Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

ValueOptions, LifeWIRE partner to create mobile monitoring, intervention and counseling program

ValueOptions, the nation's largest independent behavioral health and wellness company, and LifeWIRE announced today a joint teaming agreement to create a mobile monitoring, intervention and counseling program.

23 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Real 'doc fix,' Saint Santorum and why Supreme Court TV is 'a bad idea'

In last week's flurry of budget deals, Congress patched together yet another temporary fix for a flawed formula used to calculate the fees paid to doctors by Medicare. It will hold payments flat for the next 10 months instead of cutting them by 27 percent as the formula required, and the $18 billion to pay for it will be taken from other health care programs. But the fix only lasts until the end of the year. On Jan. 1, doctors will face another big cut unless Congress again steps in.

23 Feb 2012

State roundup: Calif. HMO report cards, Ore. family planning bills challenged, Texas managed care

Gov. Corbett's new budget proposal would cost the city $42 million in mostly mental health and addiction treatment funding, but city officials say the impact will be worsened by ensuing needs for emergency shelter, child welfare, and other services. … The city Health Department faces an additional $7 million in state cuts. That would reduce the number of beds in the city nursing home and cost hospice beds for AIDS victims, officials said.

23 Feb 2012

New kind of on-off switch for cortisol release in the brain discovered

After we sense a threat, our brain center responsible for responding goes into gear, setting off a chain of biochemical reactions leading to the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands.

23 Feb 2012

Mount Sinai receives Le Foundation gift for psychiatric neuroimaging study

The Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine has received a $250,000 gift from The Iris & Junming Le Foundation to advance neuroimaging research conducted by young scientists in the early stages of their careers.

23 Feb 2012

Patterns of brain development are distinct in infants with ASD

Patterns of brain development in the first two years of life are distinct in children who are later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), according to researchers in a network funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study results show differences in brain structure at 6 months of age, the earliest such structural changes have been recorded in ASDs.

23 Feb 2012

Women with migraine more likely to develop depression

New research suggests women who have migraine or have had them in the past are at an increased risk for developing depression compared to women who have never had migraine.

23 Feb 2012

Causal link between TBI and increased susceptibility to PTSD

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are cardinal injuries associated with combat stress, and TBI increases the risk of PTSD development. The reasons for this correlation have been unknown, in part because physical traumas often occur in highly emotional situations.

22 Feb 2012

Statins can reduce risk of depression

Researchers at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of California San Francisco have studied the link between medication taken for cardiovascular disease and the development of depression. In their studies, scientists have determined that a particular class of medication, i.e. statins, can reduce the risk of developing depression.

22 Feb 2012

Hoarders are mentally ill and need help

According to experts people who are compulsive hoarders are ill with a serious mental disorder and need help. Hoarding is affecting between 400,000 and 1.1 million Australians, a conference in Sydney heard this week, and can affect more than just elderly people living alone. Yet it is only now gaining acceptance as a clinical condition with its inclusion this year in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

22 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 22, 2012

In today's health policy headlines, the Supreme Court added 30 minutes to the time allocation for next month's health law arguments. Also in the news, the federal government announced funding awards yesterday to help launch consumer-governed health plans in eight states.

22 Feb 2012

Referees' stress tolerance does not depend on specific physical condition

All referees feel stress on match days. However, contrary to what you might believe, a joint study by the Catholic University of Brasilia, A Coru-a University and James Cook University in Australia state that the level of stress is not linked to the physical condition of these referees, but to their nervous system. The researchers measured the activity of Spanish football referees on a normal day and on a match day.

22 Feb 2012

Telomeres - the indicators of aging - are highly susceptible to stress and depression

Stress has numerous detrimental effects on the human body. Many of these effects are acutely felt by the sufferer, but many more go 'unseen', one of which is shortening of telomere length.

22 Feb 2012

Weight gain or loss may also depend on medicines taken

Weight gain or loss may not always be caused by what you eat or how much you exercise. For some, it's the medicines you're taking.

22 Feb 2012

New triple-therapies found cost-effective for chronic hepatitis C patients with advanced liver disease

A towering $60,000 bill, a year of fierce, flu-like symptoms and a running risk of depression are among the possible costs of two new hepatitis C treatments. But according to Stanford University health policy researchers, they might be worth it.

21 Feb 2012

Some answers about prescription psychiatric drugs

The circumstances of Whitney Houston's demise have dominated headlines and search trends since news outlets first reported of her death. Her struggle with addiction was covered extensively by the media, and even discussed candidly by Houston herself during several high-profile interviews.

20 Feb 2012

Birmingham dermatologist first to offer anti-cellulite Cellulaze procedure

Dr. Barry Ginsburg, a Birmingham, AL based Dermatologist today announced his practice is the first in the state to offer the Cellulaze by Cynosure, the world's first and only minimally invasive medical device designed to treat women who have struggled to eliminate cellulite through diet and exercise, or have tried the myriad of lotions and creams currently on the market.

20 Feb 2012

Gender identity disorder linked with mental health risk in children

The first study to characterize a cohort of U.S. children with diagnosed gender identity disorder, led by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, documents significant mental health risks as children struggle with strong feelings of being born "in the wrong body."

20 Feb 2012

Researchers track structural changes during formation of new memories

New connections between brain cells emerge in clusters in the brain as animals learn to perform a new task, according to a study published in Nature on February 19 (advance online publication). Led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study reveals details of how brain circuits are rewired during the formation of new motor memories.

20 Feb 2012

Modified imatinib cancer drug prevents morphine tolerance in rats

By reformulating the common cancer drug imatinib (Gleevec), researchers have eliminated morphine tolerance in rats - an important step toward improving the effectiveness of chronic pain management in patients, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

20 Feb 2012