According to researchers at University of Rhode Island and Lehigh University, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most under researched conditions. To address this, a first-ever double blind placebo study will test the effectiveness of a drug on college students who suffer from ADHD.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the results of a survey examining the experiences of mental health inpatients. Although 45% of patients always felt safe on the wards, 16% never felt safe. Furthermore, only one third felt that they had had any involvement in the decisions concerning their treatment.
The latest statistics on the prevalance of autism in adults further dispels the theory of a link to the MMR immunisation of children. The NHS Information Centre data found that there would be a higher number of children compared to adults suffering if the vaccine had any influence.
According to psychologists at the University of British Columbia, reading surreal literature such as Kafka can impove the cognitive functioning of the brain that is responsible for learning. The study has been published in the September issue of Psychological Science.
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have presented a study at the British Psychological Society’s Social Psychology Conference in Sheffield which concludes that online gambling is up to 10 time s more addictive than offline forms. Most affected are single young males who drink and smoke heavily.
Research being presented at the European Congress of Neuropsychopharmacology in Istanbul has presented results that indicates a new antidepressant is more effective than fluoxetine (Prozac). Agomelatine to be marketed as Valdoxan has also fewer side effects according to the authors of the study
Today September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day
A UK study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry has examined the role of substance abuse in the severity of first-episode psychosis. 272 patients were assessed and the researchers concluded that persistant substance abuse caused higher levels of relapse, than for those who had no misuse of drugs.
It takes just three days to become addicted to some of the most common over-the-counter pain killers which contain high doses of codeine, according to the government's drug watchdog the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This warning comes in the wake of the parliamentary report which reported the dangers of addiction. Stronger warnings on packets are to be introduced and only small packets available without a prescription.
As the first Global Mental Health Summit commences in Athens the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that it expects depression to become the major economic and social health problem worldwide within the next twenty years. Furthermore, WHO says it will be the developing countries who only spend 2% of their national budgets on mental health that will bear the brunt of this increase.
American scientists, using mice have shed light on the causes of genetic conditions such as Down's Syndrome and pregnancy loss. The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that a mutation of the Bub1 gene in an egg of a mouse was an factor in producing an abnormal number of chromosomes.
