Following are the latest News and information Resources for the various mental health topics that we cover. We hope you will find the News educational and the links in the Resources section useful in helping you to get even more in-depth data.
OCD News | Anxiety News | Panic Disorders News | Depression News
Addiction News | ADHD News | Brain Health News | Other News
NIH Public Access | By Brooke Sheppard, Denise Chavira, Ph.D., Amin Azzam, M.D. M.A., Marco A. Grados, M.D., M.P.H., Paula Umaña, Helena Garrido, M.A., and Carol A. Mathews, M.D. | July 2011
ADHD rates are found to be elevated in individuals with childhood-onset OCD compared to the general population rate of ADHD, and there is a strong association between ADHD and clinically significant
hoarding behavior. This is consistent with recent studies suggesting that
individuals with hoarding may exhibit substantial executive functioning
abnormalities, including attention problems.
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Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc
Transcept Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced in March that the first patient has been enrolled in a phase 2 clinical study to evaluate low-dose ondansetron as an adjunctive treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in patients who have responded inadequately to currently approved treatments.
Approximately 50 percent of patients do not respond adequately to
standard first-line treatment with currently approved OCD medications,
including the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and the tricyclic
agent clomipramine. There is no FDA-approved augmentation therapy for these treatment-resistant patients.
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Science Direct | By David F. Tolin and Anna Villavicencioa | Feb 2011
Since only one-fifth of hoarders have been found to have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), there is reason to think that hoarding may be due to something other than that illness.
A new study found that that something may be inattention, apart
of ADHD. The results suggest that inattention—a problem of
neurocognitive function—might be a central feature of hoarding
disorder and may lead to difficulty making decisions about what to
discard, since other researchers have found that hoarders have trouble
making decisions.
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Health Affairs | By Joseph J. Fins1, Helen S. Mayberg, Bart Nuttin, Cynthia S. Kubu, Thorsten Galert, Volker Sturm, Katja Stoppenbrink, Reinhard Merke and Thomas E. Schlaepfer | Feb 2011
Deep Brain Stimulation was granted approval by the FDA in 2009
to treat OCD that is unresponsive to medication or psychotherapy
under a Humanitarian Use Exemption. This has created problems
with collecting data to determine whether the treatment is effective
and also with reimbursement by insurance companies. To overcome
these drawbacks, a revision of the Bayh-Dole Act, which encourages
commercialization of new drugs and devices, has been proposed. An
extended discussion of the humanitarian device exemption is posted on HealthAffairs.org.
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MDLinx | 12 Aug 2011
Internet–based Cognitive Behavior Therapy, in conjunction with therapist support, reduces obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, depressive symptoms and improves general mental health; but more trials are needed.
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Psychology Today | By Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D. | 8 Aug 2011
The huge swings in the stock market, along with uncertain economic times, high unemployment and housing slump are being felt everywhere. The article offers 5 practical ways to deal with stress caused by the uncertain economic conditions.
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MDLinx
This study contradicts the common perception that anxiety and depression cause hypertension. In fact the study shows that depression and anxiety over time can lower blood pressure.
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Health Matters | By Robert J. Hedaya, M.D., D.F.A.P.A | February 16, 2011
Two main types of panic attacks are discussed in detail: non-phobic spontaneous panic and triggered panic attacks. The author discusses clinical guidelines in dealing with the two different types of panic attacks.
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Health Canal
During the last 20 years, the use of antidepressants has grown significantly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2005-2008 nearly 8.9 percent of the U.S. population had at least one prescription in this drug class during any given month.
A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examines national trends in antidepressant prescribing and finds much of this growth was driven by a substantial increase in antidepressant prescriptions by non-psychiatrist providers without any accompanying psychiatric diagnosis.
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Psychology Today
A collection of articles about how your outlook on life can affect your behavior and perceptions. The articles look at effects of both optimism and pessimism, and offer insights about each.
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MDLinx
The study focuses on the hypothesis that depression can cause low blood pressure, while the use of antidepressants to treat the depression can cause high blood pressure.
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Journal of Medical Internet Research
With mobile phones becoming more ubiquitous every day, the purpose of this study was to investigate the technical feasibility, functional reliability, and patient satisfaction with using a mobile phone- and Internet-based intervention to treat depression.
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PsychCentral | By John M. Grohol, PsyD
Among addiction experts and researchers, there's been a long-running debate as to whether drug or alcohol addiction, and even "behavioral addictions" such as compulsive gambling, are actual diseases or not. It's not just a matter of semantics — if researchers can trace addiction's root causes to an actual medical malfunction in the brain, perhaps that disease could be directly treated.
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Health Canal | 16 Aug 2011
A study using mice provides insight into how a specific receptor subtype in the brain could play a role in increasing a person's risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The research, conducted by the Intramural Research Program (IRP) at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, could also help explain how stimulants work to treat symptoms of ADHD.
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Health Canal | 5 Aug 2011
Exercising your Brain is as important as exercising your body. Read more details in study below about training your working memory and how it affects your mental acuity.
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MIT Technology Review
MIT Technology Review: A great, authoritative source for medicine, and bio-medicine; focusing both on genetic and environmental factors affecting general health, including mental health conditions.
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