Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Sleep disorders cost the economy billions

New figures reveal that sleep disorders are costing the Australian economy more than $5.1 billion each year. The staggering amount covers health costs and loss of productivity for the more than 1.5 million workers suffering from sleep disorders including sleep apnea and insomnia.

3 Feb 2012

Addiction could be a legacy from parents: Study

Researchers have found that like other inherited traits – addiction could be a legacy from parents. A child of drug-addicted parents is eight times more likely to become an addict than a child growing up in a drug-free home. However in families whose very brains seem primed for addiction, some children still go on to lead productive lives free of drugs, according to new research.

3 Feb 2012

Doctors, NPs often issue orders to HIV patients to maintain adherence- Problem solving rare

Take your medicine, Doctor's orders. It's a simple idea that may seem especially obvious when the pills are the antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that add decades to the lives of HIV-positive patients.

3 Feb 2012

Mental illness suspect genes are among the most environmentally responsive regulatory mechanisms

For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub.

3 Feb 2012

Longer looks: Enhanced scrutiny of IVF clinics; School-based health care

Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich hit upon a reproductive minefield on Sunday when he called for deeper scrutiny of in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics, where women go for high-tech help to conceive.

3 Feb 2012

CNA/NNU announce support for Millionaires Tax of 2012 initiative

With ongoing cuts to healthcare, education, and other basic services, and greater national income disparity than during the Depression, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United today announced its support for the Millionaires Tax of 2012 initiative.

3 Feb 2012

Transcranial magnetic stimulation that treats depression gains momentum

A new magnetic therapy that treats major depression "is rapidly gaining momentum," said Dr. Murali Rao of Loyola University Medical Center, one of the first Chicago-area centers to offer the treatment.

3 Feb 2012

State roundup: Iowa Senate provides $5M for mental health; UMass health to cut 6% of workforce; Judge considers making Wash. pharmacies sell Plan B

The bill also allocates $5 million more from what is known as the Mental Health Risk Pool. The pool was created about a decade ago to keep counties with financial shortfalls from denying care to people with mental disorders or retardation. Linn County, for example, will receive $1.2 million of the extra money.

3 Feb 2012

Insurance news: Sen. Feinstein supports state review of rate increases; Anthem plans in Colo. and Conn. to pay extra for coordinated care

Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced she is supporting a ballot measure to give California regulators the power to approve health insurance rates. In other news, Blue Shield in California says it will cover an autism behavioral therapy and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Colorado and Connecticut announce plans to pay doctors for coordinating care.

3 Feb 2012

Version of 'Goldilocks' gene could determine future treatment for TB patients

'Goldilocks' gene could determine best treatment for TB patients Tuberculosis patients may receive treatments in the future according to what version they have of a single 'Goldilocks' gene, says an international research team from Oxford University, King's College London, Vietnam and the USA.

3 Feb 2012

Assay analyzing multiple biomarkers could be valuable aid to diagnose major depression

The initial assessment of a blood test to help diagnose major depressive disorder indicates it may become a useful clinical tool. In a paper published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, a team including Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers reports that a test analyzing levels of nine biomarkers accurately distinguished patients diagnosed with depression from control participants without significant false-positive results.

2 Feb 2012

Researchers reveal how antipsychotics affect metabolism by SMAD3 activation

In a paper published January 31 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) reveal how antipsychotic drugs interfere with normal metabolism by activating a protein called SMAD3, an important part of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) pathway.

2 Feb 2012

State roundup: Mass. lawmakers fight Medicare charges

A Monterey County hospital district, which came under fire last year for giving its chief executive one of the largest public pensions in California history, announced this week that several other top officials are receiving generous retirement packages.

2 Feb 2012

Annual Depression on College Campuses Conference to be held March 7-8

How can college students draw upon their own strengths, resilience, and sense of social connectedness to help them maintain mental health and wellness? Researchers, students and U-M community members will discuss this question at the annual Depression on College Campuses Conference, held March 7-8. The conference - which is marking its 10th anniversary - features workshops and sessions focused on reframing the discussion about mental health on college campuses by emphasizing the importance of student strengths in preventing depression.

2 Feb 2012

State roundup: Iowa reconsiders lawmakers' benefits

Two bills introduced in the Iowa House last week would curtail benefits for lawmakers. ... House File 2118 also removes per diem and daily allowances from inclusion in lawmakers' pension calculations, but also requires members and employees of the General Assembly to pay a portion of their health-insurance premiums. That premium payment would have to be at least $100 a month.

1 Feb 2012

Study finds no link between BDV and psychiatric illness

Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have linked Borna disease virus (BDV) with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and dementia. Genetic fragments and antibodies to this RNA virus, which causes behavior disorders in a range of mammals and birds, have been found to be prevalent in psychiatric patients, but study results have been inconsistent. Now, the first blinded, case-control study to examine this issue finds no association between the virus and psychiatric illness.

1 Feb 2012

Exercise training can combat depressive symptoms in patients with chronic illness

Combat feelings of sadness that often accompany chronic illness with a good work-out, say University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers in a study published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

1 Feb 2012

Most young people do not receive emergency mental health assessment after deliberate self-harm

A national study of Medicaid data shows most young people who present to emergency departments with deliberate self-harm are discharged to the community, without receiving an emergency mental health assessment.

1 Feb 2012

Link between maternal nurturing and size of hippocampus in healthy children

School-age children whose mothers nurtured them early in life have brains with a larger hippocampus, a key structure important to learning, memory and response to stress. The new research, by child psychiatrists and neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is the first to show that changes in this critical region of children's brain anatomy are linked to a mother's nurturing.

31 Jan 2012

Caffeine intake may change a woman’s estrogen levels: Study

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at more than 250 women ages 18 to 44, and found that for white women, caffeine appeared to lower estrogen levels, while in Asian women it seemed to raise them.

31 Jan 2012

Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Sleep disorders cost the economy billions

Addiction could be a legacy from parents: Study

Doctors, NPs often issue orders to HIV patients to maintain adherence- Problem solving rare

Mental illness suspect genes are among the most environmentally responsive regulatory mechanisms

Longer looks: Enhanced scrutiny of IVF clinics; School-based health care

CNA/NNU announce support for Millionaires Tax of 2012 initiative

Transcranial magnetic stimulation that treats depression gains momentum

State roundup: Iowa Senate provides $5M for mental health; UMass health to cut 6% of workforce; Judge considers making Wash. pharmacies sell Plan B

Insurance news: Sen. Feinstein supports state review of rate increases; Anthem plans in Colo. and Conn. to pay extra for coordinated care

Version of 'Goldilocks' gene could determine future treatment for TB patients

Assay analyzing multiple biomarkers could be valuable aid to diagnose major depression

Researchers reveal how antipsychotics affect metabolism by SMAD3 activation

State roundup: Mass. lawmakers fight Medicare charges

Annual Depression on College Campuses Conference to be held March 7-8

State roundup: Iowa reconsiders lawmakers' benefits

Study finds no link between BDV and psychiatric illness

Exercise training can combat depressive symptoms in patients with chronic illness

Most young people do not receive emergency mental health assessment after deliberate self-harm

Link between maternal nurturing and size of hippocampus in healthy children

Caffeine intake may change a woman’s estrogen levels: Study

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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