Psychiatry
Anti-inflammatories effective and safe with major depression
Anti-inflammatory medicines were better than placebo and also enhanced the effects of standard antidepressant treatment, to safely curb the symptoms of major depression, found a meta-analysis of 26 randomised controlled...
Medical cannabis not proven in mental health — research review
November 6th, 2019 Evidence is weak for whether medicinal cannabis treatments can relieve mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and psychosis, and doctors should prescribe them with great caution, researchers said. They found that pharmaceutical THC – either...
Shrines where the chained and padlocked mentally ill are 'cured'
October 30th, 2019 The age-old practice of chaining the mentally ill to trees, to release them as "cured" after 40 days, persist in much of Afghanistan and Pakistan, reports The Daily Telegraph. In a dusty graveyard behind nameless tombstones, six men sit with...Deep brain stimulation effective with treatment-resistant depression over long term
A study has found that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subcallosal cingulate (SCC) area provides a robust antidepressant effect that is sustained for up to eight years, so far, in patients with treatment-resistant depression. The long-term...
The sums on mental health care in SA are 'not pretty'
October 16th, 2019 Fewer than 1 in 10 people living with a mental health condition in South Africa receive the care they need and there are huge disparities between provinces in the allocation of mental health resources, write University of Cape Town researchers in...
Political events like Brexit can trigger psychosis
October 9th, 2019 Political events can take a serious toll on mental health, a doctor has warned, after treating a man with a brief episode of acute psychosis, triggered by the 2016 Referendum on Brexit – the process of the UK leaving the European Union (EU)....Antidepressants may reduce anxiety more than depressive symptoms
One of the most common antidepressants, sertraline, leads to an early reduction in anxiety symptoms, several weeks before any improvement in depressive symptoms, the largest-ever placebo-controlled trial of an antidepressant, not funded by the...Cheap, easily available dietary supplement may help with schizophrenia
A “freely available and relatively cheap” dietary supplement, sarcosine, may help with schizophrenia as part of a holistic approach complementing antipsychotic medication, according to an article in the British Journal of Psychiatry. In an...
Autism so over-diagnosed that term is becoming meaningless — study
August 28th, 2019 Autism is now so over-diagnosed, following the progressively lowering over 50 years of the diagnostic bar, that by 2029 there will be no objective difference between someone with the condition and the average non-autistic person, an international...High levels of oestrogen in the womb linked to autism
Scientist have identified a link between exposure to high levels of oestrogen sex hormones in the womb and the likelihood of developing autism. The discovery adds further evidence to support the prenatal sex steroid theory of autism first proposed...Unusual eating behaviours may be a diagnostic indicator for autism
Atypical eating behaviours may be a sign a child should be screened for autism, according to a study from Penn State College of Medicine. Research by Susan Mayes, professor of psychiatry, found that atypical eating behaviours were present in 70% of...
Psychiatric diagnoses 'scientifically worthless'
July 17th, 2019 A study has concluded that psychiatric diagnoses are scientifically worthless as tools to identify discrete mental health disorders. The study, led by researchers from the University of Liverpool, involved a detailed analysis of five key chapters of...Ecstasy shows promise as post-traumatic stress treatment
An international study involving researchers from University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus has shown that MDMA, also known as ecstasy, may be a valuable tool for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study demonstrated...
Physical exercise: A ‘fundamental’ psychiatric intervention
June 5th, 2019 When it comes to inpatient treatment of a range of mental health and mood disorders – from anxiety and depression to schizophrenia, suicidality and acute psychotic episodes – a study suggest that physical exercise is so effective at alleviating...
Consider non-surgical brain stimulation for major depression — trials review
April 3rd, 2019 Non-surgical brain stimulation techniques, such as electro-convulsive therapy and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, should be considered as alternative or add-on treatments for adults with major depressive episodes, concludes a study...