Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

The Healing Group launches Hey Mom! campaign

The Healing Group, a Salt Lake City-based women's wellness center, today announced the launch of its Hey Mom! campaign, designed to raise awareness, offer support and reduce the stigma commonly associated with postpartum depression (PPD) and related disorders.

15 Jun 2012

Drug safety warnings by FDA do not always lead to targeted changes

Drug safety warnings issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) don't always lead to targeted changes in the way medications are prescribed and used, reports a study in the June issue of Medical Care.

15 Jun 2012

Homeless people with CKD experience higher rates of premature death and kidney failure

Among patients with moderate to advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), homeless people experience higher rates of premature death and kidney failure, and they use emergency services much more often than impoverished peers with stable housing, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

15 Jun 2012

Practical clinical tool reliable and valid in measuring severity of dementia symptoms

A new study shows that a practical clinical tool developed by researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine to measure severity of dementia symptoms is reliable and valid. The Healthy Aging Brain Care Monitor is simple, user-friendly and sensitive to change in symptoms.

15 Jun 2012

Acute levodopa may worsen motor plasticity in late-stage PD

Administering acute doses of levodopa appears to worsen motor cortex plasticity as Parkinson’s disease advances, researchers report.

14 Jun 2012

Oxidative stress linked to NSS severity in schizophrenia

The severity of neurologic soft signs negatively correlates with antioxidant superoxide dismutase activity in patients with schizophrenia, research shows.

14 Jun 2012

IBMT linked with positive structural changes in brain connectivity

A Texas Tech University scientist studying the Chinese mindfulness meditation known as integrative body-mind training (IBMT) said he and other researchers have confirmed and expanded on changes in structural efficiency of white matter in the brain that can be related to positive behavioral changes in subjects practicing the technique for a month and a minimum of 11 hours total.

14 Jun 2012

Research into alcohol's effect on juvenile rats

Research into alcohol's effect on juvenile rats shows they have an ability to build up a physical, but not cognitive, tolerance over the short term - a finding that could have implications for adolescent humans, according to Baylor University psychologists.

14 Jun 2012

Conn. children's hospital, insurer reach accord; San Francisco nurses plan strike

Connecticut Children's Medical Center and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced today that they have reached a multi-year agreement, ending a two-month dispute that led to uncertainty and confusion for many patients and their families. The hospital and the Connecticut Children's Specialty Group had dropped the insurer April 16 after both sides failed to reach an agreement after a year of negotiations. Under the deal, Anthem will immediately resume covering in-network costs.

14 Jun 2012

Study analyses impact of one-off advice session and ongoing support for patients with T2D

Research led by the University of Leicester concludes that people newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes need ongoing advice from GPs sustained over a number of years rather than a one-off session when they are first diagnosed.

14 Jun 2012

Violence affects a child's quality and quantity of sleep

When violence shatters a child's world, the torment can continue into their sleep, according to researchers in Cleveland. The impact is measurable and affected by the severity of the violence, and the effects can last over time.

14 Jun 2012

Researchers use brain imaging to uncover susceptibility to psychological stress and trauma

Most people have intense emotional reactions to traumatizing events like road accidents or combat. But some suffer far longer, caught in the grip of long-term debilitating disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Because doctors cannot predict who will develop these disorders, however, early or preventive intervention is not available. Now, a new project led by researchers at Tel Aviv University seeks to identify pre-traumatic subjects - those who are more susceptible to long-standing disorders if exposed to a traumatic incident.

14 Jun 2012

Reproductive stage progression linked to worsening bipolar disorder

Results from a US study of women with bipolar disorder suggests that the illness may worsen with progression toward the later stages of reproductive life.

13 Jun 2012

Disparities in managing depression among HIV-positive pregnant women

It seems logical that programs to screen and manage depression in pregnant, HIV-positive Medicaid patients should already be in place, but they aren't. It's the kind of glaring oversight that Rajesh Balkrishnan, associate professor at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, said he finds all the time in his research on health disparities.

13 Jun 2012

Acute and chronic elevation of EPO in the brain improve motivation for exercise

As science rushes to develop safe weight loss drugs, a new research report approaches this problem from an entirely new angle: What if there were a pill that would make you want to exercise harder? It may sound strange, but a new research report appearing online in The FASEB Journal suggests that it might be possible.

13 Jun 2012

New computer simulation program enables children with social anxiety to interact with avatars

Researchers at the University of Central Florida's Anxiety Disorders Clinic and the Atlanta-based company Virtually Better want to give more children with social anxiety the practice they need to become comfortable in social situations. They have developed a new, one-of-a-kind computer simulation program that enables children to interact with avatars playing the roles of classmates, teachers and a principal.

13 Jun 2012

Two studies report sleep disparities among Americans based on racial and ethnic background

Two studies scheduled for presentation today at SLEEP 2012 are reporting sleep disparities among Americans based on racial and ethnic background.

13 Jun 2012

Unique UCLA program proves effective in treating teens with ASD

Teenagers with autism spectrum disorder are in a bind. The disorder is characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction, but it's a continuum, so some teens diagnosed with ASD are considered high functioning and healthy enough to be "mainstreamed" in school.

13 Jun 2012

Depression, obesity two main culprits of excessive daytime sleepiness

Wake up, America, and lose some weight - it's keeping you tired and prone to accidents. Three studies being presented today at sleep 2012 conclude that obesity and depression are the two main culprits making us excessively sleepy while awake.

13 Jun 2012

Gut microbes regulate brain levels of serotonin

UCC scientists have shown that brain levels of serotonin, the 'happy hormone' are regulated by the amount of bacteria in the gut during early life. Their research is being published today in the leading international psychiatry journal, Molecular Psychiatry.

13 Jun 2012