January 2010 - Mental Health Update

Diabetes and dementia

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is often seen as a precursor to dementia but there is no real way of knowing which people with MCI will go on to suffer from dementia. Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, followed 103...

Published Fri, Jan 15 2010 7:38 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease, Diabetes

The pushchair pill poppers

Toddlers in the U.S. are being prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs and the number has doubled over the past decade. Mark Olfson from Columbia University in New York studied the records of children with private medical insurance between 2000 and 2007...

Published Fri, Jan 15 2010 7:20 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Psychology, Antipsychotics

Army wives feel the strain

Needless to say serving on the front line can have adverse effects on servicemen and women's mental health but new research from the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health has shown the effect war can have on the...

Published Fri, Jan 15 2010 6:46 AM by Mental Health Update

Mind the Difference

Mind the difference is an Italian non-profit organization which aims to reduce the stigma around mental illness. They are launching a competition for short videos, between three and five minutes in length exploring the differences between 'normality'...

Published Thu, Jan 14 2010 6:36 AM by Mental Health Update

Reasons to Go on Living

The Reasons to Go on Living Project is an initiative by McMaster University and St Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario which aims to collect the stories of people who have thought about killing themselves but decided not to. The site aims to...

Published Thu, Jan 14 2010 5:13 AM by Mental Health Update

Cocaine and sudden death

More than 3% of sudden deaths in Europe are caused by cocaine use. Researchers at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Seville studied sudden deaths in South-West Spain between 2003 and 2006 and found that 3.1% of them were related to taking cocaine which...

Published Wed, Jan 13 2010 2:32 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Cocaine

High blood pressure and Alzheimer's disease

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have added more evidence to support the link between high blood pressure and Alzheimer's disease. They studied 1,424 women aged 65 or over who had their blood pressure checked every year and who had regular...

Published Wed, Jan 13 2010 2:15 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease

Gene is linked to reduced Alzheimer's risk

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have found a gene that is associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. People with two copies of the gene - which is called CETP - had a 70% reduced risk of developing...

Published Wed, Jan 13 2010 1:51 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease

Mephedrone is the new drug on the U.K. club scene

People who want to get high and the authorities often engage in a game of cat and mouse with new drugs emerging as old ones are clamped down on. The latest 'legal high' to appear on the U.K. club scene is mephedrone which is usually snorted, although...

Published Wed, Jan 13 2010 1:33 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Mephedrone

FDA warning reduced antipsychotic use in dementia patients

Antipsychotics are often used as a 'chemical cosh' to control behaviour problems in people with dementia. Studies have shown that this can have damaging effects on people's health and in 2005 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued...

Published Tue, Jan 12 2010 7:30 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease, Antipsychotics - side effects

Brain waves, attention and ADHD

Researchers from the University of California Davis have been analyzing brain activity in children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). The children were led to expect either a visual or auditory signal and their brain activity was monitored...

Published Tue, Jan 12 2010 7:11 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: ADHD

Exercise and memory problems: more new evidence

Two studies from the U.S. have added to the evidence that exercise can help to stave off memory problems as we get older. In the first study researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine compared two groups of 70-year-olds with mild...

Published Tue, Jan 12 2010 6:46 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Memory Problems, Older People, Exercise and Mental Health

Counting the cost of alcohol abuse in Scotland

A report by economists at York University has attempted to put a price on the cost of alcohol abuse in Scotland and has put the price of the nation's bar tab at a hefty £900 a year for every adult. The report estimated the cost of drinking at between...

Published Tue, Jan 12 2010 6:29 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems

Measuring the effects of respite care

Carers of people with mental illness often suffer from an increased burden, distress, health problems and lower life satisfaction. Respite care involves relieving carers of their duties by employing professional carers and volunteers for a short time...

Published Mon, Jan 11 2010 6:08 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Social Support, Service Users' Families

How effective are antidepressants?

Antidepressants could be little better than a placebo for all but the most severe depression. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia carried out a data analysis combining information from six different trials covering a total...

Published Fri, Jan 08 2010 7:39 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Antidepressants, Depression - medication