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) -- What does it mean when expert psychiatric witnesses in a court case reach opposing conclusions on the same sets of evidence? A new study out of the University of Cincinnati College of Law suggests via mathematical modeling that both analyses can be completely accurate. http://www.physorg.com/news174579265.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:30:01 EST news174579265 Adolescents with psychiatric symptoms such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social phobia, hostility and depression may be more likely to develop an Internet addiction, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news173987521.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:30:01 EST news173987521 Exposure to a certain class of antidepressant medications during pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, a low five-minute Apgar score (a measure of overall health of the baby) and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://www.physorg.com/news173987766.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:57:03 EST news173987766 A study in the Oct.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that elderly women sleep better than elderly men even though women consistently report that their sleep is shorter and poorer. http://www.physorg.com/news173595460.html Medicine & Health Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:40:01 EST news173595460 HIV/Aids is up to five times more prevalent in American prisons than in the general population. Adherence to treatment programs can be strictly monitored in prison. However, once prisoners are released, medical monitoring becomes problematic. A new study by Dr. Nitika Pant Pai - an Assistant professor of Medicine and a medical scientist at the Research Institute of the MUHC - suggests the majority (76%) of inmates take their antiretroviral treatment (ART) intermittently once they leave prison, representing a higher risk to the general population. http://www.physorg.com/news173446375.html Medicine & Health Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:50:01 EST news173446375 Somatic symptom disorders are common, disabling and costly. This meta-analysis indicates how short-term dynamic psychotherapy may be effective on physical symptoms, psychiatric symptoms and social adjustment, even in the long-term. Future research should include high-quality randomized and clinical effectiveness studies with attention to healthcare use and costs. http://www.physorg.com/news172823416.html Medicine & Health Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:31:56 EST news172823416 Worldwide, 13% of women who give birth suffer from postnatal depression, which causes a significant deterioration in a mother's quality of life and her ability to care for her baby. Now, Spanish researchers have developed a model to diagnose this illness with a predictive power of 80% - the best result to date for this kind of depression. http://www.physorg.com/news172307812.html Medicine & Health Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:50:01 EST news172307812 Every 16 minutes, an American commits suicide. It's the 11th leading cause of death in this country, a fact being widely noted during National Suicide Prevention Week Sept. 6-12. And now researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are looking deep inside the brain for ways to determine the reasons people commit suicide - and identify those most likely to attempt it. http://www.physorg.com/news171736852.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:41:47 EST news171736852 Many families struggle on a day-to-day basis with insufficient in-home care or problematic out-of-home care for their emotionally or behaviorally troubled children and adolescents. Researchers have recently shown that an integrative family care model, which incorporates the strengths of external agencies and care providers, may be the answer. The latest issue of Family Process features this new model. http://www.physorg.com/news170942109.html Other Sciences Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:55:44 EST news170942109 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 People over the age of 60 are the most vulnerable to heat waves, with 82% to 92% more deaths than average occurring in this age group. Risks for heat-related illness or injury - such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion and heat cramps - are also heightened in people with obesity, heart disease, diabetes and respiratory conditions as these decrease the body's ability to adapt to temperature changes. A review http://www.cmaj.ca/press/cmaj081050.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) describes the effect of heat on human physiology and factors that increase the risk of heat stress. http://www.physorg.com/news170341728.html Medicine & Health Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:40:02 EST news170341728 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 A study in the Aug. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that the use of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an effective treatment for older patients with osteoarthritis and comorbid insomnia. http://www.physorg.com/news169644658.html Medicine & Health Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:00:02 EST news169644658 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 Around one in five young people in the U.S. have a current mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder. About half of all adults with mental disorders recalled that their disorders began by their mid-teens and three-quarters by their mid-20s. Early onset of mental health problems have been associated with poor outcomes such as failure to complete high school, increased risk for psychiatric and substance problems, and teen pregnancy. http://www.physorg.com/news168098437.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:04:36 EST news168098437 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 Schizophrenia is a severely debilitating psychiatric disease that is thought to have its roots in the development of the nervous system; however, major breakthroughs linking its genetics to diagnosis, prognosis and treatment are still unrealized. Jill Morris, PhD assistant professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and a researcher in the Human Molecular Genetics Program of Children's Memorial Research Center studies a gene that is involved in susceptibility to schizophrenia, Disc1 (Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1). http://www.physorg.com/news167398118.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:29:09 EST news167398118 Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) have a high risk of psychiatric problems, particularly attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, or both. Often children with FASD are initially diagnosed with ADHD. A new study is the first to examine a range of cognitive factors and social behavior in children with FASD and ADHD, finding that those with FASD have significantly weaker social cognition and facial emotion-processing abilities. http://www.physorg.com/news166982802.html Medicine & Health Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:10:01 EST news166982802 (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 (PhysOrg.com) -- Contrary to popular belief, more Americans commit suicide in summer than in winter, and the day of the week when individuals are more likely to take their own lives has shifted from Monday to Wednesday, researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found. http://www.physorg.com/news166285808.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:31:19 EST news166285808 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 (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration will require two smoking-cessation drugs, Chantix and Zyban, to carry the agency's strongest safety warning over side effects including depression and suicidal thoughts. http://www.physorg.com/news165678448.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:48:12 EST news165678448 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 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