http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers have discovered a new explanation for differences in the severity of mental illness in males. The more excess copies of a certain gene, the more serious the handicap. The genetic defect is situated on the X-chromosome; and it is suspected that it is the amount of copies of the GDI1 gene that is responsible. The results are being published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, and are the result of work by the group of Guy Froyen connected to VIB, a life sciences research institute in Flanders, Belgium at the University of Leuven, in close collaboration with Hilde Van Esch of the Center for Human Genetics (University Hospital Leuven) and colleagues in Germany and Spain. http://www.physorg.com/news179673953.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:31:58 EST news179673953 Leading mental health researchers are warning that some of the most important health consequences of climate change will be on mental health, yet this issue is unlikely to be given much attention at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen next week. http://www.physorg.com/news179059780.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:00:02 EST news179059780 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research by Simon Fraser University evolutionary biologist Bernard Crespi reinforces his theory that autism and schizophrenia are diametric or opposite conditions based on genes. http://www.physorg.com/news178822577.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:50:02 EST news178822577 A large new study confirms that people with severe mental disorders -- such as schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders -- are 25 percent to 40 percent more prone to die from heart disease than people without mental illness are. http://www.physorg.com/news177614237.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:40:01 EST news177614237 New immigrants are more likely to cite economic and housing factors as barriers that keep them homeless compared with native-born individuals, according to a new study on the health of homeless immigrants led by St. Michael's Hospital researcher Dr. Stephen Hwang. http://www.physorg.com/news175173062.html Medicine & Health Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:12:50 EST news175173062 (PhysOrg.com) -- Doctors should pay more attention to the link between common mental illness and obesity in patients because the two health problems are closely linked, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide. http://www.physorg.com/news174132494.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:08:36 EST news174132494 Two University of Southern California (USC) neuroscientists have been awarded nearly $9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to map how genes are expressed in different regions of the human brain throughout development. http://www.physorg.com/news173724588.html Medicine & Health Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:50:35 EST news173724588 Scientists now have a better understanding of a perplexing gene that is associated with susceptibility for a wide spectrum of severely debilitating mental illnesses. Two independent research studies published by Cell Press in the September 24th issue of the journal Neuron provide fascinating insight into the molecular mechanisms that link disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) with the proper development and migration of neurons in the hippocampus, a brain area involved in learning and memory and associated with the pathology of schizophrenia. http://www.physorg.com/news172930394.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:13:51 EST news172930394 The prevalence of anxiety, depression and substance dependency may be twice as high as the mental health community has been led to believe. http://www.physorg.com/news171814164.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:30:02 EST news171814164 The number of people killed by individuals suffering from mental illness in England and Wales increased between 1997 and 2005, figures released today show. The rise occurred in people who were not under mental health care and was not found in mental health patients. http://www.physorg.com/news168030377.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:06:44 EST news168030377 When it comes to characteristics associated with muscle dysmorphia, there is no difference between bodybuilders who use steroids and those who do not, a University of Arkansas researcher found. http://www.physorg.com/news165508297.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:20:01 EST news165508297 Children and especially boys diagnosed with intermittent exotropia, a condition in which the eye turns outward (away from the nose) only some of the time, appear more likely to develop mental illness by young adulthood than children without strabismus (when the eyes deviate or are misaligned when looking at an object), according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://www.physorg.com/news163698042.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:41:13 EST news163698042 Between 20 and 70 percent of Canadians affected by mental illness shun medical treatment. Such avoidance of services provided by doctors and psychologists is particularly acute among men, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. http://www.physorg.com/news162213289.html Medicine & Health Fri, 22 May 2009 12:16:28 EST news162213289 In the debate surrounding violent crimes referred to as "acts of madness" or the like, it is often assumed that the violence is a direct result of the perpetrator's mental illness. Previous research suggests that people with schizophrenia, a major psychotic disorder, are at higher risk for violent behaviour. However, there has been some uncertainty as to the magnitude of this risk increase and if it can really be attributed to the violence itself or to other factors. http://www.physorg.com/news162047519.html Medicine & Health Wed, 20 May 2009 14:12:17 EST news162047519 A study on schizophrenia has implicated machinery that maintains the flow of potassium in cells and revealed a potential molecular target for new treatments. Expression of a previously unknown form of a key such potassium channel was found to be 2.5 fold higher than normal in the brain memory hub of people with the chronic mental illness and linked to a hotspot of genetic variation. http://www.physorg.com/news160820661.html Medicine & Health Wed, 06 May 2009 09:24:56 EST news160820661 The mentally ill don't get a fair shake in this country. Many employers don't want to hire them, and health insurers don't want to treat their illnesses. Even within their own communities and families, the mentally ill are often treated with contempt and outright anger. There have been many efforts to combat the stigma of mental illness, but with limited success at best. That's in part because the stereotypes are so powerful: Mental patients are either violently dangerous or docile and incompetent. We fear the first and disdain the latter. http://www.physorg.com/news155323424.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:24:19 EST news155323424 It is common knowledge that in rich societies the poor have shorter lives and suffer more from almost every social problem. Likewise, large inequalities of income are often regarded as divisive and corrosive. http://www.physorg.com/news155227685.html Other Sciences Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:48:37 EST news155227685 Policy makers and mental health services need to take urgent action to ensure that people with serious mental illnesses receive greater guidance about sexual health, including the risk of HIV, especially if they suffer from schizophrenia. http://www.physorg.com/news153674178.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:16:45 EST news153674178 Narcotics have an irreversible effect on the brains of people already suffering from mental illness, according to Dr. Stéphane Potvin of the Université de Montréal affiliated Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin at the Louis-H Lafontaine Hospital. http://www.physorg.com/news153127763.html Medicine & Health Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:29:50 EST news153127763 People with mental illness alone are no more likely than anyone else to commit acts of violence, a new study by UNC researchers concludes. But mental illness combined with substance abuse or dependence elevates the risk for future violence. http://www.physorg.com/news152819983.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:00:13 EST news152819983 Bipolar disorder appears to increase the risk of early death from medical illnesses, according to a literature review study published as the lead article this week in the journal Psychiatric Services. http://www.physorg.com/news152791762.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:14:44 EST news152791762 People who have a sibling with a mental illness are more likely to suffer episodes of depression at some point in their lives, say researchers who analyzed four decades of data. http://www.physorg.com/news148054365.html Medicine & Health Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:12:45 EST news148054365 (PhysOrg.com) -- The popular assumption that most suicides are the result of depression or other mental illness has been challenged by a study of male suicide which will be launched later today by researchers at the University of Western Sydney. http://www.physorg.com/news147362753.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:05:53 EST news147362753 Children whose eyes are misaligned and point outward are at significantly increased risk of developing mental illness by early adulthood, according to findings of a Mayo Clinic study published this month in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.physorg.com/news146930355.html Medicine & Health Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:59:15 EST news146930355 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of mental health experts from the University of Western Sydney say young people who have developed a dependence on cannabis are likely to continue using the drug following the diagnosis of a mental illness. http://www.physorg.com/news142694179.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:16:19 EST news142694179 Australians with mental illness smoke at four times the rate of the general population, says a new study from the University of Melbourne. http://www.physorg.com/news142604882.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:28:02 EST news142604882 More money and effort needs to be directed to understanding the causes and treatment of mental disorders to ensure improvements in the health of the community and the one in five people that experience mental illness in any one year. http://www.physorg.com/news142250077.html Medicine & Health Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:54:37 EST news142250077 Nationally, an estimated 15 percent of students experience some form of mental illness such as major depression while in college. Many often struggle with where to get support. http://www.physorg.com/news141566535.html Medicine & Health Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:02:15 EST news141566535 A new study by University of Pennsylvania sociology professor Jason Schnittker shows that, while more Americans believe that mental illness has genetic causes, the nation is no more tolerant of the mentally ill than it was 10 years ago. http://www.physorg.com/news139232975.html Medicine & Health Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:49:35 EST news139232975