Are Anxiety Disorders All In The Mind?
Using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), researchers in The Netherlands were able to detect biochemical differences in the brains of individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia), providing evidence of a long-suspected biological cause for the dysfunction.
ScienceDaily - 5/12/2008
Problem Gambling Common Among Young Adults: U.S. survey estimates 750,000, mostly males, are hooked
An estimated 750,000 American teens and young adults are problem gamblers according to researchers at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions. Problem gambling is defined as gambling associated with three or more negative consequences, such as gambling more than you intended or stealing money to gamble. The national telephone survey of almost 2,300 respondents, ages 14 to 21, found that 2.1 percent were problem gamblers, which works out to ...
HealthDay - 5/12/2008
Celebrex, Naproxen Won't Prevent Mental Decline: New findings suggest daily use of naproxen might even harm cognitive function
Contrary to prior studies, a new trial shows that daily use of two popular pain-relieving drugs, Celebrex and naproxen, does not prevent cognitive decline in people with a family history of Alzheimer's disease. In fact, naproxen, which goes under the brand names Aleve and Naprosyn, may even have a deleterious effect on cognitive function, the study found.
HealthDay - 5/12/2008
Men Are More Likely Than Women To Crave Alcohol When They Feel Negative Emotions
Women and men tend to have different types of stress-related psychological disorders. Women have greater rates of depression and some types of anxiety disorders than men, while men have greater rates of alcohol-use disorders than women. A new study of emotional and alcohol-craving responses to stress has found that when men become upset, they are more likely than women to want alcohol.
ScienceDaily - 5/12/2008
Teen 'Self Medication' For Depression Leads To More Serious Mental Illness, New Report Reveals
Millions of American teens report experiencing weeks of hopelessness and loss of interest in normal daily activities and many of these depressed teens are using marijuana and other drugs, making their situation worse, according to a new White House report released today. The report, from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), reveals that marijuana use can worsen depression and lead to more serious mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, ...
ScienceDaily - 5/9/2008
New Class of Drugs Might Treat Many Conditions: Vaptans ease painful periods, glaucoma, depression and many other diseases, researchers say
A new class of drugs called vaptans may be able to treat a wide variety of conditions including painful periods, brain hemorrhage, psychotic disorders and glaucoma, Belgian researchers report. Vaptans, short for vasopressin-receptor antagonists, work by targeting the vasopressin hormone system, which plays an important role in controlling blood and water volume in the body. These drugs, which can be taken orally or intravenously, block the action of vasopressin, according to ...
HealthDay - 5/9/2008
Mood Disorders Put Breast Cancer Patients at Risk for PTSD: They're twice as likely to have suffered from depression before the diagnosis
Breast cancer patients are more than twice as likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder if they have had previous mood and anxiety disorders, new research suggests. About 16 percent of the 74 breast cancer patients studied by researchers at the Ohio State University Medical experienced PTSD 18 months after their cancer diagnosis. These same patients were three times more likely to have had anxiety disorders.
HealthDay - 5/9/2008
Bladder trouble tied to depression, anxiety
Women who suffer from "dysfunctional voiding" -- like having to urinate often and having difficulty voiding -- experience a greater degree of depression and anxiety compared to women without these symptoms, research suggests. "Dysfunctional voiding ... is more commonly seen in recent years," Dr. Alex T. L. Lin, of Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, told Reuters Health. "Although we suspect that depression and anxiety are reactions to the dysfunctional voiding, we could not ...
Reuters - 5/9/2008
Bipolar Disorder Might Be Overdiagnosed: Availability of meds and pharmaceutical marketing might be swaying clinicians
Bipolar disorder may be overdiagnosed, say researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University. They found that fewer than half of patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder were assessed using a comprehensive psychiatric diagnostic interview -- the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Recent reports suggest that under-diagnosis of bipolar disorder may be an issue, while this study indicates that there's an equal or greater problem with ...
HealthDay - 5/7/2008
Virtual Reality Therapy May Help PTSD Patients: Coupled with medication, it helps ease the shock of trauma, study finds
People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder may ultimately benefit from a combination of prescription medication and cutting-edge virtual reality psychotherapy, new research suggests. The study findings are preliminary. But, early results with Iraq war veterans point to a potent way to help PSTD patients through the use of drugs along with exposure to interactive reenactments of the sights, sounds, smells, and movements related to a highly traumatic experience.
HealthDay - 5/7/2008
The mystery of medications linked to suicide: As number of drug warnings rise, investigators search for reasons why
When Kate Miller of Queensbury, N.Y., filled a new allergy drug prescription for her 15-year-old son, Cody, last July, she hoped it would improve his bothersome allergy symptoms. Now, Miller is wondering whether a possible side effect of the drug, Singulair, caused Cody — who she describes as a happy, athletic teenager — to take his own life about a month later. Miller isn’t alone. Physicians or patients have filed anecdotal reports with drug companies or the Food and Drug ...
MSNBC - 5/7/2008
Autistic Kids More Likely to Have Parents With Mental Illness: Parents with schizophrenia twice as likely to have children with the developmental disorder, study finds
Parents of children with autism have double the odds of having been hospitalized for a psychiatric condition than parents of children without autism, according to a comprehensive review of Swedish medical registries. Eventually, the information may provide a way for experts to start untangling the complex genetic and environmental interactions involved in different psychiatric conditions, including autism.
HealthDay - 5/5/2008
Fear of unemployment leads workers to seek counseling
Today's slowing economy can be stressful as people lose jobs and co-workers who are left behind work harder -- and worry about losing their positions. A basic tenet to staying healthy and productive is doing well with the factors that are under your control, such as maintaining a good diet and exercise and spending time with family, said Tom Guck, a psychologist and professor of family medicine and psychiatry at Creighton University. Layoffs or job cuts can occur for ...
PsycPort.com - 5/5/2008
Night club drug could ease depression: Horse tranquilizer Ketamine may be key to new treatments, study suggests
Scientists have unraveled how a horse tranquilizer and hallucinogenic night club drug known as "Special K" can ease depression, researchers said on Friday. Ketamine, which can also cause feelings of detachment, could pave the way for new treatments for people suffering from depression, the researchers added.
MSNBC - 5/2/2008
Migraine often associated with psychiatric disorders
Migraine is commonly associated with a variety of psychiatric disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, and social phobia, a new study shows. "In addition, having migraine and a psychiatric condition is associated with worsened health-related outcomes (disability, quality of life, restriction of activities)," Dr. Nathalie Jette from University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada told Reuters Health.
Reuters - 5/2/2008
9/11 Counselors at Risk for Secondary Trauma: Social workers hearing repeated stories can suffer post-traumatic stress of their own
Social workers run the risk of suffering severe psychological stress from hearing too many stories of trauma, according to a new study that looked at people who counseled others impacted by the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York City. A positive work environment, the study also found, can help reduce secondary trauma and prevent job burnout from this secondary, or vicarious, trauma.
HealthDay - 5/2/2008
Children Affected By Parents' Behavior Following Trauma
A new study examines the role that specific parenting practices may play in children’s adjustment after trauma. The study suggests that the quality of parenting practices following trauma can mediate the relationship between trauma exposure and child adjustment. The study finds that certain parenting behaviors have the potential to significantly improve children’s outcomes.
ScienceDaily - 5/2/2008
Half of Americans struggle to stay happy: Huge survey attempts to measure the country’s general welfare
Staying healthy and happy is a struggle for about half of Americans, according to a massive survey that attempts to measure the nation’s general welfare, much like the Dow Jones Industrial Average portrays the health of the stock market. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, based on interviews of more than 100,000 people so far, shows that 47 percent of Americans are struggling and 4 percent are suffering. Forty-nine percent of respondents are reported to be ...
MSNBC - 4/30/2008
Drinking Dampens Ability to Feel Fear: Brain scans illustrate biological reason why alcohol can lead to aggression
Alcohol can make people frisky, chatty and, as any bouncer knows, feisty. Now, a new brain scan study shows drinking actually dampens the biological ability to feel fear. When people drink, these lowered fear levels can lead to liquor-fueled courage that can ultimately make people more aggressive, explained study co-author Dr. Daniel Hommer. "You're less likely to feel afraid, and you're also less likely to run away or to avoid conflict," said Hommer, chief of the section on ...
HealthDay - 4/30/2008
Cause And Affect: Emotions Can Be Unconsciously And Subliminally Evoked, Study Shows
Most people agree that emotions can be caused by a specific event and that the person experiencing it is aware of the cause, such as a child’s excitement at the sound of an ice cream truck. But recent research suggests emotions also can be unconsciously evoked and manipulated.
ScienceDaily - 4/28/2008
Is Happiness Having What You Want, Wanting What You Have, Or Both?
Some argue that happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. This maxim sounds reasonable enough, but can it be tested, and if so, is it true? It turns out it can be tested. Texas Tech University psychologist Jeff Larsen and Amie McKibban of Wichita State University asked undergraduates to indicate whether they possessed 52 different material items, such as a car, a stereo or a bed. Their results, which appear in the April issue of the Association for ...
ScienceDaily - 4/28/2008
Deep Brain Stimulation Helps Severely Depressed: Minimally invasive therapy improves symptoms for treatment-resistant patients, study finds
For those with the most severe depression, a novel therapy may offer new hope. The treatment is deep brain stimulation (DBS), which is used for some people with Parkinson's disease, and researchers found that it cut depression symptoms by 50 percent for about half of those treated. "This is a new therapy for patients with severe, intractable depression. There's a lot of promise for this approach," said study author Dr. Ali Rezai, director of the Center for Neurological ...
HealthDay - 4/28/2008
Omega-3 Benefits for Bipolar Disorder Remain Unclear: Review finds patients had less severe depression but no change in mania symptoms
There's not enough scientific evidence to determine whether omega-3 fatty acid supplements can help treat people with bipolar disorder, say researchers at the University of Oxford in England. People with bipolar disorder can shift between mania (elevated mood and energy) and depression. However, the use of omega-3 supplements to treat bipolar disorder is worthy of further study, since they seem to have no serious side effects, and many experts recommend them for people with ...
HealthDay - 4/25/2008
Suicide risk dims hope for anti-addiction pills: Once-promising treatments tied to psychiatric problems in patients
Two years ago, scientists had high hopes for new pills that would help people quit smoking, lose weight and maybe kick other tough addictions like alcohol and cocaine. The pills worked in a novel way, by blocking pleasure centers in the brain that provide the feel-good response from smoking or eating. Now it seems the drugs may block pleasure too well, possibly raising the risk of depression and suicide.
MSNBC - 4/25/2008
Three Out Of Four American Women Have Disordered Eating, Survey Suggests
Sixty-five percent of American women between the ages of 25 and 45 report having disordered eating behaviors, according to the results of a new survey by Self Magazine in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. An additional 10 percent of women report symptoms consistent with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, meaning that a total of 75 percent of American women surveyed endorse some unhealthy ...
ScienceDaily - 4/23/2008
Heart test urged before kids get ADHD drugs: Stimulants can leave some vulnerable to cardiac arrest, heart group says
Children should be screened for heart problems with an electrocardiogram before getting drugs like Ritalin to treat hyperactivity and attention-deficit disorder, the American Heart Association recommended Monday. Stimulant drugs can increase blood pressure and heart rate. For most children, that isn't a problem. But in those with heart conditions, it could make them more vulnerable to sudden cardiac arrest — an erratic heartbeat that causes the heart to stop pumping ...
MSNBC - 4/23/2008
Social Form Of Bullying Linked To Depression, Anxiety In Adults
Spreading rumors and gossiping may not cause bruises or black eyes, but the psychological consequences of this social type of bullying could linger into early adulthood, a new University of Florida study shows. In a study of 210 college students, UF researchers discovered a link between what psychologists call relational victimization in adolescence and depression and anxiety in early adulthood, according to findings published online in April in the journal ...
ScienceDaily - 4/23/2008
Talk Therapy Proves Effective for Terminal Cancer Patients: Supportive group therapy diminished depression almost as much as drug treatments
Talk therapy can help treat depression symptoms in patients with terminal cancer, according to Japanese researchers who reviewed the results of six studies that included a total of 517 patients with incurable cancer and depression. The primary type of depression treatment for these patients was supportive expressive group therapy, in which they were encouraged to discuss their deepest fears and feelings and to help each other cope with them.
HealthDay - 4/21/2008
Traditional dress tied to girls' mental well-being
Teenage girls who dress in their culture's traditional clothing may fare better mentally and emotionally than their peers who try to assimilate, a study suggests. The study, which followed Bangladeshi and white students in 28 London schools, found that Bangladeshi girls who dressed in traditional garb scored better on a measure of mental well-being than those who preferred a more "integrated" clothing style.
Reuters - 4/21/2008
No Place Like Home: Hurricane Katrina's Lasting Impact
New Orleans residents who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina were over five times more likely to experience serious psychological distress a year after the disaster than those who did not. That is one of the findings from a study presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America in New Orleans.
ScienceDaily - 4/21/2008
Mental health injuries scar 300,000 U.S. troops: Only half of vets have sought help for depression, post-traumatic stress
Some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post-traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries, a new study estimates. Only about half have sought treatment, said the study released Thursday by the RAND Corporation. “There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Terri Tanielian, the project’s co-leader and a researcher at ...
MSNBC - 4/18/2008
Eating disorders may be contagious: study
A study of U.S. high school students provides additional evidence that eating disorders may be contagious. In a study, researchers found that binging, fasting, diet pill use and other eating disorder symptoms clustered within counties, particularly among female students. "These findings confirm the strong social influences on female adolescents in the U.S. to be thin, sometimes using unhealthy behaviors to achieve this goal," the researchers write in the ...
Reuters - 4/18/2008
Prozac Makes Old Brain Cells Young: Research may explain antidepressants' effectiveness
The antidepressant Prozac has been shown to restore old brain cells to their more plastic youthful condition in animal experiments, researchers report. The work not only provides a possible new explanation for the antidepressant activity of the medication but also raises the distant prospect that it could be used to treat other conditions caused by malfunction of brain cells, said study lead author Jose Fernando Maya Vetencourt.
HealthDay - 4/18/2008
Aripiprazole may be effective for alcohol addiction
A drug used to treat the symptoms of psychosis in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may also be a useful medication for individuals who are addicted to alcohol, findings published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research suggest. Aripiprazole, sold in the U.S. under the trade name Abilify, is an atypical antipsychotic that increases the sedative effects of alcohol, while decreasing its euphoric effects, the researchers explain. The activity of aripiprazole on dopamine ...
Reuters - 4/18/2008
FDA says generic Wellbutrin OK despite reports: Reported problems may be attributed to depression's natural recurrence
A cheaper, generic version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Wellbutrin XL antidepressant is just as safe and effective, despite complaints from some patients, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday. The FDA said it received 85 reports from patients who switched from Wellbutrin XL to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Impax Laboratories Inc's cheaper generic, including 78 who said they slipped back into depression. Other patients reported new or worsening ...
MSNBC - 4/16/2008
Motherhood linked to fewer eating problems
Women have fewer eating problems after having children compared with their peers who remain childless, largely because they stop drinking as much and behave less impulsively, according to new findings from Norway. These findings may not hold true for women living in countries with less generous systems for supporting parents with young children, say Tilmann von Soest of Norwegian Social Research in Oslo and Dr. Lars Wichstrom of the Norwegian University of ...
Reuters - 4/16/2008
Antidepressants Account For Only 10% Of Fall In Suicide Rates Among Older People
The use of antidepressants is likely to account for only 10 per cent of the fall in suicide rates among middle aged and older people, suggests a large study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Globally, more than 800,000 people commit suicide every year. Rates have been falling in many countries, a factor that has been associated with better recognition of depression and the increasing use of antidepressants, particularly the newer selective serotonin reuptake ...
ScienceDaily - 4/16/2008
In search of the good old nervous breakdown: Everyone from actors to housewives used to have them, so what were they?
When Joe Livernois was a child, his father sometimes spent days racing around giddily and talking non-stop — then he'd crash, become severely depressed, withdraw into his room and spend most of his time sleeping. If anyone talked about his father’s increasingly erratic behavior, they said he was “having a nervous breakdown,” said Livernois, now a 54-year-old editor at the Monterey (Calif.) Herald, who recently wrote a series of columns about his father. "‘Nervous breakdown’ was the ...
MSNBC - 4/14/2008
Personality Study Shows Risk Of First Depression Episode Late In Life
Even after the age of 70, people prone to feelings of anxiety, worry, distress and insecurity face a risk for a first lifetime episode of clinically significant depression, according to a unique study led by a University of Rochester Medical Center researcher. "We assume that because depression has not developed for people with these personality traits by the age of 70 that it won't develop," said Paul R. Duberstein, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry who led the study. "But even in older ...
ScienceDaily - 4/14/2008
Triple Threat: Young Macho Men With Serious Injuries Often Abuse Alcohol
Men with serious injuries, such as traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury, must deal with a range of emotions. If these men have strong traditional masculine ideas and abuse alcohol, it becomes even more difficult to help them heal and come to terms with their emotions and situations. A University of Missouri psychology researcher studied these challenging factors to find better ways to understand and treat men who fit this mold, such as ...
ScienceDaily - 4/14/2008
15 Million Americans Suffer From Social Anxiety Disorder: Condition keeps them from having friends and mates, survey shows
Social anxiety disorder prevents some 15 million Americans from leading normal social and romantic lives, a new survey finds. The disorder leaves many isolated, ashamed and often misdiagnosed. Thirty-six percent of those with social anxiety disorder have symptoms for 10 years or more before seeking help, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America reports.
HealthDay - 4/10/2008
Whisk Those Blues Away: Study finds 20 minutes of activity a week, including housework, is good for mental health
Scrubbing the tub and other forms of housework may clean your house and boost your mood. In fact, as little as 20 minutes of any kind of physical activity a week helped mental health, although the more vigorous the activity, the greater the benefit, said the authors of a study published online Thursday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
HealthDay - 4/10/2008
Child Sleep Problems Linked To Later Behavioral Difficulties, Study Shows
Children who sleep less may be more likely to report symptoms of anxiety, depression and aggression later in life, according to a new report. "Sleep problems are risk indicators of later emotional difficulties in childhood and adolescence and in adulthood," according to background information in the article. "For knowledge concerning links between sleep problems and later emotional and behavioral difficulties to be maximally beneficial to the physician, clarification of which ...
ScienceDaily - 4/10/2008
Researchers Define Mechanism of Methamphetamine Addiction: Changes in brain's dopamine levels could point to more effective treatments of drug abuse
Long-term changes in the brain's dopamine-releasing machinery may explain why methamphetamine addiction is so strong, U.S. researchers say. Dopamine is one of the brain's major neurotransmitters. The research team, led by Nigel Bamford, of the University of Washington, Seattle, treated mice with methamphetamine and monitored how extended exposure to the drug affected dopamine levels. The researchers focused on the dopamine machinery in the ...
HealthDay - 4/9/2008
Early Neglect Predicts Aggressive Behavior In Children, Study Shows
Children who are neglected before their second birthday display higher levels of aggressive behavior between ages 4 and 8, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study, published in the journal Pediatrics.
ScienceDaily - 4/7/2008
Depression and Alzheimer's Risk Linked: But exact nature of the association isn't clear, study finds
Depression appears to more than double the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, Dutch researchers report. Depression has been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's, and many have suspected that risk is tied to changes in the brain caused by depression. The theory has been that depression shrinks specific areas, leaving the brain vulnerable to the development of Alzheimer's. However, this study found that's not the case.
HealthDay - 4/7/2008
Fetal Exposure to Substance Abuse Changes Brain Structure: Mom's use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs may affect kids into early adolescence, study shows
Babies born to women who use cocaine, alcohol or tobacco during pregnancy may have brain structure changes that persist into early adolescence, a new U.S. study says. Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Boston Medical Center used MRI scans to study the brains of 35 children, average age 12, who were exposed to the substances while in the womb.
HealthDay - 4/7/2008
Insomnia prolongs depression in the elderly
Persistent insomnia may perpetuate depression in elderly patients receiving standard care by primary care providers, according to study findings reported in the journal Sleep. "This study highlights the importance of staying on top of insomnia that (occurs) with depression," lead author Dr. Wilfred R. Pigeon, from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, told Reuters Health. "We don't yet know which patients' insomnia will dissipate when depression starts to ...
Reuters - 4/4/2008
A Little Anxiety Pays Sometimes, Study Shows
Anxiety gets a lot of bad press. Dwelling on the negative can lead to chronic stress and anxiety disorders and phobias, but evolutionarily speaking, anxiety holds some functional value. In humans, learning to avoid harm is necessary not only for surviving in the face of basic threats (such as predators or rotten food), but also for avoiding more complex social or economic threats (such as enemies or questionable investments). A team of psychologists at Stanford University have identified ...
Association for Psychological Science - 4/4/2008
ADHD drugs not linked to future drug abuse: Study finds Ritalin, other stimulants, don't boost risks of later addiction
Using stimulants like Ritalin to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, particularly younger ones, does not seem to boost the risk of later substance abuse, researchers said on Tuesday. There has been a debate over whether such medications are the best way to treat ADHD, a condition marked by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior that appears more often in boys than girls. Some experts have worried these drugs could make children more prone to ...
MSNBC - 4/2/2008
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