Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Pregnancy stress can cut brain benefits of motherhood

A new study in animals shows that chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood, a finding that researchers suggest could increase understanding of postpartum depression.

15 Oct 2012

Chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains common genetic risk for bipolar disorder

One of the biggest challenges in psychiatric genetics has been to replicate findings across large studies. Scientists at King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry have now performed one of the largest ever genetic replication studies of bipolar affective disorder, with 28,000 subjects recruited from 36 different research centers. Their findings provide compelling evidence that the chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains a common genetic risk for bipolar disorder, the PBRM1 gene.

15 Oct 2012

New insights into how brain responds to extreme stress

Researchers report new insights into how the brain responds to extreme stress, whether from combat, natural disasters, or repeated violent competition. The insights offer hope for detecting and treating several widespread and debilitating neuropsychiatric disorders, and were presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.

15 Oct 2012

Highlights of Mount Sinai research at Neuroscience 2012

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine are presenting important discoveries on the involvement of the immune system and dopamine cells in the onset of depression at Neuroscience 2012, the Society for Neuroscience's 42nd annual meeting on October 13 -17 in New Orleans, and are available for interviews.

15 Oct 2012

BC Cancer Agency second prestigious Vancouver institution to install MILabs Molecular Imaging System

MILabs is pleased to announce that the BC Cancer Agency, located in Vancouver, British Columbia will install a MILabs U‐SPECT/CT system to expand their current molecular oncology imaging and research capabilities. The U‐SPECT/CT is able to deliver high resolution, sensitivity and scanning speed contributing to outstanding quantification results and the ability to detect heterogeneous molecular processes in tumors.

12 Oct 2012

Brain size reduced in schizophrenia patients

Medicated and antipsychotic-naive patients with schizophrenia show significant reductions in brain volume, researchers report.

12 Oct 2012

Fruits and vegetables appear to improve mental wellbeing

Happiness and mental health are highest among people who eat seven portions of fruit and vegetables a day, according to a new report.

12 Oct 2012

Concordia researcher investigates cross-gender behavior in children

In exercise books, sports line-ups, or in the simple act of going to the bathroom, school children have to answer the seemingly simple question, "are you a boy or a girl?" For Canadian school kids who exhibit cross-gender behaviour or presentation, this question is not only limiting, it's the source of angst.

12 Oct 2012

AACR conference to focus on scientific and lifestyle strategies for cancer prevention

The American Association for Cancer Research will host the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research at the Hilton Anaheim from Oct. 16-19, 2012.

12 Oct 2012

NRG1 gene plays an important role in cannabis dependence

A paper by Shizhong Han and colleagues in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry implicates a new gene in the risk for cannabis dependence. This gene, NRG1, codes for the ErbB4 receptor, a protein implicated in synaptic development and function.

12 Oct 2012

Investigators provide overview of role of dopamine in modulating the immune system

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with emotions, movement, and the brain's pleasure and reward system. In the current issue of Advances in Neuroimmune Biology, investigators provide a broad overview of the direct and indirect role of dopamine in modulating the immune system and discuss how recent research has opened up new possibilities for treating diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis or even the autoimmune disorders.

11 Oct 2012

Factors linked to self-harm in schizophrenia identified

Polysubstance abuse and a high premorbid IQ are significantly associated with self-harm in patients with schizophrenia, UK researchers report.

11 Oct 2012

Antioxidant defense reduced in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder

Results from a Tunisian study suggest that the antioxidant defense system is altered in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

11 Oct 2012

MDD with subthreshold hypomania ‘should be merged with bipolar II’

Patients with major depressive disorder plus subthreshold hypomania exhibit significant differences in disease course, symptoms, treatment-seeking rates, and other characteristics compared with those with major depression alone, research shows.

11 Oct 2012

Enrollment complete in Euthymics’ amitifadine phase 2b/3a trial for major depressive disorder

Euthymics Bioscience, Inc. today announced completion of enrollment in the advanced clinical study of its lead product candidate amitifadine (formerly called EB-1010), a novel serotonin-preferring triple reuptake inhibitor for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).

11 Oct 2012

Bad news articles increase women's sensitivity to stressful situations

Bad news articles in the media increase women's sensitivity to stressful situations, but do not have a similar effect on men, according to a study undertaken by University of Montreal researchers at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress of Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital.

11 Oct 2012

Grand Challenges Canada funds 15 new projects to improve mental health diagnosis and care

Grand Challenges Canada, which is funded by the Government of Canada, today announced a landmark $19.4 million in support of 15 innovative, pioneering projects designed to improve mental health diagnosis and care in developing countries, many of them nations ravaged by conflict and disaster as well as poverty.

11 Oct 2012

WHO calls for end to stigma on World Mental Health Day

"Wednesday (October 10th) is World Mental Health Day," VOA News reports, noting, "The World Health Organization is using the occasion to call for an end to stigma against those who suffer from depression and other mental disorders."

11 Oct 2012

State roundup: Filling the health care void in NYC's Greenwich Village

The demise of St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village two years ago has led to a struggle for health care supremacy in some of New York's most distinctive neighborhoods, offering a glimpse, in the process, at what might be the future of urban medicine.

11 Oct 2012

Inscopix to introduce nVista HD at Neuroscience 2012

Inscopix, Inc. will announce the launch of nVista HD, an end-to-end solution for in vivo brain imaging in freely behaving mice, this weekend at Neuroscience 2012 (SfN).

11 Oct 2012