Mental Health Update

Early retirement and better sleep

Sadly, for most people nowadays - barring lottery wins - early retirement is just a distant pipe dream. However, for those people lucky enough to be able to take it it could bring a dramatic improvement in sleep quality. Researchers from the University...

Published Tue, Nov 03 2009 4:51 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Sleep Disorders

Inside the brains of psychopaths

Psychopaths are deceitful and manipulative and often engage in antisocial behaviour. They lack empathy with other people and find it hard to recognise the emotional significance of social events. Some scientists think that a part of the brain called the...

Published Tue, Sep 22 2009 4:43 AM by Mental Health Update

Drug therapy for borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterised by persistently unstable moods, inability to control one's impulses, problems getting on with other people and a poor self image. People with BPD have difficulty forming relationships, can be...

Published Mon, Jan 18 2010 6:42 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Borderline Personality Disorder

Sororities and body image

Sororities are female societies in U.S. universities. They can provide students with opportunities for personal growth and enrichment but have also been criticised for leading their members to focus excessively on their appearance. Ashley Rolnik from...

Published Mon, Mar 15 2010 8:25 AM by Mental Health Update

Lifting the lid on the pro-ana websites

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati have been looking into pro-anorexia social networks and web sites in a piece of qualitative research that found four main themes: Staying "true" to the anorexia movement - in which members of social...

Published Thu, Feb 24 2011 3:09 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Eating Disorders

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

Study shows shocking health of mentally ill

People with severe mental illness can have a life expectancy up to 25 years less than other people. However, this is not due to their illness itself but to poor physical health and unhealthy lifestyles. Researchers from the University of East Anglia surveyed...

Published Mon, Mar 21 2011 3:07 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Service Users' Health

TMS and hearing voices - study shows disappointing results

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) involves the use of strong, fluctuating magnetic fields to stimulate the surface layers of the brain's cortex. Some studies have shown TMS to be effective in treating auditory hallucinations but a study by researchers...

Published Fri, Mar 19 2010 8:30 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia, Hallucinations, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

The rollercoaster of bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is characterised by mood swings from extremes of depression to euphoria and mania, often accompanied by unusual thoughts and delusions. David A. Solomon from Brown University, Rhode Island and his colleagues have been looking into the...

Published Thu, Apr 08 2010 3:50 AM by Mental Health Update

Shedding light on sibling rivalry

Researchers from the University of Missouri have been looking into the thorny issue of sibling rivalry. They carried out a number of interviews of pairs of siblings between 8 and 20. They found that there were two types of conflict between siblings. The...

Published Thu, Apr 08 2010 5:44 AM by Mental Health Update

Amisulpride and weight gain

Second-generation antipsychotics are usually seen as an important step forward in the treatment of schizophrenia but can lead to weight gain, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems. One solution for patients at risk of these conditions...

Published Tue, Dec 15 2009 6:47 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Obesity, Amisulpride

Everyday tasks and developing dementia

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is often seen as an intermediate phase between normal cognition and dementia. However, not everyone with MCI goes on to develop dementia so it is important to try and work out who is most at risk so they can be helped as...

Published Mon, Oct 05 2009 6:53 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease

Growing up and out of substance abuse

Many young people behave in a delinquent fashion including using illegal drugs and committing minor offences such as shoplifting and vandalism but most grow out of this as they leave home, set up with a partner and get a job. Few studies have looked into...

Published Mon, Oct 12 2009 2:24 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Substance Abuse

Seclusion and restraint in psychiatric intensive care units

Patients in psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs) often have to be placed in seclusion or restraint for their own or others' protection. U.K. researchers from NHS services in Suffolk, Hampshire and Oxford studied the patterns of seclusion and restraint...

Published Mon, Nov 16 2009 7:37 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Inpatients

U.K. top of the league - for teenage drug use

A report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has found that the U.K. has the biggest problem of illegal drug use among teenagers. 5% of 15-16 year-olds had taken cocaine with 3% trying crack. 4% of youngsters had taken ecstasy...

Published Mon, Dec 14 2009 7:26 AM by Mental Health Update