Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Researchers develop improved expert system for diagnosis of thyroid disease

Researchers in India have developed an improved expert system for the diagnosis of thyroid disease.

3 Aug 2012

Study analyzes drop-out rates and predictors of attrition within adult weight management program

More than 1.7 billion people worldwide may be classified as overweight and need appropriate medical or surgical treatment with the goal of sustainable weight loss. But for weight management programs to be effective, patients must complete them, states a study published in the Canadian Journal of Surgery (CJS) that analyzed drop-out rates and predictors of attrition within a publicly-funded adult weight management program.

2 Aug 2012

IHME study identifies discrepancies between national surveys that track obesity

Despite the increasing awareness of the problem of obesity in the United States, most Americans don't know whether they are gaining or losing weight, according to new research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

2 Aug 2012

BMC to implement and evaluate opioid risk reduction model in primary care settings

Researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) have received a $2.67 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to implement and evaluate a new model of care in primary care settings aimed at decreasing the misuse of and addiction to opioids among patients with chronic pain.

2 Aug 2012

PTSD prevalent in serious mental illness patients

Post-traumatic stress disorder is common among patients with serious mental illnesses, and is associated with an increased risk for suicide attempts, Spanish researchers report.

2 Aug 2012

OCS common in patients at high risk for psychosis

Obsessive–compulsive symptoms are common in patients at high risk for psychosis and are associated with an increased risk for suicidal ideation, US study results show.

2 Aug 2012

Increased cortical thinning in schizophrenia patients

Patients with schizophrenia show greater cortical thinning in selected subregions of both the frontal and temporal lobes over a 2-year period than mentally healthy individuals, study results show.

2 Aug 2012

Study looks at hope experience of male spouses of breast cancer patients

Male partners of breast cancer patients are likely to take a pass on spousal support groups in favour of exercise or an evening out with friends to cope with stresses associated with the disease, according to new research from the University of Alberta.

2 Aug 2012

Report provides two distinct views of behavioral healthcare delivery

Behavioral healthcare systems are playing a major role in responding to the needs of the millions of Americans of all ages who experience psychiatric and substance use conditions each year, according to the latest annual survey from the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS) released today.

2 Aug 2012

Medical staff struggle to spot problem drinkers unless they are already intoxicated

Medical staff struggle to spot problem drinking in their patients unless they are already intoxicated, according to research by the University of Leicester.

2 Aug 2012

'Global brain connectivity' explains 10% of variance in individual intelligence

When it comes to intelligence, what factors distinguish the brains of the exceptionally smart from those of average humans? As science has long suspected, overall brain size matters somewhat, accounting for about 6.7 percent of individual variation in intelligence. More recent research has pinpointed the brain's lateral prefrontal cortex, a region just behind the temple, as a critical hub for high-level mental processing, with activity levels there predicting another 5 percent of variation in individual intelligence.

2 Aug 2012

High maternal choline intake may reduce risk of hypertension and diabetes in babies

New research from Cornell University indicates that pregnant women who increase choline intake in the third trimester of pregnancy may reduce the risk of the baby developing metabolic and chronic stress-related diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes later in life.

2 Aug 2012

Caffeine may help control movement in people with Parkinson's

Caffeine, which is widely consumed around the world in coffee, tea and soft drinks, may help control movement in people suffering from Parkinson's. This is the finding of a study conducted at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) that was recently published in Neurology, the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Aug 2012

Exercise reduces symptoms of depression in patients with chronic heart failure

Patients with chronic heart failure who participated in exercise training had modest reductions in symptoms of depression after 12 months, compared with usual care, according to a study in the August 1 issue of JAMA.

1 Aug 2012

APA Convention to highlight new research in personality and social psychology

From how relationships affect our health to the psychology of an awkward party moment to why we often choose ignorance over information - a guide to some talks with new research in personality and social psychology at the APA Convention in Orlando, Aug. 2-5, 2012.

1 Aug 2012

Researchers develop bioactive coating that actively suppresses brain's immune response

Brain-computer interfaces are at the cutting edge for treatment of neurological and psychological disorder, including Parkinson's, epilepsy, and depression. Among the most promising advance is deep brain stimulation (DBS) - a method in which a silicon chip implanted under the skin ejects high frequency currents that are transferred to the brain through implanted electrodes that transmit and receive the signals.

1 Aug 2012