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Psychiatry
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...
The sums on mental health care in SA are 'not pretty'
Fewer than 1 in 10 people living with a mental health condition in South Africa receive the care they need and there are...
Political events like Brexit can trigger psychosis
Political events can take a serious toll on mental health, a doctor has warned, after treating a man with a brief episode of acute...
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...
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...
Autism so over-diagnosed that term is becoming meaningless — study
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...
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...
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...
Physical exercise: A ‘fundamental’ psychiatric intervention
When it comes to inpatient treatment of a range of mental health and mood disorders – from anxiety and depression to schizophrenia, suicidality and...
Consider non-surgical brain stimulation for major depression — trials review
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...
Clear link between anxiety and depression in 20s to memory loss in 50s
A large longitudinal study carried out by the University of Sussex found a clear link between episodes of depression and anxiety experienced by adults...
OCD symptoms reduced by targeted deep brain stimulation
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) at two areas of the brain significantly reduced OCD symptoms, with significantly improved cognitive flexibility from one area and a greater...
Nutritional supplements won't stave off depression
A daily intake of nutritional supplements was no more effective than placebo at stave off the onset of depression, the international MoodFood trial has...
Origins of depression are the focus of huge gene study
Scientists have pinpointed 269 genes linked to the development of depression, found an ongoing international meta-analysis drawing on data involving more than 2m people.
Hundreds of...
Psychotherapist talks about suppression of his ‘politically incorrect' research
Psychotherapist James Caspian attempted to undertake a research project into ‘detransitioning’, where those who have transitioned to another gender come to regret their decision...
Chemical Slavery: Understanding addiction and stopping the drug epidemic
As the United States continues to wrestle with the heroin and opioid epidemic, no one in the country is probably more qualified to write about...
Reimagining addiction
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...
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...
UK study finds increased mental health problems facing the young
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...
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...
Ketamine clinic boom in US triggers concerns over 'quick buck' training
As ketamine clinics pop up across the US to offer experimental infusions for depression, anxiety, and a slew of other conditions, training programmes to...
Researchers give official Life Esidimeni death toll
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...
Four elite SA athletes share their stories on depression
It seems like such a glamorous life. Travelling the world and representing your country, all global events and plush hotels. Elite athletes must have...
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...
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...
Tower Hospital: The evidence contradicts Health Ombud's conclusions
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...
Trial shows cannabis extract helps reset brain function in psychosis
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...
Mass hysteria blew simple complaint into a national issue – Health Ombud
Findings by Health Ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba that whistleblower claims of unacceptable practices at the Tower Psychiatric Hospital in the Eastern Cape were unfounded...
PCOS increases risk of having an autistic child
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely than other women to have an autistic child, according to an analysis of NHS data...
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...
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...
Esidimeni: Global lessons from a local tragedy
The former SA head of mental health services Melvyn Freeman has broken years of silence over the Life Esidimeni tragedy, writing in The Lancet...
VR success in treating fear of heights — randomised controlled trial
A virtual reality (VR) programme was more successful in treating fear of heights than the results expected with the best psychological intervention delivered face to...
Early to bed and early to rise linked to less depression risk
Middle-to-older aged women who are naturally early to bed and early to rise are significantly less likely to develop depression, according to a large...
No cannabis link with suicidal behaviour in those with psychiatric disorders
McMaster University researchers have found there is no significant association between cannabis use and suicidal behaviour in people with psychiatric disorders. The study findings...
Is it abuse when a parent ignores a child's depression?
A barrier to the treatment of adolescent depression that is rarely addressed is when parents ignore obvious signs of depression, writes Professor Michael Shapiro...
One psychiatrist's battle against institutionalised wrongdoing
Dr Kiran Sukeri, formerly employed at the Tower Psychiatric Hospital in the Eastern Cape, has been smeared and harrassed for blowing the whistle on...
Disruption of circadian rhythms associated with mood disorders
Circadian rhythms, the natural variations in our behaviour and activity throughout a 24-hour period, are known to affect everything from hormones to eating habits....
Brain stimulation reduces suicidal thinking in hard-to-treat depression
A specific kind of brain stimulation is effective in reducing suicidal thinking in a significant portion of people with hard-to-treat depression. A Centre for...
Psychiatrist argues that brain inflammation is the true cause of depression
A Cambridge University psychiatrist suggests there is a radical way to transform the lack, for nearly 40 years, of a significant advance in the...