Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Older adults with COPD more frequently use benzodiazepines

A popular class of drugs commonly used to treat sleep and mood symptoms continues to be frequently prescribed despite being known to have potentially life-threatening side effects.

9 Feb 2013

Self-reported feelings of well-being tend to increase with age

Psychological well-being has been linked to many important life outcomes, including career success, relationship satisfaction, and even health. But it's not clear how feelings of well-being change as we age, as different studies have provided evidence for various trends over time.

9 Feb 2013

Anxiety positively linked to physical activity in COPD patients

Higher levels of anxiety are associated with increased physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, US researchers report.

8 Feb 2013

Familial psychosis risk linked to prefrontal dopamine dysfunction

People at familial risk for psychosis have attenuated dopamine stress modulation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, according to a recent in vivo imaging study.

8 Feb 2013

Tai Chi associated with reduced falls among adult stroke survivors

Tai Chi may reduce falls among adult stroke survivors, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2013.

7 Feb 2013

Researchers identify an exceptional mouse model of schizophrenia

Researchers at the Institute for Comprehensive Medical Science, Fujita Health University and the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Japan, along with colleagues from 9 other institutions, have identified an exceptional mouse model of schizophrenia.

7 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Iowa 'botched' high risk pool; Clinton praises Family and Medical Leave Act; HHS contraceptive policy's 'sensible balance'

The health reform law will get millions of Americans coverage in 2014. Until then, Congress offered Iowa up to $35 million to provide temporary insurance for people whose health prevent them from buying coverage on their own. Iowa botched the entire concept behind the high-risk pool, and state and federal officials stood by and failed to take corrective action.

7 Feb 2013

Basis of antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy found

Through a series of investigations in mice and humans, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein that appears to be the target of both antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. Results of their experiments explain how these therapies likely work to relieve depression by stimulating stem cells in the brain to grow and mature.

7 Feb 2013

Parental psychosis affects early schizophrenia risk factors

Parental psychosis alters the impact that individual biological risk factors during pregnancy and birth have on future schizophrenia risk, say Finnish researchers.

7 Feb 2013

Migraine, epilepsy and genetics: an interview with Dr. Melodie Winawer

This work is the product of an extraordinary consortium called the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome project (EPGP). It is a consortium of 27 centres in the U.S. and internationally with several hundred physicians and staff who have worked together to enrol more than 4000 patients with epilepsy and their family members.

7 Feb 2013

State roundup: Calif. 'Healthy Families' deficit at $100M

The Healthy Families program has run out of money, according to state health officials. The deficit currently stands at almost $100 million and will keep rising every month, according to Janette Casillas, executive director of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which oversees Healthy Families. Gov. Jerry Brown's administration is pursuing two ideas for refilling the coffers: reinstitution of a recently expired tax on managed care organizations and an appropriation bill if the MCO tax isn't revived.

6 Feb 2013

Researchers examine Kaiser Permanente's obesity prevention interventions in adults and children

Community-based efforts to change the environment are proving to be an effective way of encouraging more physical activity and nutrition among school-age children, according to findings announced today from Kaiser Permanente.

6 Feb 2013

Army Secretary urges soldier mental health resilience training

The step is part of an effort to improve the Army's coordination of mental health programs and to address increasing military suicide rates.

6 Feb 2013

Emotion regulation therapy benefits bipolar patients

Dialectical behavior therapy shows promise for the treatment of bipolar disorder, findings from a pilot study show.

6 Feb 2013

Ethnicity strongly linked to treatment resistance in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia are at heightened risk for being resistant to treatment if they are White European, study findings reveal.

6 Feb 2013

Feeling shame about past alcoholism may increase likelihood of relapse, other health problems

Feeling shame about past instances of problem drinking may increase the likelihood of relapse and other health problems, according to a new study in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

6 Feb 2013

CIHR-funded researchers raise awareness of sexual health

Being comfortable in our sexuality and making choices that support our sexual health are essential to our overall well-being. Promoting sexual health includes both preventing disease and helping people find pleasure in their sexual lives.

6 Feb 2013

Researchers detect social attention deficits in infants at increased risk of autism

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine are able to detect deficits in social attention in infants as young as six months of age who later develop Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

6 Feb 2013

Study findings suggest physical and pharmacological solutions for human stroke victims

Johns Hopkins researchers have found that mice can recover from physically debilitating strokes that damage the primary motor cortex, the region of the brain that controls most movement in the body, if the rodents are quickly subjected to physical conditioning that rapidly "rewires" a different part of the brain to take over lost function.

6 Feb 2013

America's Psychologist launches Healthy Divorce App

Psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Gardere , Professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and mental health consultant to various television programs, today announced the launch of his Healthy Divorce App.

6 Feb 2013