Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Scientists discover how pten gene causes brain changes that lead to autism-like behavior

Scientists affiliated with the UC Davis MIND Institute have discovered how a defective gene causes brain changes that lead to the atypical social behavior characteristic of autism. The research offers a potential target for drugs to treat the condition.

13 Aug 2012

Evaluating cash transfers as a tool to combat HIV/AIDS

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a research fellow at the center, and Denizhan Duran, a research assistant at the center, examine several recent studies evaluating the use of cash transfers as a strategy against HIV/AIDS.

10 Aug 2012

State roundup: Calif. officials near deal on workers' health costs

Hopes for a last-minute agreement to overhaul the state's $11-billion workers' compensation system are growing as the end of the 2012 legislative session approaches.

10 Aug 2012

Boys are little more susceptible to both bad and good exposures

A new study is the first to find a difference between how boys and girls respond to prenatal exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health found that, at age 7, boys had greater difficulty with working memory, a key component of IQ, than girls with similar exposures.

10 Aug 2012

Depressed patients at risk of developing peripheral artery disease

Depression was linked with an increased risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD) in a study of more than one thousand men and women with heart disease conducted by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

10 Aug 2012

Depressed cardiac patients at added risk

Coronary artery disease patients may have an increased risk for peripheral arterial disease if they are depressed, study findings show.

10 Aug 2012

More psychologic support needed for pregnant women

Women should be screened for anxiety and depression during pregnancy, say the authors of a Dutch study into psychologic stress and birth outcomes.

10 Aug 2012

Mirror-gazing illusion more intense in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia report more intense perceptual illusions during the mirror-gazing task than do mentally healthy people, report researchers who also found that the patients were more likely to believe their illusions were real.

10 Aug 2012

Four predictors for relapse in FEP patients identified

Medication non-adherence, persistent substance use disorder, carers' critical comments, and poorer premorbid adjustment are significant predictors for relapse in patients treated for a first episode of psychosis, a review and meta-analysis of published studies shows.

9 Aug 2012

Patient, not surgeon factors influence patient-centric outcomes after knee surgery

Patient factors are more important than anything surgeons can control during total knee replacement surgery in the prediction of patient-reported outcome measures, report UK researchers.

9 Aug 2012

Borderline personality disorder ‘not linked to psychosis transition’

The presence of borderline personality disorder is not associated with an increased risk for transition to full-blown psychosis in ultra-high risk patients, research shows.

9 Aug 2012

Two major classes of brain cells repress neural activity in specific mathematical ways

The brain has billions of neurons, arranged in complex circuits that allow us to perceive the world, control our movements and make decisions. Deciphering those circuits is critical to understanding how the brain works and what goes wrong in neurological disorders.

9 Aug 2012

Mindfulness yoga may offer effective treatment for depressed new mothers

It's no secret that pregnancy hormones can dampen moods, but for some expectant moms, it's much worse: 1 in 5 experience major depression. Now, new research shows that an age-old recommended stress-buster may actually work for this group of women: yoga.

9 Aug 2012

Scientists develop new way to study role of GABA-A receptors in various disorders

A new way to study the role of a critical neurotransmitter in disorders such as epilepsy, anxiety, insomnia, depression, schizophrenia, and alcohol addiction has been developed by a group of scientists led by Gong Chen, an associate professor of biology at Penn State University.

9 Aug 2012

One third of all post-partum women exhibit some symptoms of PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops in individuals who experience highly traumatizing situations such as terrorist attacks and car accidents, but symptoms can also come about after normal life events - including childbirth.

9 Aug 2012

AbilTo, Aetna announce new program to help members with diabetes combat depression

The combination of depression and diabetes is common and potentially dangerous. People with depression can find it hard to make the lifestyle changes needed to manage diabetes. If not well managed, diabetes often leads to additional health issues, like heart, circulatory and kidney disease. Today, Aetna and AbilTo are announcing a new program to help members with diabetes combat depression and take control of their diabetes.

9 Aug 2012

Lightlake announces final data from naloxone nasal spray Phase II study on Binge Eating Disorder

Lightlake Therapeutics Inc., an early stage biopharmaceutical company developing modern addiction treatments based on its expertise using opioid antagonists, announced today compelling final data from a Phase II study of the Company's proprietary opioid antagonist naloxone nasal spray treatment for patients with Binge Eating Disorder (BED).

9 Aug 2012