May 2010 - Mental Health Update - The Network of Care

Expanding waistlines and shrinking brains

Having a pot belly in middle age could raise people's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Dr Sudha Seshadri from Boston University School of Medicine led a study of over 700 people with an average age of 60. The participants had their body...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 2:12 AM by Mental Health Update

Vaccination and cognition: researchers find no impact

Many parents worry about their children getting a large number of vaccinations at the same time. Researchers from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky looked into this issue in a study of 1,000 children, all of whom were under 13...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 1:50 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Development, Vaccination

Legal highs still available

Just weeks after the UK government banned the party drug mephedrone new 'legal highs' are cropping up on the Internet. An investigation by researchers from BBC Wales found 400 other drugs available on the Internet being sold as 'research chemicals'...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 1:38 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

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

Art therapy, anxiety and asthma

Children with asthma can often also suffer from anxiety; something that tends to make their condition worse. Anya Beebe, an art therapist at the National Jewish Health in Denver led a study into whether art therapy could help children with asthma feel...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 3:47 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Asthma, Anxiety, Art Therapy

Creativity and schizophrenia: is the thalamus the missing link?

Creativity and mental illness have long been linked in the popular imagination and there is also research evidence to suggest that creative people have a higher likelihood of mental illness in their family and a slightly-raised risk of bipolar disorder...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 3:27 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia, Creativity

CALM programme helps tackle anxiety symptoms

Researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle have been looking into more flexible ways to help people suffering from anxiety. Their study looked into the effectiveness of an intervention called CALM - Coordinated Anxiety...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 4:36 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Anxiety

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

All the lonely people ...

British society is becoming increasingly lonely according to a new report - The Lonely Society? - published by the Mental Health Foundation. The report found that 1 in 10 Britons often feel isolated and half think that people are getting lonelier in general...

Published Tue, May 25 2010 1:42 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Loneliness

Cautious thumbs up for Tai Chi

Tai Chi is a low-impact mind-body exercise that has been practised for centuries in the East and is currently gaining popularity in the West. It is believed to improve mood and enhance overall psychological wellbeing but convincing evidence has so far...

Published Tue, May 25 2010 2:47 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Tai Chi

Occasional tipple might cut Alzheimer's risk

A Spanish study by researchers from the University of Valencia has found that a moderate consumption of alcohol could lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The study compared 176 people with Alzheimer's and 246 healthy people. The...

Published Tue, May 25 2010 2:23 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease

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

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

May 2010 - Mental Health Update

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