Feature Channels: Mental Health

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It is quite common for patients who have had heart surgery to experience anxiety and short-term memory loss as side effects. New research from Ryerson University has found that heart-surgery patients experiencing these conditions are less successful at self-managing care and risk re-admission to hospital.

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In the wake of the recent Newtown, Connecticut, massacre that left 27 victims dead, including 20 elementary school students, the American Sociological Association (ASA) has sociologists available to discuss school shootings and how families and communities recover from these types of tragedies.

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Three sociologists have co-authored a study that helps to fill a gap in our understanding of suicide risk among African-American women. The study examines the relationship between racial and gender discrimination and suicidal ideation, or thinking about and desiring to commit suicide.

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Even before obesity occurs, eating fatty and sugary foods causes chemical changes in the brain, meaning that going on a diet might feel similar to going through drug withdrawal, according to a study published today by Dr. Stephanie Fulton of the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated CRCHUM Hospital Research Centre.

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The holidays are usually a time for people to celebrate with their friends and family over dinner parties and gatherings. But it’s also a time when others feel slightly overwhelmed and anxious. Dr. Colleen Carney, a sleep and depression expert and psychology professor at Ryerson University, offers this survival guide to help get people through the blues this festive season.

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As winter begins, temperatures drop and hours of daylight fade, it’s not uncommon for people to begin feeling sluggish, moody or stuck in a funk. Those symptoms are typical of someone experiencing seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a type of depression that typically occurs during the winter. As many as 1 in 5 Americans have SAD, and 75 percent are women, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

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Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders among people with epilepsy. A review of studies shows that between 32% and 48% of people suffer from depression, impacting quality of life and family functioning more even than seizure frequency.

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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System have found that deficiencies in the neural processing of simple auditory tones can evolve into a cascade of dysfunctional information processing across wide swaths of the brain in patients with schizophrenia.

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Collaborative care, a model that involves multiple clinicians working with a patient, significantly improves depression and anxiety outcomes compared to standard primary care treatment for up to two years, finds a new review by The Cochrane Library.

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A team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego and the Institut Pasteur, Paris has come up with a novel way to describe a time-dependent brain development based on coherent–gene-groups (CGGs) and transcription-factors (TFs) hierarchy. The findings could lead to new drug designs for mental disorders such as autism-spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia.

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Behavior problems, not depression, are linked to lower grades for depressed adolescents, according to a study in the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

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Reduced production of myelin, a type of protective nerve fiber that is lost in diseases like multiple sclerosis, may also play a role in the development of mental illness, according to researchers at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

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In older adults, antipsychotic drugs are commonly prescribed off-label for a number of disorders outside of their Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indications – schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The largest number of antipsychotic prescriptions in older adults is for behavioral disturbances associated with dementia, some of which carry FDA warnings on prescription information for these drugs.

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One in 5 American adults aged 18 or older, or 45.6 million people, had mental illness in the past year, according to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

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A study published by Oregon Health and Sciences University in The Journal of Pain showed that patients on higher doses of opioids had higher rates of psychiatric problems, co-prescriptions of sedatives and health care services utilization.

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Many of dementia’s behavioral symptoms can be managed well without medications.

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Teens who participate in after-school arts activities such as music, drama and painting are more likely to report feeling depressed or sad than students who are not involved in these programs, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

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McMaster scientists have uncovered evidence that the gene FTO – the major genetic contributor to obesity – is associated with an eight per cent reduction in the risk of depression.

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First paper to examine changes in the method of suicide committed in the U.S. over the past decade.

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Could the emergency room be a good place to spot undiagnosed eating disorders among teens, and help steer them to treatment? A new study suggests that could be the case.

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An eating disorders research team led by Stephen Wonderlich, PhD. has developed a successful bulimia nervosa therapy that can provide patients an alternative for treating this debilitating disorder.

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University of Cincinnati researchers report on the positive connections that offset tragedies among teenagers.

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Low levels of omega-3 may be behind postpartum depression, according to a review lead by Gabriel Shapiro of the University of Montreal and the Research Centre at the Sainte-Justine Mother and Child Hospital.

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Exposure to too much bright light at night may increase the risk of depression and cognitive issues.

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Despite high access to health care, doctors are less likely to seek mental health treatment; trouble at work is associated with higher suicide risk for physicians

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High levels of family stress in infancy are linked to differences in everyday brain function and anxiety in teenage girls, according to new results of a long-running population study by University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists.

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Although schizophrenia is highly genetic in origin, the genes involved in the disorder have been difficult to identify. In the past few years, researchers have implicated several genes, but it is unclear how they act to produce the disorder. A new study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center identifies affected gene networks and provides insight into the molecular causes of the disease. The paper was published today in the online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

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Animals that are socially isolated for prolonged periods make less myelin in the region of the brain responsible for complex emotional and cognitive behavior, researchers at the University at Buffalo and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine report in Nature Neuroscience online.

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Depression is higher in men and women with rheumatoid arthritis, and may increase mortality in this population, according to new research findings presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

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Older women with osteoarthritis who view themselves as dependent on others because they seek help to perform daily activities — such as housework — experience more sadness and depressed moods, according to new research findings presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

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Dream images could provide insights into people's mental health problems and may help with their treatment, according to a psychology researcher from the University of Adelaide.

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Whether supporting President Barack Obama or Governor Mitt Romney, this year’s election will take people on a roller coaster of emotions from elation to anger depending on the results. To deal with post-election blues, Harris Health System psychiatrist Dr. Asim Shah prescribes a strong dose of no TV, radio, social media and Internet coverage.

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The upheaval brought about by a natural disaster the likes of Hurricane Sandy forces us to reorganize how we see the world. "Totally capable individuals under other circumstances don’t know what to do,” said Henri Roca, MD, who explains a coping strategy he deployed in New Orleans after Katrina.

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Parents with social anxiety disorder are more likely than parents with other forms of anxiety to engage in behaviors that put their children at high risk for developing angst of their own, according to a small study of parent-child pairs conducted at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

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Results of a Johns Hopkins study suggest that individuals with schizophrenia are significantly more likely to live longer if they take their antipsychotic drugs on schedule, avoid extremely high doses and also regularly see a mental health professional.

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Elevated risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, neonatal health complications and possible longer term neurobehavioral abnormalities, including autism, suggest that a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) should only be prescribed with great caution and with full counseling for women experiencing depression and attempting to get pregnant, say researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center and MetroWest Medical Center.

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Mayo Clinic researchers are presenting new findings on the early treatment of child and adolescent attention deficit hyperactivity disorder this week at the American Academy of Childhood and Adolescent Psychiatry annual meeting in San Francisco. They include a method to get better input from parents and teachers of children who are being diagnosed with ADHD for the first time -- allowing for more effective treatment upon the first consultation. Researchers also showed how a tool can help clinicians better diagnose and treat children who have both ADHD and oppositional defiance disorder.

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Study provides the first evidence suggesting that the empathy deficits in patients with brain damage to the anterior insular cortex are surprisingly similar to the empathy deficits found in several psychiatric diseases, including autism spectrum disorders, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and conduct disorders, suggesting potentially common neural deficits in those psychiatric populations.

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A UCLA-led team of experts has tested a proposed set of criteria to define “Hypersexual Disorder” (HD), as a new mental health condition, and found the proposed criteria to be reliable and valid. The results will influence whether HD should be included in the forthcoming revised fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) considered the “bible” of psychiatry.

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CHOP tool helps parents identify values, priorities; prompt doctors to ask helpful questions.

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Q&A with Eric Youngstrom, PhD, on bipolar disorder.

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An increased risk of suicidal ideation -- thoughts of harming or killing oneself -- in adolescents appears to be associated with recent victimization, such as by peers, sexual assault, and maltreatment, according to new research conducted by the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center.

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Two fourth-year SLU medical students aim to spread awareness about teen suicide and measures to prevent it through a video.