A novel population of neurons that are only activated following chronic stress is identified. Today, stress is part of everyday life. However, when stress is chronic it can lead to distressing illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders. In their latest study, scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have identified a population of neurons in the hypothalamus that…
Mental Health Europe (MHE) is deeply worried by barriers which may prevent migrants and refugees from accessing much needed quality mental healthcare and support. MHE is further concerned by the current handling of the migration question by the EU, which has failed to address basic humanitarian and protection needs. In its most recent position paper, MHE explores the human rights, economic and…
Researchers from Germany and the USA have identified an important mechanism with which memory switches from recall to memorization mode. The study may shed new light on the cellular causes of dementia. The work was directed by the University of Bonn and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE).
Accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, and the related disease "dementia with Lewy bodies," can be difficult in the early stages of both conditions. While brain biopsies can be more accurate, the risk of complications has been considered too high.
Neurologists are gaining new insights into dementia imaging by harnessing the latest opportunities offered by Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
Internet based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help people affected by body dysmorphic disorder, finds a study published by The BMJ today. This is the largest clinical trial of body dysmorphic disorder ever conducted, and the first to evaluate the effect of an internet based programme for the condition.
Individuals with depression are more than twice as likely to have hospitalizations that might be preventable with timely outpatient medical care in the community, a new study finds.
Self-injury so often occurs in private, an important reason why solid statistics are hard to come by. But researchers estimate between 10 and 40 percent of adolescents, and up to 10 percent of adults, harm themselves physically – usually by cutting or burning their skin.
The brain cells of patients with bipolar disorder, characterized by severe swings between depression and elation, are more sensitive to stimuli than other people's brain cells, researchers of the Salk Institute have discovered.
The loss of a critical receptor in a special class of inhibitory neurons in the brain may be responsible for neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and schizophrenia, according to new research by Salk scientists.
Psychologists from Plymouth University and Queensland University of Technology, Australia, found that playing Tetris interfered with desires not only for food, but also for drugs, including cigarettes, alcohol and coffee, and other activities.
Approximately 16 million American adults are affected by depression. However, many patients see a psychiatrist only once every two to three months. Recognizing that patients often forget how their moods vary between visits, a team from the University of Missouri, Missouri University of Science and Technology and the Tiger Institute for Health Innovation has developed a smartphone application that…
Doctors and researchers have long known that children who are missing about 60 genes on a certain chromosome are at a significantly elevated risk for developing either a disorder on the autism spectrum or psychosis — that is, any mental disorder characterized by delusions and hallucinations, including schizophrenia. But there has been no way to predict which child with the abnormality might be…
Johanna Olson, MD, and her colleagues at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, provide care for the largest number of transyouth in the U.S. and have enrolled 101 patients in a study to determine the safety and efficacy of treatment that helps patients bring their bodies into closer alignment with their gender of identity.
Royal Philips today announced that it has entered into a multi-year development agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. (Janssen). The collaboration aims to develop a new handheld blood test to provide doctors with a novel tool to improve the care of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.
Around one in three Dutch doctors would be prepared to help someone with early dementia, mental illness, or who is ‘tired of living’ to die, reveals a small survey published online in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a chemical alteration in a single human gene linked to stress reactions that, if confirmed in larger studies, could give doctors a simple blood test to reliably predict a person’s risk of attempting suicide.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mental illness is associated with a significant burden of morbidity and disability.
Smoking prevalence is 50% higher in this group; Researchers say that more effort is needed to help them quit.
Burnout. The word jars – and it is particularly unsettling when associated with medical professionals. Burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and feelings of low personal accomplishment.
New insights into the ways the human brain functions – that is the promise of mapping the entire web of connections in the brain, the so-called connectome. New developments in connectome imaging are one of the major topics at this year’s European Congress of Radiology (ECR).
The current financial crisis is having a major impact on European economies, especially that of Spain. Past evidence suggests that adverse macro- economic conditions exacerbate mental illness, but evidence from the current crisis is limited.
Working independently from different perspectives, geneticists from Finland and biochemists from Würzburg have researched the molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia and cognitive impairment.
Having cancer is an extremely complex experience for those people concerned. Alongside the purely physiological aspects, those suffering from cancer find themselves in a highly threatening and an entirely different situation in life. In the past, classical medicine has concentrated on the treatment of the carcinogenous changes. But what role does the patient’s psyche play in treating the…
Previous research has indicated that the emergency department might be well-placed to pick up patients vulnerable to suicide. However, according to a small, new study carried out by researchers at Manchester University, although people who frequently present themselves at hospital emergency departments may be at high risk of suicide, emergency care staff may fail to spot their vulnerability.