Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Roundup: Calif. county mum on probe of Medicaid managed care firm; Suit alleges substandard care for Ariz. prisoners

A Ventura County commission is trying to keep secret the details of a state-ordered investigation into the management and claims procedures of a healthcare plan designed to serve the county's neediest residents. Complaints about alleged late payments and poor management prompted the Department of Health Care Services to request that auditors step in and examine the plan's financial condition and claims practices. Gold Coast Health Plan was launched last year to switch an estimated 110,000 Ventura County Medi-Cal beneficiaries into an HMO-style healthcare plan.

8 Mar 2012

Researchers document unknown biological mechanism in the blood-brain barrier

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have documented a previously unknown biological mechanism in the brain's most important line of defence: the blood-brain barrier. Scientists now know that the barrier helps maintain a delicate balance of glutamate, a vital signal compound in the brain.

8 Mar 2012

BioLineRx receives European patent for BL-1020 to treat schizophrenia

BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today that a European patent has been granted claiming BL-1020's composition and its use for the treatment of schizophrenia.

8 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 7, 2012

Reporting for Kaiser Health News in collaboration with The Washington Post, Susan Jaffe writes: "In the latest effort to enlist seniors in the fight against Medicare fraud, federal officials have overhauled Medicare billing statements to make it easier to find bogus charges without a magnifying glass."

7 Mar 2012

Transcranial direct current stimulation safe and effective treatment for depression

Stimulating the brain with a weak electrical current is a safe and effective treatment for depression and could have other surprise benefits for the body and mind, a major Australian study of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has found.

7 Mar 2012

Research team identifies preventive care guidelines relevant to young adults

With no specific clinical preventive care guidelines targeting young adults, health care providers are missing key opportunities to improve the health of this population through preventive screening and intervention.

7 Mar 2012

Concussion in kids may lead to memory and cognitive problems at school later in life

The researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University looked at 186 children aged 8 to 15 who experienced concussion - most commonly in a fall or while playing sports - or other brain injury from a car accident or other causes. The children’s parents were asked to fill out a standard questionnaire to assess their child’s cognitive and physical status before the concussion, and again two weeks, three months and a year later. These responses were compared to those from parents of 99 similar children who came into the emergency room with orthopedic injuries.

7 Mar 2012

New research provides explanation for some of autism's mysteries

New research from Carnegie Mellon University's Marcel Just provides an explanation for some of autism's mysteries - from social and communication disorders to restricted interests - and gives scientists clear targets for developing intervention and treatment therapies.

7 Mar 2012

Veterans prescribed more opioid pain killers: Study

According to a new government study Morphine and similar powerful painkillers are sometimes prescribed to recent war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress along with physical pain. The study suggests that these vets are at high risk for drug and alcohol abuse, but they're two times more likely to get prescriptions for addictive painkillers than vets with only physical pain.

7 Mar 2012

Yoga may be effective in treating patients with stress-related psychological and medical conditions

An article by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), New York Medical College (NYMC), and the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons (CCPS) reviews evidence that yoga may be effective in treating patients with stress-related psychological and medical conditions such as depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiac disease.

7 Mar 2012

People with schizophrenia benefit from new evidence-based clinical program

People with schizophrenia report improved functioning after participating in a new, evidence-based clinical program, according to results announced today from a six-month pilot.

7 Mar 2012

Internet-based support can help young people with mentally ill relatives

When someone is affected by mental illness, the people around him or her are forced to act both as supervisor and as support. Research at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has shown that internet-based support can be a great help - and the site created during the research project is now being handed on to voluntary personnel.

6 Mar 2012

Persistent depression may increase risk of cognitive decline in older patients with CAD

Persistent depression symptoms may be associated with significantly greater declines in cognitive performance in older patients with coronary artery disease who underwent cardiac catheterization, according to a study published in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

6 Mar 2012

SSRIs appear to reduce depressive symptoms, fetal head growth during pregnancy

Treating pregnant women with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) appears to be associated with fewer depressive symptoms, reduced fetal head growth and a higher risk for preterm birth, but not with a delay in fetal body growth, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

6 Mar 2012

State news: Ore. Gov. signs reform bill; Texas seeks early release of sick inmates

If Oregon's Democratic governor is right, the bill he signed Friday will improve health care and reduce costs so significantly that it could help fix the federal budget. The Obama administration is watching with keen interest - and so are critics who say Gov. John Kitzhaber's plan is just another example of government overreach.

6 Mar 2012

Almost 70% of young adults with Asperger syndrome have suffered from depression

Given that almost 70% of young adults with Asperger syndrome have suffered from depression, it is vital that psychiatric care staff are aware of this so that patients are given the right treatment, reveals research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

6 Mar 2012

Children's academic achievement test scores not affected by intrauterine drug exposure

Researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health along with Boston Medical Center have found children's academic achievement test scores not affected by intrauterine exposure to cocaine, tobacco or marijuana.

6 Mar 2012

Study shows how new information is encoded into prefrontal cortex

The brain has a remarkable ability to learn new cognitive tasks while maintaining previously acquired knowledge about various functions necessary for everyday life. But exactly how new information is incorporated into brain systems that control cognitive functions has remained a mystery.

6 Mar 2012

Butler Hospital expands Outpatient Psychiatric Consultation Program

In a move that highlights collaboration across a health care system, three Care New England hospitals recently came together to pilot a service that is now being expanded to fill a need for mental health services in the entire region. After successfully piloting the concept at Women & Infants and Kent hospitals, Butler Hospital is expanding its Outpatient Psychiatric Consultation Program to all referring physicians in the area who may have a patient needing a consult.

6 Mar 2012

Antidepressants in pregnancy: weighing benefits and risks

There has been a debate on the use of antidepressant medication in pregnant women. Depression during pregnancy is, of course, difficult for the woman. In addition, depression that continues in the postpartum period may interfere with caretaking and bonding with the newborn.

5 Mar 2012

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Roundup: Calif. county mum on probe of Medicaid managed care firm; Suit alleges substandard care for Ariz. prisoners

Researchers document unknown biological mechanism in the blood-brain barrier

BioLineRx receives European patent for BL-1020 to treat schizophrenia

First Edition: March 7, 2012

Transcranial direct current stimulation safe and effective treatment for depression

Research team identifies preventive care guidelines relevant to young adults

Concussion in kids may lead to memory and cognitive problems at school later in life

New research provides explanation for some of autism's mysteries

Veterans prescribed more opioid pain killers: Study

Yoga may be effective in treating patients with stress-related psychological and medical conditions

People with schizophrenia benefit from new evidence-based clinical program

Internet-based support can help young people with mentally ill relatives

Persistent depression may increase risk of cognitive decline in older patients with CAD

SSRIs appear to reduce depressive symptoms, fetal head growth during pregnancy

State news: Ore. Gov. signs reform bill; Texas seeks early release of sick inmates

Almost 70% of young adults with Asperger syndrome have suffered from depression

Children's academic achievement test scores not affected by intrauterine drug exposure

Study shows how new information is encoded into prefrontal cortex

Butler Hospital expands Outpatient Psychiatric Consultation Program

Antidepressants in pregnancy: weighing benefits and risks

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation

Scaling 3D biology: Automation, imaging, and the future of high-throughput research

How does norepinephrine influence anxiety-related behaviours?

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation

Scaling 3D biology: Automation, imaging, and the future of high-throughput research

How does norepinephrine influence anxiety-related behaviours?

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