Feature Channels: Mental Health

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In a first of its kind randomized trial, researchers from the UCI School of Medicine found therapy dogs to be effective in reducing the symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. The study’s main outcomes were recently published by the American Psychological Association in the Society of Counseling Psychology’s Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin (HAIB). Additional new findings were presented at the International Society for Anthrozoology 2018 Conference held July 2-5 in Sydney, Australia.

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Recent articles in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics investigate metabolic quirks of cancer cells, other roles for the enzyme that generates amyloid beta, and the action mechanism of a bacterial toxin.

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Sugar improves memory in older adults – and makes them more motivated to perform difficult tasks at full capacity – according to new research by the University of Warwick.Led by PhD student Konstantinos Mantantzis, Professor Elizabeth Maylor and Dr Friederike Schlaghecken in Warwick's Department of Psychology, the study found that increasing blood sugar levels not only improves memory and performance, but makes older adults feel happier during a task.

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An analysis of more than 1,000 people with and without psychiatric disorders has shown that nitrates—chemicals used to cure meats such as beef jerky, salami, hot dogs and other processed meat snacks—may contribute to mania, an abnormal mood state. Mania is characterized by hyperactivity, euphoria and insomnia.

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The Keck School of Medicine of USC is leading a $26.5 million effort to conduct the first large-scale, multi-institutional study on African-American men with prostate cancer.

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Mayfield Brain & Spine joins over 100 existing QOD participating centers.

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Mental health and substance abuse issues in adolescents have become major societal problems, forcing parents and health providers to look for innovative treatment options that may better suit some teens. However, some proven therapy programs, like Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH), can be challenging to access because many are not covered by insurance companies – creating an enormous cost burden for parents. Now, a landmark study by researchers at the University of New Hampshire has found that parents of youth who went through an outdoor behavioral program report that their children showed almost three times the improvement after one year than youth who remained in their communities for more traditional treatment.

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Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) refers to deliberate, socially unacceptable destruction of one’s own body tissue performed without the intention to die

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Most people who are familiar with the term associate it with stroke (i.e., brain damage caused by disrupted blood flow to the brain). But aphasia, an impairment of language, is not always caused by stroke.

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Athletes who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be at greater risk for experiencing persistent anxiety and depression after a concussion than people who do not have ADHD, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Sports Concussion Conference in Indianapolis, July 20 to 22, 2018. ADHD is a brain disorder that affects attention and behavior.

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In a “proof of concept” study, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have successfully delivered nano-size packets of genetic code called microRNAs to treat human brain tumors implanted in mice. The contents of the super-small containers were designed to target cancer stem cells, a kind of cellular “seed” that produces countless progeny and is a relentless barrier to ridding the brain of malignant cells.

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Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative condition that often begins with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), making early and repeated assessments of cognitive change crucial to diagnosis and treatment. In a paper in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, researchers led by scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that repeated testing of middle-age men produced a “practice effect” which obscured true cognitive decline and delayed detection of MCI.

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Soccer players who head the ball more often may be more likely to have balance problems than players who do not head the ball as often, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Sports Concussion Conference in Indianapolis July 20 to 22, 2018.

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James “Jimmy” D. Lackie has been named chairman of the board of directors of Youth Villages, the national nonprofit organization headquartered in Memphis.

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Living at higher latitudes, where there is also less sunlight, could result in a higher prevalence rate of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

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Scientists have discovered a “Big Bang” of Alzheimer’s disease – the precise point at which a healthy protein becomes toxic but has not yet formed deadly tangles in the brain.

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The National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC) has joined forces with the National Network of Depression Centers India (NNDC– I) to help people who suffer from depression, bipolar disorder and other mood disorders in India.

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A new study led by University of Alabama at Birmingham Researchers shows that multivitamins and mineral supplements do not prevent heart attacks, strokes or cardiovascular death.

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New Yorkers are getting heavier. And, like people across the country, many have difficulty sleeping and are suffering from depression. Diabetes rates in NYC remain high and racial and ethnic disparities persist.

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New research from the University of Georgia reveals that exposure to famine during specific moments in early life is associated with depression later in life.

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McMaster University researchers have developed a new theory on Huntington’s disease which is being welcomed for showing promise to open new avenues of drug development for the condition.

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Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found a nanobody that holds promise to advance targeted therapies for a number of neurological diseases and cancer.

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Exposing newborn mice to vaginal microbes from stressed female mice may transfer the effects of stress to the newborns, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. These changes resemble those seen specifically in the male offspring of moms that were stressed during pregnancy.

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A new study finds that severe childhood trauma and stresses early in parents' lives are linked to higher rates of behavioral health problems in their own children.

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Especially at longer follow-up times, overweight and obesity are associated with chronic disease risks for survivors of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), reports a study in the July/August issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR). The official journal of the Brain Injury Association of America, JHTR is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

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Researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego have found that the cost for the 10 “highest spend” medications in Medicare Part D — the U.S. federal government’s primary prescription drug benefit for older citizens — rose almost one-third between 2011 and 2015, even as the number of persons using these drugs dropped by the same amount.

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Nearly all major neurodegenerative diseases are defined by the presence of one of four proteins that have gone rogue. As such, investigational drugs aimed at preventing or slowing the disease often hone in on just one of these proteins. However, targeting multiple proteins at once may be the real key, according to a recent Penn Medicine study.

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A first-of-its-kind study has found that “skinny fat” – the combination of low muscle mass and strength in the context of high fat mass – may be an important predictor of cognitive performance in older adults. Results show that sarcopenic obesity or “skinny fat” was associated with the lowest performance on global cognition.

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People who have been exposed to paint, varnish and other solvents and who also carry genes that make them more susceptible to developing multiple sclerosis (MS) may be at much greater risk of developing the disease than people who have only the exposure to solvents or the MS genes, according to a study published in the July 3, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics initiated and led a collaborative of more than a dozen health organizations in strongly encouraging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to ensure the mental and physical well-being of children affected by its immigration policy.

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Older adults living in public senior housing communities experience a large degree of loneliness, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.Nevertheless, senior housing communities may be ideal locations for reducing that loneliness, the study finds.“There are many studies on loneliness among community-dwelling older adults; however, there is limited research examining the extent and correlates of loneliness among older adults who reside in senior housing communities,” wrote Harry Chatters Taylor, doctoral student at the Brown School and lead author of “Loneliness in Senior Housing Communities,” published in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.

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Sex plays a role in hypertension, diabetes, arthritis – and in many neurological and psychiatric disorders. To better understand the molecular underpinnings of this disparity, Tracy Bale of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, along with several colleagues, focused on a molecule that plays a key role in placental health. In a study of mice, they found that the molecule, O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) works by establishing sex-specific patterns of gene expression.

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Brain activity is driven by encounters with external stimuli and situations, simultaneously occurring with internal mental processes. A team of researchers from Stanford University, with funding from the NIH BRAIN Initiative, has discovered how the brain dynamically handles cognitive tasks while it also is engaged in internal mental processes.

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In this study, BIDMC researchers developed a means of tracking the activity of the far-reaching ends of retinal neurons (called boutons) as they deliver visual information to the thalamus, a brain region involved in image processing.

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Stimulating the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for controlling complex ideas and behaviors, can reduce a person’s intention to commit a violent act by more than 50 percent, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania and Nanyang Technological University.

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A regimen of low-dose aspirin potentially may reduce plaques in the brain, which will reduce Alzheimer’s disease pathology and protect memory, according to neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center, who published the results of their study today in the July issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

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Researchers in Arizona State University’s Department of Psychology received a five-year grant for just under $2.5 million from the USDA to implement an intervention program that targets childhood obesity in a novel way: by teaching parenting skills.

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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) may slow the progression of tremor for early-stage Parkinson’s disease patients, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study released in the June 29 online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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If you’ve ever had a migraine, you know it’s different from a typical tension headache. Check out these tips from neurologist Sait Ashina, MD, for avoiding common migraine triggers.

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Geriatrics is being elevated to its own clinical department, just like other specialties, such as Surgery, Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery. The move comes as the population over the age of 65 continues to increase.

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Researchers in the School of Public Health are conducting a clinical trial to see whether psilocybin, the active compound found in Psilocybe mushrooms, will help individuals addicted to cocaine stop using the harmful drug.

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When tragic or violent events occur, parents may wonder about how to help their kids understand the graphic images and emotional video footage that they may see. Stephanie Marcy, PhD, psychologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles suggests a few guidelines to keep in mind so parents can be better equipped to help their children handle scary news.

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Migraine headaches can strike any time and be debilitating, making it impossible to work or enjoy even life’s simple pleasures. They affect approximately 12 percent of the population living in the U.S. and are three times more prevalent in women than men. The neurology team at UC Davis provides excellent care and outcomes for migraine sufferers. In this Q&A Marc Lenaerts, director of outpatient neurology and a headache medicine specialist, discusses the condition and how to manage it.

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UT Southwestern researchers today published the first atomic structure of a brain receptor bound to a drug used to reverse anesthesia and to treat sedative overdoses.

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Exercise may be just as crucial to a depression patient’s good health as finding an effective antidepressant.

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A genetically modified poliovirus therapy developed at Duke Cancer Institute shows significantly improved long-term survival for patients with recurrent glioblastoma, with a three-year survival rate of 21 percent in a phase 1 clinical trial.

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Loyola Medicine neurologist José Biller, MD, is co-editor of an authoritative new textbook on uncommon causes of stroke. "Uncommon Causes of Stroke" is a comprehensive guide for healthcare professionals diagnosing, treating and assessing complex causes of strokes and other cerebrovascular disorders.

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