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Psychiatry
Ketamine promising in treating major depression and suicidal thoughts
Ketamine has "shown promise" in the rapid treatment of major depression and suicidal thoughts, BBC News reports. Ketamine has a reputation as a party...
Traumatic brain injury significantly increases dementia risk
The risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s, was significantly higher in people who had experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) than for people who had...
Smoking raising psychosis risk in young people
Smoking at least ten cigarettes a day is linked to a higher risk of psychoses compared to non-smoking young people. The risk is also...
Lithium reduces re-hospitalisation risk in bipolar patients
Individuals with bipolar disorder have the lowest risk of re-hospitalisation if treated with lithium, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Long-acting...
Anti-depressants more effective than placebos in treating acute depression
A major study comparing 21 commonly used antidepressants concludes that all are more effective than placebo for the short-term treatment of acute depression in...
Prazosin no better than a placebo for PTSD – US Veterans Affairs
Thousands of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have taken the drug prazosin to ease the nightmares and disturbances that stalk their sleep, but...
Food preservative enhances schizophrenia treatment
The common food preservative sodium benzoate improves symptoms in clozapine-resistant schizophrenia patients, according to a Taiwanese study. The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial led by...
1 in 4 pregnant women has mental health problems
A King’s College London study has found that 1 in 4 pregnant women has mental health problems. This is more common than previously thought...
Restricting public comment by psychiatrists on public figures is 'outdated'
The rationale for the Goldwater Rule – which prohibits psychiatrists from publicly commenting on the mental health of public figures they have not examined...
ECG detects difference between depression and bipolar symptoms
A ground-breaking Loyola Medicine study suggests that a simple 15-minute electrocardiogram could help a physician determine whether a patient has major depression or bipolar...
Adult-onset ADHD may not exist, study suggests
More than 80% of people who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adulthood are unlikely to have the condition, Medical News...
'Magic mushroom' compound reduces depression symptoms
Patients taking psilocybin to treat depression show reduced symptoms for up to five weeks after treatment following a 'reset' of their brain activity.
The findings...
Smartphone apps an effective treatment option for depression
A research review of 18 randomised controlled trials confirms that smartphone apps are an effective treatment option for mild to moderate depression, but no...
Sleep deprivation in a controlled setting reduces depression symptoms
Sleep deprivation – typically administered in controlled, inpatient settings – rapidly reduces symptoms of depression in roughly half of depression patients, according the first...
Insomnia may impact on mental health problems
Mental health problems including psychotic experiences could in part be down to a lack of sleep, The Guardian reports that researchers have revealed. A...
Study questions efficacy of tDCS over anti-depressant drugs
A Brazilian study questions the efficacy of treatments for depression based on stimulating brain areas with low-intensity electric current. The technique, known as transcranial...
SSRIs: Media claims that antidepressants don't work is rebutted
The theory that antidepressant drugs, such as the SSRIs, do not work, which has gained considerable international media attention, has been rebutted by an...
Controversial movement raises questions about treatment of those 'hearing voices'
A growing but controversial international movement raises fundamental questions about what it means to be mentally ill, reports StatNews. The question at the heart...
Mental health discrimination and prejudice from medical schemes – Pharma Dynamics exec
Mental healthcare in South Africa is in a sickly state with medical aid members continuing to face prejudice and discrimination by schemes, according to...
Depression over-diagnosis because GPs 'too reliant' on Pfizer questionnaire
Depression is being overdiagnosed because GPs are too reliant on a questionnaire designed by Pfizer, which also manufacturers psychiatric drugs, campaigners argue in The...
Motsoaledi updates Parliament on Esidimeni tragedy
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has closed down 14 of the 27 NGOs in which over 100 Life Esidemeni psychiatric patients died and has...
Drug significantly reduces tardive dyskinesia in schizophrenia
Valbenazine, administered once daily, can significantly reduce tardive dyskinesia in patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and mood disorder, found a University of South Florida...
Study in the Netherlands links gene to depression
A gene has been linked to depression in a study in the Netherlands that researchers hope will shed light on the little-understood condition, reports The...
Blood test helps determine medication to treat depression
Thanks to a blood test, doctors can for the first time determine which medication is more likely to help a patient overcome depression, according...
Suicide spouses at increased risk for disorders – and suicide
People bereaved by the suicide of a spouse were at increased risk for mental and physical disorders, suicidal behavior, death and adverse social events,...
Effects of at-home iCST on dementia patients and caregivers
Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (iCST), an intervention carried out at home by family caregivers, has little impact on the cognition of patients with dementia,...
Clinical interviews during pregnancy help predict postpartum depression
For non-depressed, pregnant women with histories of major depressive disorder, preventive treatment with antidepressants may not necessarily protect against postpartum depression, according to University of...
Deep brain stimulation can provide relief from severe depression
Treatment with deep brain stimulation can provide lasting relief to patients suffering from previously non-treatable, severe forms of depression several years into the therapy...
Benefits of long-term use of ADHD medications questioned
A study that followed more than 500 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) into adulthood, found that extended use of stimulant medication was linked with...
Digital compulsion not pathology but how mind is wired
The digital compulsion to spend hours each day online is not as a pathology bu sheds light on some of the mind’s most salient, and utterly...
Risks of CVD and metabolic disorders higher for stigmatised obese
Obese people who feel stigmatised about their size are not only more likely to struggle with weight loss, they're also more likely to develop...
Early schizophrenia directly increases diabetes risk
People with early schizophrenia are at increased risk of diabetes, even when the effects of antipsychotic drugs, diet and exercise are taken out of...
Debate on long-term psychiatric drug use
The benefits of psychiatric drugs have been exaggerated and the harms underplayed due to poor trial designs, argues one expert. But another expert and a patient contend that the evidence supports the use of these drugs, in a debate on the pages of The British Medical Journal.
Early ageing problem for PTSD sufferers
US research suggests that people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may also be at risk for accelerated ageing or premature senescence.
Cannabis linked to false memories
A European study has found that the chronic use of cannabis causes distortions in memory, making it easier for imaginary or false memories to appear.
Suicide risk rises after surviving self-poisoning
Teenagers who are hospitalised after intentionally poisoning themselves are at a significantly increased risk of dying by suicide in the following decade, according to a US study.
Dopamine and cognitive deficits in schizophrenics
University of Columbia researchers have found evidence of reduced levels of the transmitter dopamine in the frontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia.
Opoid medication could lead to depression
Patients who increased doses of opioid medicines to manage chronic pain were more likely to experience an increase in depression, according to St Louis University research.
First the munchies, then the mania
Researchers from the University of Warwick have found evidence to suggest a significant relationship between cannabis use and the onset and exacerbation of mania symptoms.
Autism symptom severity changes
Researchers studying pre-school children with autism spectrum disorder found that symptom severity and adaptive functioning varied at diagnosis and changed over time, according to a multi-site longitudinal study.