January 2011 - Mental Health Update

Executive dysfunction, problem-solving and depression

People with executive dysfunction have problems setting goals, planning, initiating and sequencing behaviour. Executive dysfunction is often a symptom of depression and a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York studied the effectiveness...

Published Tue, Jan 04 2011 2:31 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Problem-Solving Therapy

Bupropion and tobacco cravings

Bupropion hydrochloride was originally marketed as an antidepressant but it has also been found to be effective in helping people to give up smoking. It reduces people's cravings for cigarettes but noone knows quite how it works. A team of researchers...

Published Tue, Jan 04 2011 1:58 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Bupropion, Smoking Cessation

Hospital art - is it really a waste of money?

In times of budget cutbacks hospital art is often the first thing to go, however, a new piece of research suggests that this might be a false economy. Upali Nanda from American Art Resources in Houston led a study based in a lounge for psychiatric patients...

Published Tue, Jan 04 2011 3:46 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Art Therapy

Mindfulness and stress. Who does it help?

Mindfulness - being aware in the present moment in an open and non-judgemental fashion - is used to help with a number of different psychological problems. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been shown to be helpful to people but there has...

Published Tue, Jan 04 2011 3:17 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Stress, Mindfulness

What to do with people who fall through the gaps?

Unless people present a danger to themselves or others mental health services don't treat them until they voluntarily seek help. Psychologists now think that people might be at risk of developing psychosis for a while before they become severely ill...

Published Wed, Jan 05 2011 2:01 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Psychosis

Seclusion and restraint in Canada

Patients in psychiatric hospitals are often put on their own - in seclusion - for a while until they calm down and stop being a danger to either themselves or others. However, researchers don't know that much about how often it happens or which people...

Published Wed, Jan 05 2011 1:20 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Restraint, Seclusion

Iraq - the long-term toll of PTSD

Nearly 2 million U.S. troops have served in Iraq since 2001. Researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School studied 953 National Guard soldiers who answered questions in Iraq a month before returning home and then again a year later. In the...

Published Wed, Jan 05 2011 2:38 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: PTSD

Schizophrenia and impulsivity

Being over-impulsive is one of the hallmarks of schizophrenia and can lead to violence, drug abuse and suicide. However, it is not really known what happens in the brains of people suffering from schizophrenia that makes them more impulsive. Researchers...

Published Wed, Jan 05 2011 2:21 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia

ADHD and the daydreaming brain

The default mode network (DMN) connects various parts of the brain; it is active when we are daydreaming or staring into space and gives rise to spontaneous thought but is suppressed when we are concentrating on a particular task. New research from the...

Published Thu, Jan 06 2011 2:10 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Neuroscience, ADHD

Deaf people, seclusion and restraint

It is widely believed that people who are deaf or who have hearing problems are more often subject to restraint and seclusion in mental-health services than other people but there is little hard evidence to back this up. Researchers from Oregon State...

Published Thu, Jan 06 2011 1:28 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Restraint, Seclusion, Deaf People

More evidence on overuse of antipsychotics

So-called 'second-generation,' antipsychotic drugs were originally developed to tackle psychoses and schizophrenia but are increasingly being used to tackle unrelated conditions where cheaper and more effective alternatives exist. Researchers...

Published Fri, Jan 07 2011 2:10 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Antipsychotics

Even second-hand TV can increase the risk of eating disorders

The mixed blessings of broadcast television only arrived in Fiji in 1995 which makes it an ideal place to research its effects. Researchers from Harvard Medical School have been looking into the effects of media consumption on eating disorders in adolescent...

Published Fri, Jan 07 2011 2:41 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Eating Disorders

New blood test for Alzheimer's could be new breakthrough

Researchers from the Florida campus of the Scripps Research Institute have developed a new blood test for Alzheimer's disease which could detect the condition much earlier than current methods. The test is based on the body's immune system which...

Published Fri, Jan 07 2011 2:22 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease

Light boxes might help with non-seasonal depression too

Light boxes are often used to help people suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). However, a new study by researchers from the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam suggests that it may also be helpful for people suffering from non-seasonal...

Published Fri, Jan 07 2011 3:26 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Light Therapy

Alcoholism and obesity

People with a family history of alcoholism may be more likely to become obese. Researchers from Washington University in St Louis studied 80,000 people taking part in a national survey in 2001 and 2002. They found that women with a family history of alcoholism...

Published Mon, Jan 10 2011 6:28 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Obesity, Alcohol Problems