May 2010 - Mental Health Update - The Network of Care

Helping the weakest where money is scarce

Being brought up in a harsh environment can lead to delays in the development of children's motor skills, social skills and cognition. To intervene effectively health workers in developing countries, where resources are scarce, need straightforward...

Published Mon, May 17 2010 6:54 AM by Mental Health Update

Top guns shoot down suicide rate

There has been no decrease in the overall suicide rate in the U.S. since the 1940s. However, one section of society has achieved a reduction in the last few years - the U.S. Air Force. In 1994 the USAF brought in a suicide prevention programme and a study...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 2:31 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Suicide

Body Dysmorphic Disorder: The Warning Signs - Guest post by Alexis Montgomery

For centuries, women (and some men) have primped, powdered, plucked, and generally fussed over their appearance, sometimes to the point of obsession. But only recently has a syndrome known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) come to light (although cases...

Published Wed, May 26 2010 2:04 AM by Mental Health Update

SHANK2 gene linked to learning disabilities and autism

Variations in a gene called SHANK2 could be linked to both learning disabilities and autism. Researchers from Heidelberg University Hospital studied 396 people with autism and 184 with learning disabilities. They found more variations in the gene in people...

Published Wed, May 26 2010 2:50 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Autism, Genetics, Learning Disabilities

The happy bird catches the earworm

Most people have had the experience, at one time or another, of getting a piece of music stuck in their head. 'Ear worms,' as they are known, are a relatively under-researched phenomenon but Andrea McNally-Gagnon from the University of Montreal...

Published Thu, May 27 2010 2:51 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Earworms

Dozy drinkers less likely to be drunkards

People who feel sleepy after a few drinks might be less likely to develop an alcohol problem. A gene called ADH1B*3 is associated with a lower risk of alcoholism and is found almost exclusively in people with African ancestry. Researchers from the University...

Published Wed, May 05 2010 2:55 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems, Genetics

Self-esteem and psychosis

Recently researchers have been looking as much at the depression and lack of motivation (negative symptoms) associated with schizophrenia as at the delusions and hallucinations (positive symptoms) that are usually associated with it. One factor that may...

Published Fri, May 21 2010 3:57 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Psychosis, Self Esteem

PTSD raises diabetes risk

Post-traumatic stress disorder could raise the risk of developing diabetes. Edward J. Boyko of the Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System studied 44,754 service people enrolled in the Department of Defense's long-term Millennium...

Published Tue, May 25 2010 2:01 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: PTSD, Diabetes

Parents of autistic children no likelier to split up

Parents of children with autism are no more likely to split up than other parents. A figure of 80% of parents of children with autism splitting up has become common currency in the autism 'community' over the last few years but no one really knows...

Published Tue, May 25 2010 3:50 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Autism, Parenting

Young adults' attitudes to mental illness

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the U.S. has been surveying people's attitude to mental illness as part of Mental Health Awareness Month. Overall the survey found that less than half (40%) of Americans believe someone...

Published Wed, May 26 2010 2:31 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Stigma

Optimism and psychosis

Some researchers think that people with a severe mental illness - such as schizophrenia - who are optimistic are more likely to find means to redefine themselves, to accept their condition, to overcome stigmatising beliefs and to actively function in...

Published Fri, May 21 2010 3:36 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Psychosis

Smoking cessation and schizophrenia

Death rates for people with schizophrenia are three times those of the rest of the population. The increased risk is largely due to the fact that people with schizophrenia are two to three times more likely to smoke. However, there has not been that much...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 4:08 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia, Smoking Cessation

Mental Health Social - new networking site

The mental health social site is a social-networking site for people who have a mental illness, people who work in mental health and all those who are concerned about, or interested in it. You can chat or make comments and follow the debate in the forums...

Published Thu, May 20 2010 6:14 AM by Mental Health Update

Magnets make a difference for depression

Magnets could be used to help people suffering from depression. Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina studied the technique of transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy which applies magnets to people's heads to stimulate certain...

Published Tue, May 04 2010 6:14 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

New gene added to schizophrenia risk factors

Although there is no single 'gene for schizophrenia' some genes are known to raise people's risk. Researchers from the Universite de Montreal have carried out a detailed analysis of a large database of patients and added another gene to the...

Published Wed, May 05 2010 2:38 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia, Genetics

May 2010 - Mental Health Update

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