Feature Channels: Mental Health

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Patients who received telephone-delivered collaborative care for treatment of depression after coronary artery bypass graft surgery reported greater improvement in measures of quality of life, physical functioning and mood than patients who received usual care, according to a study in the November 18 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because of its presentation at an American Heart Association scientific conference.

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Many studies have focused on parents as being the best avenue for preventing adolescent marijuana use. According to a new meta-analysis, there is in a fact a strong, reliable link between parental monitoring and decreased marijuana usage in adolescents.

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Chronic pain patients with a history of depression are three times more likely to receive long-term prescriptions for opioid medications like Vicodin compared to pain patients who do not suffer from depression.

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A large new study confirms that people with severe mental disorders are 25 percent to 40 percent more prone to die from heart disease than people without mental illness are.

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After testing behavior of mice lacking the gene, pharmacy researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore say it may play an important role in mood regulation.

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Depression occurs in as many as one-third of patients after a stroke, and women are at somewhat higher risk, according to a large new review of studies.

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With the tragic events at Fort Hood in Texas, the nation’s attention is firmly focused on the physical and psychological well being of America’s armed forces. Since 2005, UMDNJ has operated a New Jersey Veterans’ Helpline, where those in the military - as well as their families - can reach a trained counselor, who also is a military veteran, 24 hours a day.

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They’ve seen horrors, experienced threats and survived traumatic events. Military personnel often come back home with memories they’d rather forget. It’s not understood why some soldiers develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while others don’t. However, many veterans simply don’t ask for help.

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Dr. Keith Flower - a research physician at the Addiction Pharmacology & Research Laboratory in San Francisco, CA - has been awarded a grant to investigate a new medication treatment for methamphetamine addiction. This grant has been awarded to California Pacific Medical Center’s Research Institute through President Obama’s AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009.

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In the wake of several recent highly-publicized stories about violence among school-aged children, a new report shows that school districts participating in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative substantially improved the safety of their students. According to the report by SAMHSA, over a three-year period, school districts participating in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant program reported fewer students involved in violent incidents, decreased levels of experienced and witnessed violence, and improvements in overall school safety and violence prevention.

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The National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE), along with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and representatives from 15 nationally recognized prevention, health professional and child advocacy organizations, are launching Maximizing Your Role as a Teen Influencer: What You Can Do to Help Prevent Teen Prescription Drug Abuse.

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Rush University Medical Center has opened the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinic to offer patients suffering from major depression a safe, effective, non-drug treatment. TMS therapy is the first FDA-approved, non-invasive antidepressant device-based treatment clinically proven for treatment of depression.

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Use of cannabinoids (marijuana) could assist in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder patients. "The results of our research should encourage psychiatric investigation into using cannabinoids in post-traumatic stress patients."

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New research shows that a rare brain disorder that causes early dementia is highly hereditary. The study is published in the November 3, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Individuals who experience both childhood adversity and traumatic events in adulthood appear more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than those exposed to only one of these types of incidents, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, the risk was further increased in individuals with a certain genetic mutation.

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New research shows people who feel depressed tend to recall having more physical symptoms than they actually experienced. The study indicates that depression -- not neuroticism -- is the cause of such over-reporting. Psychologist Jerry Suls, professor and collegiate fellow in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, attributes the findings to depressed individuals recalling experiences differently, tending to ruminate over and exaggerate the bad.

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Davidson College psychology professor Mark Smith has received a grant of almost $1 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to support five years of animal studies to more precisely determine the benefits of exercise at various stages in the addictive process.

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An epidemiological study finds that patients over age 65 with dementia have an increased risk of dying from complications of the flu. The obstacles to early diagnosis and treatment of flu among older patients with dementia include limited access to health care and inadequate testing practices, as well as patients’ difficulty communicating symptoms.

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Johns Hopkins scientists report having used a commercially available drug to successfully “rescue” animal brain cells that they had intentionally damaged by manipulating a newly discovered gene that links susceptibility genes for schizophrenia and autism.

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Adult male monkeys exposed to cocaine while in the womb have poor impulse control and may be more vulnerable to drug abuse than female monkeys, even a decade or more after the exposure, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The findings could lead to a better understanding of human drug abuse.

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Too much light at night can lead to symptoms of depression, according to a new study in mice. Researchers found that mice housed in a lighted room 24 hours a day exhibited more depressive symptoms than did other similar mice.

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Contrary to the findings of some studies, new research indicates that augmenting antidepressant therapy with an omega-3 fatty acid supplement does not result in improvement in levels of depression in patients with coronary heart disease, according to a study in the October 21 issue of JAMA.

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Some veterans provided health care on and off the battlefield, treating serious physical injuries or mental trauma. Others served in combat and sustained injury. On Friday, Oct. 23, they come together on one panel to publicly share their stories, as the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) presents "The Wounds of War: Healthcare On & Off the Battlefield," the latest event in UMDNJ’s President's Lecture Series. The discussion will focus on meeting the health challenges of the men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Evidence reveals that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder have a lower survival rate post-surgery than their veteran peers, even if surgery is performed years following military service completion.

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Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found that the 22q11 gene deletion – a mutation that confers the highest known genetic risk for schizophrenia – is associated with changes in the development of the brain that ultimately affect how its circuit elements are assembled.

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NYU Langone Medical Center has received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to establish a Silvio O. Conte Center for the Neuroscience of Mental Disorders.

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Wives of active-duty soldiers are at risk for psychological problems such as depression, loneliness and burnout, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found.

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In the first published research study of the long-term effects of different treatments for seasonal affective disorder, cognitive behavior therapy proved significantly more effective than light therapy in decreasing depression the following winter.

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Retirees who transition from full-time work into a temporary or part-time job experience fewer major diseases and are able to function better day-to-day than people who stop working altogether, according to a national study.

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Women abused by intimate partners suffer higher rates of a wide variety of doctor-diagnosed medical maladies compared to women who were never abused, according to a new study of more than 3,000 women.

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The division of addiction psychiatry at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has championed efforts to reduce tobacco use among mental health patients, a group estimated to consume nearly half of all cigarettes in the United States. Those efforts have received national recognition by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which granted a Silver Achievement Award to the CHOICES program today at a ceremony in New York City.

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In what is believed to be the first U.S. study designed to prevent anxiety disorders in the children of anxious parents, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center have found that a family-based program reduced symptoms and the risk of developing an anxiety disorder among these children.

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Steven M. Tovian, PhD, ABPP, is an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. To mark World Mental Health Day (Oct. 9), the American Psychological Association spoke with Dr. Tovian about the benefits of including psychologists in primary care and other medical settings and how this integration can lower costs for consumers and insurance companies.

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Individuals who follow the Mediterranean dietary pattern—rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish—appear less likely to develop depression, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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A vaccine to treat cocaine dependence appears to reduce use of the drug in a subgroup of individuals who attain high anticocaine antibody levels in response, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, only 38 percent of vaccinated individuals produced high enough antibody levels and those who did maintained them for only two months.

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Patients who participate in a structured telephone program to manage their depression appear to experience significant benefits and only a moderate increase in health care costs when compared with those who receive usual care, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Nicotine addiction plagues millions. A group of Grinnell College researchers recently uncovered a “key” that may “unlock” proteins and guide efforts to develop treatments for nicotine addiction. The research, conducted by Grinnell biological chemistry students and led by Mark Levandoski, associate professor of chemistry, examined the family of proteins in the nervous system that respond to nicotine.

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The prevalence of mental health disorders in this country has nearly doubled in the past 20 years. Who is treating all of these patients? Clinical psychologists and therapists are charged with the task, but many are falling short by using methods that are out of date and lack scientific rigor.

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Event to coincide with National Depression Screening Day in October.

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New research by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers looks at the specific ways parents and peers influence teenagers to smoke, drink and use marijuana in combination.

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Baylor researchers have built upon prior research and have found that depression and anxiety are the mental illnesses that are dismissed the most often by clergy.

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UNC awarded $8.6 million from NIH over five years to fund center for research in underlying causes of psychiatric disorders, including autism and schizophrenia, and responses to drug therapy.

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Alzheimer's Disease, which affects 5.1 million people age 65 and older, is the most common cause of dementia in late life. Kathryn Douthit, Ph.D., is available to talk about counselors’ roles in reducing the number of future Alzheimer’s dementia cases and share helpful counseling intervention techniques that successfully postpone, if not prevent, these symptoms.

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In a passionate effort to reach young people who might be contemplating suicide, a clinical nurse specialist for psychiatric and behavioral health sciences at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has created an avatar on a national suicide prevention Web site.

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Test anxiety … social angst … money woes. Stressed-out college students are nothing new. But at Iowa State University, they have a new option for dealing with stress: Biofeedback.

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Nurse researchers and clinicians at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) and the Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) are exploring how to prevent the damage excessive stress can do to a young child’s development and how the mind can help speed or slow healing and help control pain.

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The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems has published a 2010 Membership Directory. The directory is a comprehensive referral resource providing information on the nation’s behavioral healthcare systems.

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For children and teens with cancer at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a team of child life specialists work to manage the stress and anxiety that patients may experience in the hospital setting.

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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is alerting medical professionals, substance abuse treatment centers and other public health authorities about the risk that substantial levels of cocaine may be adulterated with levamisole – a veterinary anti-parasitic drug.

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As college freshman arrive on campuses for the first time this week, mental health professional are focusing on helping them make the transition smoothly. Gatekeepers, like resident assistants, are being trained to recognize and report the signs of depression that may lead to student suicides.