March 2010 - Mental Health Update

Meta-cognitive therapy and ADHD

Meta-cognitive therapy (MCT) uses cognitive-behavioural principles and methods to teach skills and strategies in time management, organisation and planning. A study by Mary Solanto from the Mount Sinai Medical Center looked into how effective MCT might...

Published Wed, Mar 31 2010 6:28 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: ADHD, Meta-Cognitive Therapy

A synthetic hormone used to treat people with osteoporosis could also help some people with schizophrenia. Researchers from Monash University in Australia compared the effectiveness of the synthetic oestrogen raloxifene to a placebo. In a small-scale...

Published Wed, Mar 31 2010 6:16 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia, Oestrogen

Massage and depression

Researchers from I-Shou university in Taiwan have been reviewing studies into the effectiveness of massage in treating depression. They looked at 17 studies, covering a total of 786 people. In 13 of the studies massage was compared to another treatment...

Published Wed, Mar 31 2010 2:45 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Massage

Speedy marking, higher grades

Marking students' work more quickly might actually improve their grades. Researchers from the University of Alberta studied students giving a four-minute presentation to their classmates. The students were told when they would receive their marks...

Published Wed, Mar 31 2010 2:32 AM by Mental Health Update

Teletherapy for PTSD

Although teletherapy can seem impersonal it does have a number of advantages. It is cheaper and is more suitable for people who find it hard to get into hospital, either for psychological or geographical reasons. Stephane Guay, from the University of...

Published Fri, Mar 26 2010 7:58 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: PTSD, Telemedicine

Genes and autism

Anthony Monaco from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University and a team of international researchers have been looking into the links between genes and autism in a study of 661 families in the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy and...

Published Fri, Mar 26 2010 7:33 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Autism, Genetics

Loneliness, misery and the web

In the context of human history the Internet is still a relatively recent development and no-one is quite sure of its psychological consequences. Irena Stepanikova from the University of South Carolina studied over 13,000 people asking them about their...

Published Fri, Mar 26 2010 6:56 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Social Support, Internet

Family therapy and upset tummies

Functional abdominal pain - which has no physical cause - is a common problem in children. Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle looked into the effectiveness of family therapy in treating unexplained stomach pain in a study of 200...

Published Thu, Mar 25 2010 7:47 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Family Therapy, Psychosomatic Illness

Stress, TV and obesity make unholy trinity for under-pressure workers

Stress, low levels of physical activity and obesity make up an unholy trinity in under-pressure workers. Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center studied 2,782 employees at a large factory in upstate New York. The researchers found...

Published Thu, Mar 25 2010 7:15 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Obesity, Stress

Teenagers and risk taking

Confirming what most parents probably know already researchers from University College London have found that teenagers are more likely to take risks than children or adults. The researchers' study involved 86 boys and men aged between 9 and 35 who...

Published Thu, Mar 25 2010 3:44 AM by Mental Health Update

Loving mums keep boys out of trouble

Boys who have a closer relationship with their mothers are more likely to be better behaved as they get older. Researchers from Reading University reviewed 69 studies of children under 12 and found that boys who never have a close relationship with their...

Published Thu, Mar 25 2010 3:30 AM by Mental Health Update

Calling all Twitterers

For those of you who use Twitter Carolyn Friedman and the team at the Radiography Schools website have compiled a list of the top 100 Twitter feeds to keep up to date with the latest heath news. You can find the list at http://radiographyschools.org/...

Published Wed, Mar 24 2010 2:37 AM by Mental Health Update

Heavy drinkers, unhealthy lifestyles

People who drink more than is good for them are also unhealthy in lots of other ways. Researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research studied 7,884 people. They defined risky drinkers as those who on average drank more than three drinks...

Published Tue, Mar 23 2010 8:16 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Service Users' Health, Alcohol Problems

Exercise programme helps new mums

An exercise and health-education programme can help new mums to feel happier and reduce their risk of postnatal depression. Researchers from the University of Melbourne studied 161 new mums. 62 of them did an hour of exercise with their babies - led by...

Published Tue, Mar 23 2010 7:43 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Postnatal Depression

Down the slippery slope of Alzheimer's

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a stage which can sometimes - although not always - lead on to Alzheimer's disease. A study of 1,158 people by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago has found that people with MCI often go downhill...

Published Tue, Mar 23 2010 7:23 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease