Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Strong link between functional brain impairment and post-stroke depression

Researchers studying stroke patients have found a strong association between impairments in a network of the brain involved in emotional regulation and the severity of post-stroke depression. Results of the study are published online in the journal Radiology.

5 Jun 2012

Chicago psychological center serves as model for treatment of binge eating

As experts discuss major changes in binge eating, a Chicago psychological center serves as a model for treatment of the most common eating disorder.

5 Jun 2012

Treating adolescents for major depression can also reduce risk of drug abuse

Treating adolescents for major depression can also reduce their chances of abusing drugs later on, a secondary benefit found in a five-year study of nearly 200 youths at 11 sites across the United States.

5 Jun 2012

Researchers identify predictive biomarker for Parkinson's disease

Because there is currently no laboratory test that can diagnose Parkinson's disease, it is practically impossible to detect those individuals who are in the earliest stages of the disease. As a result, Parkinson's disease can only be diagnosed by a clinical neurological examination based on findings suggestive of the disease.

5 Jun 2012

Positive results from Auxilium’s XIAFLEX phase III studies on Peyronie's disease

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced positive top-line results from its IMPRESS (The Investigation for Maximal Peyronie's Reduction Efficacy and Safety Studies) trials, the phase III studies that assessed XIAFLEX (collagenase clostridium histolyticum or CCH), a novel, in-office, first-in-class biologic therapy for the potential treatment of Peyronie's disease (PD).

4 Jun 2012

Reumofan Plus may have harmful pharmaceutical ingredients, warns FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers that Reumofan Plus, marketed as a "natural" dietary supplement for pain relief and other serious conditions, contains several active pharmaceutical ingredients not listed on the label that could be harmful.

2 Jun 2012

First U.S.-based study to assess per-patient annual economic costs of fecal incontinence

Care for patients with fecal incontinence costs $4,110 per person for both medical and non-medical costs like loss of productivity, according to new research from the University of Michigan.

2 Jun 2012

Sex-selective abortion ban rejected by House

The House on Thursday voted down a bill that would have banned abortions based on the sex of a fetus. Republicans, however, said they achieved a strategic goal of forcing Democrats to vote against it.

2 Jun 2012

Scientists discover previously unrecognized signaling network disrupted in lung cancer

A team of researchers led by Dr. Goutham Narla at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in collaboration with scientists at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, have discovered a previously unrecognized signaling network disrupted in lung cancer that can be turned back on by a novel combination of two previously approved FDA drugs.

2 Jun 2012

Subtle executive impairments indicate familial schizophrenia risk

The unaffected first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia show subtle executive function impairments, and these deficits are associated with negative symptoms, investigators report.

1 Jun 2012

Factors linked to relapse risk in bipolar disorder identified

A higher number of previous mood episodes and living in a mixed urban/rural area are associated with an increased risk for relapse in patients with bipolar disorder, Spanish researchers report.

1 Jun 2012

College undergraduates less upset than expected by questionnaires about sex, trauma

Research on sex and trauma faces an ethical dilemma: how can we find out more about the effects of such psychologically sensitive topics without hurting the people who participate in the study?

1 Jun 2012

Feds announce effort to slash inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes

An estimated 40 percent of nursing home residents with dementia receive the drugs, which are approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

1 Jun 2012

Personalized medicine and the Human Genome Project

It’s nearly a decade since the completion of the Human Genome Project, (1) which aimed to sequence the complete human genome.

1 Jun 2012

Over half of FEP patients achieve symptomatic remission

More than half of patients with a first episode of psychosis achieve symptomatic remission after 2 years of treatment, but recovery rates are lower, results from a Singaporean study show.

31 May 2012

New method can solve 3-D structures of integral membrane proteins

A new method for rapidly solving the three-dimensional structures of a special group of proteins, known as integral membrane proteins, may speed drug discovery by providing scientists with precise targets for new therapies, according to a paper published May 20 in Nature Methods.

31 May 2012

Ketamine reduces suicidal thoughts in patients with bipolar depression

Bipolar disorder is a serious and debilitating condition where individuals experience severe swings in mood between mania and depression. The episodes of low or elevated mood can last days or months, and the risk of suicide is high. Antidepressants are commonly prescribed to treat or prevent the depressive episodes, but they are not universally effective. Many patients still continue to experience periods of depression even while being treated, and many patients must try several different types of antidepressants before finding one that works for them.

31 May 2012

NYU Langone establishes unique neuromodulation center

The Department of Neurosurgery at NYU Langone Medical Center has established a unique, multidisciplinary neuromodulation center for the treatment of complex neurological conditions including movement disorders like Parkinson's disease, chronic pain and psychiatric condition such as obsessive compulsive disorder and severe depression.

31 May 2012

New guidelines for management of childhood aggression

Mayo Clinic researchers, in collaboration with other research institutions and youth mental health experts, are publishing new guidelines for primary care providers and mental health specialists to manage the common but often complex problem of childhood aggression. The goals include improving diagnosis and care and avoiding inappropriate use of medication.

31 May 2012

Interim data from UCLA and NeuroSigma’s eTNS Phase I trial on PTSD, MDD

Today, at the 52nd annual New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit (NCDEU) Conference in Arizona, Ian Cook, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Senior Medical Advisor to NeuroSigma, Inc., presented the results from the first 6-subject cohort of a 10-subject Phase I open-label clinical trial studying the effects of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy.

31 May 2012