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. (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are learning that the dynamic regulation of genes -- as much as the genes themselves -- shapes the fate of organisms. Now the discovery of a new epigenetic mechanism regulating genes in the brain under stress is helping change the way scientists think about psychiatric disorders and could open new avenues to treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news178271825.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:57:44 EST news178271825 Young animals treated with commonly-prescribed drugs develop behavioral abnormalities in adulthood say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center. The drugs tested include those used to treat epilepsy, mood disorders and pain. http://www.physorg.com/news175271238.html Medicine & Health Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:10:02 EST news175271238 (PhysOrg.com) -- Sufferers of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are being brought together in a major new study to determine the diseases? common genetic causes. http://www.physorg.com/news174906706.html Medicine & Health Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:13:40 EST news174906706 August 25, 2009 -Researchers working with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have found that post-traumatic stress disorder, the current most common mental disorder among veterans returning from service in the Middle East, is associated with an increased risk for thoughts of suicide. http://www.physorg.com/news170422054.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:28:06 EST news170422054 An international group of researchers is the first to show that common variations in a gene - previously shown to be associated with Retts Syndrome, autism, and mental retardation - are associated with differences in brain structure in both healthy individuals and patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. Their findings will be published in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of August 17. http://www.physorg.com/news169752290.html Medicine & Health Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:40:03 EST news169752290 Depression among preschoolers appears to be a continuous, chronic condition rather than a transient developmental stage, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. http://www.physorg.com/news168613056.html Medicine & Health Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:20:07 EST news168613056 Similarities in brain activity during lucid dreaming and psychosis suggest that dream therapy may be useful in psychiatric treatment, a European Science Foundation (ESF) workshop has found. This is strengthened by the potential evolutionary relationship between dreams and psychosis. http://www.physorg.com/news168024914.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:10:01 EST news168024914 Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that after a 6-month behavioral weight loss program, depressed patients not only lost 8% of their initial weight but also reported significant improvements in their symptoms of depression, as well as reductions in triglycerides, which are a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The results of this study highlight the need for further research into the effects of weight loss in individuals suffering from psychiatric disorders. http://www.physorg.com/news167907081.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:51:46 EST news167907081 A research report published in the July 2009 issue of the journal Genetics complicates the debate over whether nature or nurture plays the most important role in complex diseases such as psychiatric disorders, heart disease, and cancer. In the report, a scientist from the University of California, Berkeley explains how epigenetics (temporary changes in gene function) and gene mutations (permanent, heritable changes in gene structure) contribute to disease risk in a population at a given time and in subsequent generations. This study provides an important theoretical foundation for future public health interventions designed to reduce a population's genetic risk of disease by limiting or eliminating epigenetic changes brought on by the environment. http://www.physorg.com/news167415044.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:18:05 EST news167415044 New imaging technology provides insight into abnormalities in the brain circuitry of patients with anorexia nervosa (commonly known as anorexia) that may contribute to the puzzling symptoms found in people with the eating disorder. In a review paper published on line in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Walter Kaye, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues describe dysfunction in certain neural circuits of the brain which may help explain why people develop anorexia in the first place, and behaviors such as the relentless pursuit of dieting and weight loss. http://www.physorg.com/news167407077.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:58:24 EST news167407077 (PhysOrg.com) -- John Csernansky wants to take your measurements. Not the circumference of your chest, waist and hips. No, this doctor wants to stretch a tape measure around your hippocampus, thalamus and prefrontal cortex. http://www.physorg.com/news166355458.html Medicine & Health Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:10:01 EST news166355458 Fueling the debate over the controversial psychiatric disorder known as dissociative amnesia, or repressed memory, Brown University political scientist Ross Cheit is challenging claims by two Harvard University psychiatrists. At issue is how to prove whether the memories of trauma, such as childhood sexual abuse, can be repressed and then resurface later in life. Cheit's paper, co-authored by Rachel E. Goldsmith of Reed College and Mary E. Wood of University of Oregon, appears in the current issue of Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. http://www.physorg.com/news166205070.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:20:06 EST news166205070 A family history of depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence or drug dependence is associated with the presence of each condition and also may predict its course and prognosis, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://www.physorg.com/news166117883.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:00:05 EST news166117883 Research co-led by an academic at the University of Hertfordshire, concludes that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is of no value in schizophrenia and has limited effect on depression. http://www.physorg.com/news165230967.html Medicine & Health Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:29:48 EST news165230967 A new study from Bradley Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, as well as two other institutions, adds to mounting evidence that clinicians consider irritability as a symptom when diagnosing pediatric bipolar disorder. http://www.physorg.com/news165073111.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:39:30 EST news165073111 Over half (63%) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) also suffer from psychiatric disorders, with the majority of these (87%) occurring in the depressive spectrum, according to the results of a new study. Interestingly, over half (52%) of the patients studied indicated that they had experienced stress events before the onset of their RA. http://www.physorg.com/news164037106.html Medicine & Health Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:52:10 EST news164037106 Florence, Italy: Preliminary research examining the difference in brain activity between soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder and those without it moves scientists a step closer to the possibility of being able one day to use brain scans to help diagnose the condition. http://www.physorg.com/news157964695.html Medicine & Health Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:05:29 EST news157964695 A gene that is arguably the most studied "schizophrenia gene" plays an unanticipated role in the brain: It controls the birth of new neurons in addition to their integration into existing brain circuitry, according to a report in the March 20th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. The finding suggests that loss of the gene, as occurs in some cases of schizophrenia as well as bipolar disorder and major depression, may "tip the balance" in the brain, leading to an increased risk of compromised cognition and behavioral abnormalities, the researchers said. http://www.physorg.com/news156687739.html Medicine & Health Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:25:08 EST news156687739 Children and teens of parents with bipolar disorder appear to have an increased risk of early-onset bipolar disorder, mood disorders and anxiety disorders, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. http://www.physorg.com/news155240464.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:21:28 EST news155240464 The kids who pass through juvenile detention facilities are among the most troubled youths in the community. How do they fare a few years after this significant brush with the legal system? http://www.physorg.com/news154105043.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:57:40 EST news154105043 Psychiatric disorders appear to be common among 18- to 24-year-olds, with overall rates similar among those attending or not attending college, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. Almost half of college-aged individuals meet criteria for substance abuse, personality disorders or another mental health condition during a one-year period, but only one-fourth of those seek treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news147373171.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:59:31 EST news147373171 Researchers have hypothesized that people with lower IQs may have a higher risk of adult mental disorders, but few studies have looked at the relationship between low childhood IQ and psychiatric disorders later in life. In a new, long-term study covering more than three decades, researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found that children with lower IQs showed an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders as adults, including schizophrenia, depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Lower IQ was also associated with psychiatric disorders that were more persistent and an increased risk of having two or more diagnoses at age 32. http://www.physorg.com/news147359516.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:11:56 EST news147359516 Men and women who have tried to kill themselves and are suffering from unipolar disorder (major depression), bipolar disorder (manic depression) or schizophrenia are at a very high risk of committing suicide within a year of their first attempt, concludes a study published today on bmj.com. http://www.physorg.com/news146297476.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:11:16 EST news146297476 Pregnancy alone does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of the most prevalent mental disorders, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, post-partum women may have a higher risk of major depressive disorder. http://www.physorg.com/news134666871.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:27:51 EST news134666871