Bill Davis: Clinical studiesSelected studies, reports, articles, news stories and Internet resources on recent clinical studiesNew hope for schizophrenia sufferers- August 7, 2005 Research Australia press release at EurekAlert - "Key research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) could lead to the first early diagnostic tool for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. 'At the moment we don't have any biological tests for these conditions,' said one of the authors, UNSW Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Philip Ward, who is based at Liverpool Hospital's Schizophrenia Research Unit. 'Our research could eventually lead to a simple, cost-effective and safe way to...http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-08/ra-nhf080405.php Faulty Biological Clocks May Influence Addiction- August 7, 2005 Science Daily story - "A gene that regulates the body's circadian rhythms, including sleep and wakefulness, body temperature, hormone levels, blood pressure and heart activity, may also play a central role in drug addiction, according to a recent study published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Although expressed primarily in the brain's circadian command center, biological clock genes have also been found in areas of the brain involved in reward and...http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/08/050805180443.htm Terrorism, Mental Health, and September 11- August 3, 2005 44-page report in PDF format from the Century Foundation that "examines how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) extended far beyond the New York population directly exposed to the September 11 attacks. Television coverage brought the disaster to a much larger audience and caused full-blown and sub-syndromal cases of PTSD throughout the nation. The report recommends increasing training for PTSD diagnosis and treatment so that primary care physicians are able to refer or assist patients...http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=PB&pubid=543 Mentally ill more likely victim than perp- August 3, 2005 Science Daily story - "A Northwestern University study indicates severely mentally ill people are more likely victims rather than perpetrators of violence. Researchers at the university's Feinberg School of Medicine say more than one-fourth of individuals with severe mental illness were victims of violent crime during 2004 -- a rate nearly 12 times that of the general population. Depending on the type of violent crime, prevalence was six to 23 times greater among people with severe mental.http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20050802-19533200... Cognitive Therapy Reduces Repeat Suicide Attempts by 50 Percent- August 3, 2005 National Institute of Mental Health press release - "Recent suicide attempters treated with cognitive therapy were 50 percent less likely to try to kill themselves again within 18 months than those who did not receive the therapy, report researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health&146;s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A targeted form of cognitive therapy designed to prevent suicide proved better at...http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/aug2005/nimh-02a.htm Strategies for a participant-centred approach to research- August 1, 2005 Item in CMHAOntario's Mental Health Notes - "Conducting a participant-centred research study with people with severe and persistent mental illness who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless requires fundamental changes in research design and methods, according to an article in the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation. The paper appears in a special issue of the journal focusing on the Community Mental Health Evaluation Initiative (CMHEI), which evaluated the effectiveness of...http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/content/reading_room/mhnotes.asp?cID=5915#section5919 Magnetic Stimulation of the Brain for Depression- August 1, 2005 Health News Digest story reprinted at PsycPORT - "Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is well established for treating depression and other psychiatric disorders. Though effective, ECT produces short-term confusion and occasionally some memory loss, and patients require general anesthesia and muscle relaxants. Now a growing body of research suggests that new techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may offer less disruptive ways to use electromagnetic energy against...http://www.psycport.com/showArticle.cfm?xmlFile=helthnewsdigest_2005_08_01_eng-healthnewsd... Historical Roots of Schizophrenia- August 1, 2005 A Medscape CME - "Ethnographic studies have demonstrated that schizophrenia is present in all existing cultures, from the pre-literate to the most highly advanced. Psychotic symptomatology and schizophrenic-like syndromes were clearly present in ancient civilizations. Recorded descriptions of the disorder appeared before 2000 BC in the ancient Egyptian Book of Hearts, which is part of the Ebers papyrus. Psychological symptoms were thought to emanate from the heart and uterus, and were...http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/131?src=hp12.infocus |