Feature Channels: Mental Health

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A new study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine from researchers at the University of Oviedo in Spain, St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University Pennsylvania found a molecular mechanism that may explain the connection between mechanical ventilation and hippocampal damage in ICU patients.

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Cancer patients can be accurately screened for major depression with a simple two-question survey, according to a study presented Sept. 23 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s 55th Annual Meeting.

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When we’re born, our brains aren’t very organized, but as we grow and learn, things get a bit more stable. How and why does this happen -- and what happens when it doesn’t go normally? Researchers have made a major stride in understanding this process, called synapse maturation.

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Adding mood management strategies to smoking cessation programs helped people with depression or a history of depression quit smoking for longer periods than a standard program, finds a new review in The Cochrane Library.

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About half of smokers seeking treatment for smoking cessation have a history of depression. Compared with smokers who are not depressed, those who suffer from a major depressive disorder (MDD) have greater difficulty quitting.

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The hormone oxytocin could play a role in treating psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, according to a review article in the September Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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University of Iowa psychiatry professor Nancy Andreasen has published a study using brain scans to document the effects of schizophrenia on brain tissue. The findings may help doctors better understand the origin of the illness and the best ways to treat it. Findings appear in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

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Adding a mental health component to school-based lifestyle programs for teens could be key to lowering obesity, improving grades, alleviating severe depression and reducing substance use, a new study suggests.

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Talking to someone about suicide will increase the chances that they will act on it -- true or false? False. The truth: When someone is in crisis or depressed, asking if he or she is thinking about suicide can help. Giving a person an opportunity to open up and share their troubles can help alleviate their pain and open a path to solutions. This is just one of many suicide prevention myths to debunk as we approach World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10.

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Mental Health disorders are the leading cause of hospital bed days and the second leading cause of medical encounters among active component service members in the U.S. Military, according to a new study.

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Researchers at Penn Medicine, along with colleagues from UCSD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Thomas Jefferson University, explored the distinctions between anesthetic unconsciousness and sleep by manipulating the genetic pathways known to be involved in natural sleep and studying the resulting effects on anesthetic states. Their work is published in PLOS Genetics.

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Behavioral abnormalities are traditionally thought to originate in the brain. But a new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found that inner-ear dysfunction can directly cause neurological changes that increase hyperactivity.

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Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) shows early evidence as an effective tool in improving medical regimen adherence in adolescents with chronic kidney disease (CKD), enabling them to accept their illness, have a better quality of life and gain eligibility for organ transplantation.

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The sum total of adverse working conditions explains a substantial portion of the risk of depression in working-age adults, suggests a study in the September Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

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A suicide prevention expert has called for the term "homicide bomber" to replace the widely used "suicide bomber", because he says people who kill themselves while murdering others have few similarities to actual suicide victims.

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Schizophrenia is one of the most devastating neurological conditions, with only 30 percent of sufferers ever experiencing full recovery. While current medications can control most psychotic symptoms, their side effects can leave individuals so severely impaired that the disease ranks among the top ten causes of disability in developed countries.

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A new drug target to treat depression and other mood disorders may lie in a group of GABA neurons shown to contribute to symptoms like social withdrawal and increased anxiety, Penn Medicine researchers report in a new study in the Journal of Neuroscience.

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A new genome-wide association study (GWAS) estimates the number of different places in the human genome that are involved in schizophrenia. In particular, the study identifies 22 locations, including 13 that are newly discovered, that are believed to play a role in causing schizophrenia.

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Prescribing of “atypical” antipsychotic medications to children and young adults with behavioral problems or mood disorders may put them at unnecessary risk for type 2 diabetes, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study shows. Young people using medications like risperidone, quetiapine, aripiprazol and olanzapine led to a threefold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes within the first year of taking the drug, according to the study published Aug. 21 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

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Grandmothers who care for their grandkids fulltime need help for depression and family strains, report researchers from the Case Western Reserve University’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing.

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Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have found a series of RNA biomarkers in blood that may help identify who is at risk for committing suicide.

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While children of all ages will be heading back to school in a few days, a new study from the Université de Montréal may encourage their parents to return to the classroom themselves ... at least for a few evenings! The results of a study in developmental psychology published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies show that the How-to Parenting Program improves the mental health of children.

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UCLA researchers have discovered that creating a personal website to chronicle the cancer experience and communicate with the author’s interpersonal circle can reduce depressive symptoms, increase positive mood, and enhance appreciation for life in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

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Researchers from Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic have created “What you should know about mental health in youth with epilepsy,” an information booklet and CD that answers questions about children’s medical and psychological issues.

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A new study shows that grandparents and grandchildren have real, measurable effects on each other’s psychological well-being long into grandchildren’s adulthood.

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Full activation of a protein ensemble essential for communication between nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord requires the rocking motion of some of the ensemble’s segments. The ensemble is known to be defective in neurological disorders like epilepsy and Parkinson's so this insight has important implications.

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Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have decoded an important molecular signal that guides the development of a key region of the brain known as the neocortex.

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When it comes to some of the health hazards of light at night, a new study in hamsters suggests that the color of the light can make a big difference.

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Contrary to past concerns, using prolonged exposure therapy to treat patients with PTSD and comorbid alcohol dependence does not increase drinking or cravings, Penn Medicine psychiatrists report in the August 7 issue of JAMA.

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A review of articles on disaster and emergency mental health response interventions and services indicates that in postdisaster settings, a systematic framework of case identification, triage, and mental health interventions should be integrated into emergency medicine and trauma care responses, according to a study in the August 7 issue of JAMA.

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In a trial that included patients with alcohol dependence and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment with the drug naltrexone resulted in a decrease in the percentage of days drinking while use of the PTSD treatment, prolonged exposure therapy, was not associated with increased drinking or alcohol craving, according to a study in the August 7 issue of JAMA.

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In an examination of risk factors associated with suicide in current and former military personnel observed 2001 and 2008, male sex and mental disorders were independently associated with suicide risk but not military-specific variables, findings that do not support an association between deployment or combat with suicide, according to a study in the August 7 issue of JAMA.

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Mental health services should be integrated into disaster response as part of emergency services planning, according to a new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center psychiatrists who completed an exhaustive review of articles on the aftereffects of disasters on mental health.

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A collaborative team of researchers including scientists from UCLA has uncovered evidence that a specific genetic alteration appears to contribute to schizophrenia. They also found that schizophrenia shares a common biological pathway with Fragile X mental retardation syndrome.

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A team of researchers says it has solved the longstanding puzzle of why a key protein linked to learning is also needed to become addicted to cocaine. Results of the study, published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Cell, describe how the learning-related protein works with other proteins to forge new pathways in the brain in response to a drug-induced rush of the “pleasure” molecule dopamine. By adding important detail to the process of addiction, the researchers, led by a group at Johns Hopkins, say the work may point the way to new treatments.

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Johns Hopkins Nursing researchers focus on the discrimination-depression link, herpes tests for teens, the baby-mom bond, violence against women across the globe, and more in the July-August 2013 research news briefs.

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Mandating outpatient treatment for certain people with serious mental illness, while controversial, results in substantial cost savings by cutting hospitalizations and increasing outpatient care, according to a financial analysis conducted by researchers at Duke University School of Medicine, RTI International, Policy Research Associates, Harvard Medical School, and University of Virginia School of Law.

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Mandating outpatient treatment for certain people with severe mental illness, while controversial, results in substantial cost savings by cutting hospitalizations and increasing outpatient care, according to a financial analysis led by researchers at Duke Medicine.

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A good state of mind — that is, your happiness — affects your genes, say scientists from UCLA's Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and the University of North Carolina. They examined how positive psychology impacts human gene expression and found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome.

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Less contact during practice could mean a lot less exposure to head injuries for young football players, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Virginia Tech.

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Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has long been considered the most effective treatment of medication-resistant depression. But millions of people don’t take advantage of it because of the side effects and misperception of the therapy.

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A small percentage of people diagnosed with a mysterious neurological condition may only experience psychiatric changes - such as delusional thinking, hallucinations, and aggressive behavior - according to a new study by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Bipolar disorder evolves differently in patients who also binge eat, a study by Mayo Clinic, the Lindner Center of HOPE and the University of Minnesota found.

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Veterans participating in extended outdoor group recreation show signs of improved mental health, suggesting a link between the activities and long-term psychological well-being, according to results of a new University of Michigan study.

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Blacks and Latinos receive less adequate mental health care than Whites, finds a new study in Health Services Research.

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Duke Medicine researchers have identified biochemical changes in people taking antidepressants – but only in those whose depression improves. These changes occur in a neurotransmitter pathway that is connected to the pineal gland, the part of the endocrine system that controls the sleep cycle, suggesting an added link between sleep, depression and treatment outcomes.

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Vitamin and mineral supplements can enhance mental energy and well-being not only for healthy adults but for those prone to anxiety and depression, according to a July 15 panel discussion at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo® held at McCormick Place.

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Vacations are supposed to be restful, but as we head into the peak season, a psychologist cautions that vacation travel also can pose risks to your mental and physical health.

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