January 2011 - Mental Health Update

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

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

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

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

Which kids get hooked on tobacco?

Many children have a quick puff on a cigarette from time to time but not all of them go on to get hooked on tobacco. Researchers from Columbia University in New York studied 660 children, all of whom had smoked a cigarette when they were first interviewed...

Published Fri, Jan 21 2011 3:33 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Smoking

Parents' divorce linked to increased risk of suicidal thoughts in men

Boys whose parents divorce could be more likely to think about killing themselves when they become adults. Researchers from the University of Toronto studied 6,647 adults of whom 695 had experienced their parents getting divorced while they were children...

Published Wed, Jan 26 2011 2:34 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Suicide

Suicidal surgeons

A U.S. study by researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota has found alarming levels of depression and suicidal thoughts among surgeons. Doctors are known to have a higher suicide rate than the rest of the population but this is thought...

Published Tue, Jan 18 2011 1:54 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Suicide, Stress

Brief intervention offers hope to insomnia sufferers

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have been looking into the effectiveness of a very brief therapy for adults with insomnia. They studied 79 older adults, with an average age of 72. Half received printed educational material...

Published Tue, Jan 25 2011 7:34 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Sleep Disorders

Researchers find protein linking Down's syndrome with Alzheimer's

People with Down's syndrome develop Alzheimer's disease much earlier than other people - often in their 30s. Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Canada have been investigating the link between Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's...

Published Fri, Jan 14 2011 3:21 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease, Down's syndrome

Steps to respect shuts up malicious gossip

Despite proverbs about sticks and stones malicious gossip can be hurtful to children and adults alike, and, in the playground at least, can often lead on to physical bullying. Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle studied the effectiveness...

Published Mon, Jan 10 2011 6:48 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Bullying

Greater involvement leads to greater workplace stress

Workers who feel themselves to be more central to, or involved in, their organisation are more likely to suffer from workplace stress. Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto surveyed 2,737 people, 18% of whom said that...

Published Wed, Jan 26 2011 3:28 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Stress

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

Allergies, cytokines and suicide risk

People who have severe nasal or skin allergies could have a higher risk of suicide. Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark analyzed the medical records of 27,000 people who had killed themselves. They found that just over 1% had been hospitalized...

Published Tue, Jan 11 2011 3:37 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Suicide, Cytokines, Allergies

Escitalopram and hot flushes

The antidepressant escitalopram could reduce hot flushes in menopausal women. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine studied 205 women over an 8-week period. Half were given escalitopram and half were given a placebo. After...

Published Wed, Jan 19 2011 2:33 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Escitalopram

Remind me who you are again ...

For people like me, on the wrong side of 40 and hopeless at remembering faces, researchers at Harvard University and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire have got bad news - things aren't likely to get any better as we get older. The researchers tested...

Published Tue, Jan 18 2011 2:36 AM by Mental Health Update