Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Antidepressant use among seniors: Falling through Medicare's doughnut hole?

A new study links the gap in Medicare Part D coverage and cutbacks by seniors in using this and other medications.

4 Jul 2012

Design and landscaping of hospital green areas can promote health

The design and landscaping of hospital green areas in accordance with the needs of patients, staff and doctors can have a health-promoting effect. These are the key findings of a study by the MedUni Vienna, led by Renata Cervinka from the Institute for Environmental Hygiene at the Centre for Public Health.

4 Jul 2012

Early childhood adversity linked with depression and inflammation

When a person injures their knee, it becomes inflamed. When a person has a cold, their throat becomes inflamed. This type of inflammation is the body's natural and protective response to injury. Interestingly, there is growing evidence that a similar process happens when a person experiences psychological trauma. Unfortunately, this type of inflammation can be destructive.

4 Jul 2012

Being a parent influences health in a positive way

There is no question that being a parent is, at times, challenging both physically and mentally. However knowledge of the actual affect parenthood has on health has been inconsistent at best, until now. New research led by Carnegie Mellon University's Sheldon Cohen and Rodlescia S. Sneed shows that being a parent influences health in a positive way. Published in Psychosomatic Medicine, the research provides the first evidence that, when exposed to a common cold virus, parents are 52 percent less likely to develop a cold than non-parents.

4 Jul 2012

July issue of Neurosurgery provides update on Human Connectome Project

A research effort called the Human Connectome Project is seeking to explore, define, and map the functional connections of the human brain. An update on progress in and upcoming plans for the Human Connectome Project appears in the July issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

3 Jul 2012

Study examines patterns in QOL of Parkinson's disease patients prior to diagnosis

Growing evidence suggests that Parkinson's disease (PD) often starts with non-motor symptoms that precede diagnosis by several years. In the first study to examine patterns in the quality of life of Parkinson' disease patients prior to diagnosis, researchers have documented declines in physical and mental health, pain, and emotional health beginning several years before the onset of the disease and continuing thereafter.

3 Jul 2012

Childlessness increases risk of hospitalisations for psychiatric disorders among infertile women

While many small studies have shown a relationship between infertility and psychological distress, reporting a high prevalence of anxiety, mood disorders and depressive symptoms, few have studied the psychological effect of childlessness on a large population basis. Now, based on the largest cohort of women with fertility problems compiled to date, Danish investigators have shown that women who remained childless after their first investigation for infertility had more hospitalisations for psychiatric disorders than women who had at least one child following their investigation.

3 Jul 2012

ASD, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share etiologic risk factors

New research led by a medical geneticist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine points to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) among individuals whose parents or siblings have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

3 Jul 2012

Hearing loss linked to Alzheimer's, heart disease, chronic kidney diseases and diabetes

Ear plug retailer, All Ear Plugs, urges Brits to take more care in protecting their ears following the release of data from the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) in the US linking hearing loss to chronic diseases.

2 Jul 2012

Researchers demonstrate power of single-molecule sequencing

The next "next-gen" technology in genome sequencing has gotten a major boost.

2 Jul 2012

Study tracks changes in spending, prices, and use of health care services by children

Spending on health care for children grew faster than spending for adults between 2007 and 2010 due to increasing prices for all categories of goods and services, finds a new report from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).

2 Jul 2012

Rapamycin enhances learning and memory in young mice

Cognitive skills such as learning and memory diminish with age in everyone, and the drop-off is steepest in Alzheimer's disease. Texas scientists seeking a way to prevent this decline reported exciting results this week with a drug that has Polynesian roots.

30 Jun 2012

Oxytocin levels linked to medication dose, symptoms in schizophrenia

Higher doses of second-generation antipsychotics and more severe negative symptoms are associated with lower levels of oxytocin in cerebrospinal fluid among patients with schizophrenia, researchers report.

29 Jun 2012

Brain activity patterns may aid mental illness diagnosis

The identification of neural activity patterns in response to facial expressions of emotion may help in the diagnoses of mental illness, say researchers.

29 Jun 2012

Eight-year trends in pediatric drug use examined

A review of US outpatient pediatric drug use over the past 8 years shows a decrease in systemic antibiotic, allergy, pain, and depression prescriptions, and an increase in asthma, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and contraceptive prescriptions.

29 Jun 2012

Scientists successfully tag serotonin transporter to track movements of single molecules

In a process akin to belling an infinitesimal cat, scientists have managed to tag a protein that regulates the neurotransmitter serotonin with tiny fluorescent beads, allowing them to track the movements of single molecules for the first time.

29 Jun 2012

Clergy's practice of putting others first can be detrimental to their own health

Clergy's practice of putting others first can be detrimental to their own health, say researchers at Duke University.

29 Jun 2012

Gluten-free diet may not be a good choice for everyone

One of the latest trends in the food market and among celebrities is going gluten-free. Snack giant Frito-Lay has announced it will introduce new gluten-free labels and products, and Miley Cyrus has credited her recent weight loss to a gluten-free diet.

29 Jun 2012

Low-level social capital can lead to mental ill-health among older people

Older people experiencing low-level social capital are more likely to suffer from mental ill-health and this risk group should have access to initiatives that empower social networking and a maintained rich social life. Researcher Anna Forsman at the Nordic School of Public Health NHV have examined how mental health can be promoted and mental health problems be prevented among older adults by using psychosocial initiatives.

29 Jun 2012