Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

New depression treatment “safe and effective”

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.

5 Mar 2012

Vet groups sound alarm that VA's mental health expansion is going too slowly

Two years after Congress passed a high-profile law to improve health care for military veterans, lawmakers and advocates are again raising alarms that the sprawling Department of Veterans Affairs is not expanding help for the nation's former fighters and their families as quickly or widely as intended.

5 Mar 2012

Young children with SDB more likely to develop neurobehavioral problems

A study of more than 11,000 children followed for over six years has found that young children with sleep-disordered breathing are prone to developing behavioral difficulties such as hyperactivity and aggressiveness, as well as emotional symptoms and difficulty with peer relationships, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

5 Mar 2012

Good sleep routine tips from people who sleep well

The survey showed that the events of the evening have an impact on the night ahead. Surveyors found that a good sleeper ensure they have at least two hours and seven minutes 'down time' before hitting the bed. The average person will watch at least an hour and three quarters of television, opting for soap operas or comedy quiz shows. And when going to bed, Brits have another 20 minutes rest time before finally falling asleep at 10:26pm.

4 Mar 2012

Inconsistent results from ACS and depression studies

Although it is still suggested that acute coronary syndrome patients with first and new-onset depression are at particularly increased risk of worse prognosis, the inconsistent results from the studies included in this systematic review show that there is no consistent evidence to support such statements.

3 Mar 2012

Researchers identify mechanism by which cannabis affects working memory

A deterioration of working memory is observed in people who consume drugs containing cannabinoid compounds found in cannabis leaves and buds. A team led by Giovanni Marsicano in collaboration with a team led by Xia Zhang, has recently identified the mechanism by which these substances affect working memory.

3 Mar 2012

Roundup: Iowa lawmaker urges waiting on exchange bill until court rules; Calif. group finds way to recycle medicine

Democrats and Republicans disagree about whether the Legislature needs to approve a health insurance exchange this spring. At a Statehouse forum on the issue Thursday, state Sen. Brad Zaun noted that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this summer on whether major portions of the health reform law are constitutional. Zaun, an Urbandale Republican who opposes the overall law, said it makes sense to wait until after that decision before deciding whether to move ahead with the exchange.

3 Mar 2012

Sleep improves with age dispelling age old myth

A new study dispels the age old belief that sleep doesn’t get more difficult with age. The study shows that sleep quality tends to improve the older people got, with adults in their 80s getting better sleep than any other age group surveyed. The new study was published in the journal Sleep.

2 Mar 2012

Poor sleep alters immune system response to stress in older adults

Older adults who sleep poorly have an altered immune system response to stress that may increase risk for mental and physical health problems, according to a study led by a University of Rochester Medical Center researcher.

2 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Romney's evolution on abortion; The birth of the HIV epidemic

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney began his political career as a pro-choicer. In the story he tells, he had an epiphany, a flash of insight, and committed himself thereafter to protecting life. But that isn't what happened. The real story of Romney's conversion - a series of tentative, equivocal, and confused shifts, accompanied by a constant rewriting of his past - paints a more accurate picture of who he is.

2 Mar 2012

Poor neighborhoods linked with worse chronic pain for young adults

Living in a poor neighborhood was linked with worse chronic pain for young adults, according to a study by the University of Michigan Health System, but young black patients faced difficulties with pain management no matter where they lived.

2 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Ryan and Medicare; Va. ultrasound bill 'overreaches'?; NEJM on patient-centered care

Over the past year, an entitlement revolution has taken place on Capitol Hill. ... The revolution involves Medicare, the health-care program for the elderly and the single biggest cause of America's looming debt crisis. Reform of Medicare would be achieved by a policy known as "premium support." It would bring consumer choice and spending restraint to the beleaguered program.

1 Mar 2012

Similar mechanisms drive changes in puberty

It's one of life's special moments: a child finds a fat caterpillar, puts it in a jar with a twig and a few leaves, and awakens one day to find the caterpillar has disappeared and an elegant but apparently lifeless case now hangs from the twig.

1 Mar 2012

'The Harris County Jail: The Largest Mental Health Provider in Texas' to take place on March 2

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia will deliver the keynote address, "The Harris County Jail: The Largest Mental Health Provider in Texas" at 9 a.m., Friday (March 2) at the University of Houston (UH), Rockwell Pavilion, M.D. Anderson Library. Media are welcome to attend the keynote address. A question-and-answer period will follow.

1 Mar 2012

South African researchers call for new framework to help prioritize global mental health

"For mental health to gain significant attention, and funding from policymakers globally, it is not enough to convince people that it has a high disease burden but also that there are deliverable and cost-effective interventions -- according to South African researchers writing in this week's PLoS Medicine," a PLoS press release reports.

1 Mar 2012

Aging does not appear to be a factor in poor sleep

Aging does not appear to be a factor in poor sleep, a new survey of more than 150,000 Americans shows. In fact, subjective sleep quality seems to improve over a lifetime, with the fewest complaints coming from people in their 80s.

1 Mar 2012

Digital exercises improve brain function, behavior in people with schizophrenia

People with schizophrenia who completed 80 hours of intensive, computerized cognitive training exercises were better able to perform complex tasks that required them to distinguish their internal thoughts from reality.

1 Mar 2012

MU researcher to improve current rehabilitation strategies for amputees

When a limb is lost or absent from birth, patients have different strategies that can be used for rehabilitation. However, this rehabilitation can be mentally exhausting and extremely painful in some cases, and scientists are looking for ways to improve the rehabilitation experience.

1 Mar 2012

State roundup: Mass. Gov. says state health reform easing cost increases; N.J. localities overpay on health coverage; Pa. cuts raise ire

At a speech to the American Cancer Society, Gov. Deval Patrick says that Massachusetts health reform has led to significant improvements in cancer screening. ... Patrick also calculates that current health care cost control efforts are enabling the state to "avoid nearly a billion dollars in cost increases in this fiscal year and another several hundred million more next year."

1 Mar 2012

More than 80% of anesthesiologists have been involved in surgical catastrophes

More than 80 percent of anesthesiologists have been involved in a catastrophic event involving death or injury to a patient during surgery, suggests a survey study in the March issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

1 Mar 2012