Psychiatry
Reimagining addiction
December 3rd, 2018 Ill-informed opinion, rather than evidence, and an often misguided sense of what is moral shape attitudes to addiction and its treatment. In this fake news era it behoves addiction researchers to take evidence to the public and to governments more...Sex addiction may affect 10% of men, survey finds
Is sex addiction real? Researchers say it may be, or at least something close to it, and might be more common than anyone thought, writes Maggie Fox for NBC News. Researchers report that 1% of men and 7% of women say they have significant levels of...
UK study finds increased mental health problems facing the young
November 28th, 2018 A fifth of girls aged 17-19 and one in 10 boys the same age have self-harmed or tried to kill themselves, The Guardian reports the biggest research into young people’s mental health in the UK for 13 years has found. Experts said the figures were...Controlling sexual urges may be a greater problem than realised
The number of people in the US who have difficulty controlling sexual feelings and urges may be greater than realised, researchers say. The study found that 7% of women and more than 10% of men said they were distressed due to difficulty controlling...
Ketamine clinic boom in US triggers concerns over 'quick buck' training
October 17th, 2018 As ketamine clinics pop up across the US to offer experimental infusions for depression, anxiety, and a slew of other conditions, training programmes to teach providers how to run these businesses have also started to appear. Stat News reports that...
Researchers give official Life Esidimeni death toll
October 10th, 2018 A study has determined the official death toll of the Life Esidimeni scandal is 131. The mortality rate among 1,442 mentally ill patients transferred out of hospitals in Gauteng in a cost-saving move was eight times the national average in...
Four elite SA athletes share their stories on depression
October 10th, 2018 It seems like such a glamorous life. Travelling the world and representing your country, all global events and plush hotels. Elite athletes must have it all. But, says a Daily Maverick report, having it all means having the vulnerability of being...Addiction experts call for more research on long-term addiction recovery
September is addiction recovery month in America, and in the midst of the current opioid epidemic, it is an apt moment for leading addiction experts from to call for more neuroscience research on long-term addiction recovery, in an article in...Neural-network model can accurately predict depression
To diagnose depression, clinicians interview patients, asking specific questions – about say, past mental illnesses, lifestyle, and mood – and identify the condition based on the patient's responses. In recent years, machine learning has been...
Tower Hospital: The evidence contradicts Health Ombud's conclusions
September 12th, 2018 Despite an emphatic assurance by SA's Health Ombudsman that ‘no prima facie evidence of institutionalised systematic or deliberate violations of human rights by staff was found’, the evidence strongly suggest otherwise, writes Jay Kruuse,...
Trial shows cannabis extract helps reset brain function in psychosis
September 5th, 2018 Research from King’s College London has found that a single dose of the cannabis extract cannabidiol can help reduce brain function abnormalities seen in people with psychosis. Results from a new Medical Research Council (MRC)-funded trial provide...
Mass hysteria blew simple complaint into a national issue - Health Ombud
August 29th, 2018 Findings by Health Ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba that whistleblower claims of unacceptable practices at the Tower Psychiatric Hospital in the Eastern Cape were unfounded “mass hysteria”, have come under sharp criticism....
PCOS increases risk of having an autistic child
August 15th, 2018 Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely than other women to have an autistic child, according to an analysis of NHS data carried out by a team at Cambridge University's Autism Research Centre. PCOS affects about one in ten...Burnout – a forerunner to depression – starts at medical school
A University of Free State study indicates that symptoms of mental wellness issues, such as burnout – which can be a forerunner to clinical depression – can start as early as a medical professional’s student years. Burnout, according to the...Crippling mental health problems common in those sexually assaulted
Four out of five teenage girls who have been sexually assaulted suffer from crippling mental health problems months after their attack, found a University College London (UCL) study. The Guardian reports new research has found that victims were...