause emotional pain, an entirely new, darker identity for the hormone.

23 Jul 2013

Researchers identify neural pathways involved in word learning among humans

For the first time scientists have identified how a pathway in the brain which is unique to humans allows us to learn new words. The average adult's vocabulary consists of about 30,000 words. This ability seems unique to humans as even the species closest to us -- chimps -- manage to learn no more than 100.

23 Jul 2013

Study: Young African American women who binge eat more likely to report suicide attempts

Is binge eating a tell-tale sign of suicidal thoughts? According to a new study of African American girls, by Dr. Rashelle Musci and colleagues from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University in the US, those who experience depressive and anxious symptoms are often dissatisfied with their bodies and more likely to display binge eating behaviors. These behaviors put them at higher risk for turning their emotions inward, in other words, displaying internalizing symptoms such as suicide.

23 Jul 2013

Exposure to excessive heat can lead to heatstroke

The Substance and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is issuing a heat advisory to alert the nation to the increased risk of heat-related illnesses for individuals with mental and substance use disorders. Children and older adults with these conditions are particularly vulnerable to elevated temperatures.

23 Jul 2013

Study finds link between mental illness and premature death in people with epilepsy

People with epilepsy are 11 times more likely to die prematurely than the general population, and the risk appears to be much higher for individuals with common co-existing psychiatric illnesses*, especially depression and alcohol and drug use disorders, new research published in The Lancet suggests.

22 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the continuing efforts in opposition to the health law as well as a Washington Post investigation into a "flaw" in U.S. health care pricing.

22 Jul 2013

Experts team up to launch International Centre for Mental Health Social Research

Mental health experts from around the world are teaming up to undertake a unique research programme applying social science to mental health practice.

22 Jul 2013

African-Americans, Latinos receive less adequate mental health care than Whites

Blacks and Latinos receive less adequate mental health care than Whites, finds a new study in Health Services Research.

22 Jul 2013

Cancer prehabilitation has potential to reduce problems, improve physical and mental health outcomes

For patients with cancer, "prehabilitation"— interventions given between the time of diagnosis and the start of treatment—has the potential to reduce complications from treatments and improve physical and mental health outcomes, according to a report in the August American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

19 Jul 2013

Cancer survivors twice as likely to experience severe menopausal symptoms

Cancer survivors were twice as likely to experience severe menopausal symptoms compared to women who have not had cancer, a new Australian study has found.

19 Jul 2013

Funding for Native Americans' mental health services hit hard by sequestration

Centuries ago, tribes gave up much of their land to the federal government in exchange for promises of funded health care, education and housing. Time and time again those funds have been cut. The sequestration has been no exception.

19 Jul 2013

State highlights: D.C. health care providers continue wait for payments; Ga. plans Medicaid managed care for kids; Hospital chain seeks insurer license in Calif.

A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, the District of Columbia, California, Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington.

19 Jul 2013