Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest Mental Health News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/mental_health/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Tue, 13 May 2008 12:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107244.php The Connecticut House on Wednesday approved a bill that intends to make it easier for patients to receive insurance coverage for treatment in residential facilities, the Hartford Courant reports. The bill, which passed in the Senate on May 1, will be sent to Gov. Jodi Rell (R) for final approval. Tue, 13 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107198.php People with mental illness are not receiving the support they need to stop smoking, despite high rates of nicotine dependence and deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses.According to Professor Steve Kisely, from Griffith University's School of Medicine, health services are failing to provide appropriate smoking cessation strategies to people with problems including depression, schizophrenia or post-traumatic stress disorder. Tue, 13 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107127.php One in three people over 65 will die with dementia and too many of them are subjected to an undignified and unnecessarily painful death. This is often because staff lack the specialist training to provide good care at the end of someone's life. It is vital that all people, not just those with cancer, benefit from good palliative care. The number of people living with dementia in the UK is set to soar to more than a million in less than twenty years. Mon, 12 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107039.php The National Academies Keck FUTURES INITIATIVE has announced the recipients of its 2007 FUTURES grants, each awarded to support interdisciplinary research on aging and healthspan -- the period of life that is free from serious or chronic illness. Sun, 11 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106914.php The first national study of Asians living in the United States shows that for some individuals, strong ties to their ethnicity can guard against the negative effects of racism. For others, strong ties to ethnicity can actually make the negative effects of discrimination worse. And the mental health effects of such discrimination may shift over a lifetime as Asian-Americans continue to examine their ethnic ties, say researchers. Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106930.php Commenting on the release of the Department of Health's 2008 survey into public attitudes towards mental ill health, Mind's Chief Executive Paul Farmer said: "Overall, the general picture is that attitudes towards mental health are at best static - it's the reason why some of the leading mental health charities got together to form Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106928.php Today's mother often juggles full-time employment, household chores and parenting, but a growing number of women are taking on yet another responsibility-caring for an aging loved one. Next week, as Americans observe both Mother's Day and Mental Health Month, Mental Health America encourages mothers to take the Mental Health Connection Challenge by building their social support networks to help cope with the stress of their demanding lives. Fri, 09 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106909.php Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, presented the results of a phase III pivotal study in which VYVANSE demonstrated significant improvements in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms in adults and met all safety and efficacy endpoints. "Adults with ADHD often find it challenging to focus and organize during the day. Fri, 09 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106809.php Public attitudes in England towards people with mental health problems remain broadly sympathetic, according to a new survey by the Department of Health. The public is generally understanding of people with mental health problems, with 85% thinking they deserve our sympathy and more than 8 out of 10 saying society needs to be more tolerant towards them. Fri, 09 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106807.php Mental health charity Rethink has branded findings released by the Department of Health on attitudes towards people with mental health problems as "shocking, ignorant, and unacceptable in today's society. Thu, 08 May 2008 13:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106833.php Joseph Fritzl says he knew Elizabeth did not want him to do what he was doing to her - having sex with her - but it was "like an addiction". We added that he wanted to have children with her. He said he knew the whole time that was he was doing was wrong. He sometimes wondered whether he was crazy for doing such acts. However, his double life became quite "matter of fact", he says. He had two families, one upstairs and the other downstairs - two parallel lives. Thu, 08 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106704.php Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Director Ira Katz on Tuesday during a House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing denied that he was intentionally vague during a committee hearing last year about the high rates of suicide among VA patients, Thu, 08 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106797.php "We need to move ahead with a serious commitment to improve mental health," said Pan American Health Organization Deputy Director Dr. Cristina Beato at the launch of The Lancet's Global Mental Health series in the Americas. "The key messages are clear: Mental health has been neglected, and the resources for it are inadequate, insufficient, and inadequately distributed," Dr. Beato said. Thu, 08 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106740.php NeuroInvestment announced the release of its May issue, which reviews novel treatments being developed for depression. Even though depression can be argued to be the success story of psychopharmacology, the current array of largely similar monoamine-targeting drugs leave 30% of patients without adequate relief, and incur significantly aversive side effects for the majority. Thu, 08 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106734.php Mental health charity Rethink has today expressed its disappointment at the government's decision to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug. Paul Corry, director of public affairs, says: "The government has made a mistake by choosing to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug. This decision goes against all the evidence. Thu, 08 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106642.php A new study, presented for the first time at an international psychiatric meeting, examined the time to relapse in patients with schizophrenia treated with risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) or oral quetiapine. The data show that the mean time free from relapse for patients treated with RLAI was statistically longer than those treated with quetiapine (607 days RLAI versus 533 days with quetiapine, p Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106592.php The Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine (JOEM) has published a series of new studies that suggest depression in the workplace may be a much bigger problem - with more serious social and economic impacts - than employers realize. The peer-reviewed journal has devoted an entire special-edition, titled "Depression in the Workplace," to the topic, with 15 papers prepared by experts on depression and workplace health. Wed, 07 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106564.php Major mental disorders cost the nation at least $193 billion annually in lost earnings alone, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study was published in the May 2008 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Wed, 07 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106520.php Magellan Health Services, Inc., the nation's leading manager of behavioral health and substance abuse benefits, is helping draw attention to children's mental health issues as a national sponsor of Children's Mental Health Awareness Week, being held this week, May 4-10, by the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health (National Federation). Wed, 07 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106455.php Statement of Bob CarollaNational Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Director of Media RelationsThe National Alliance on Mental Illness's Bob Carolla responded to a recent Iowa State University influence of television on mental health treatment study, "The Iowa State study is right. Television's portrayal of people who live with mental illnesses and people who work in mental health professions too often reflects negative stereotypes. Tue, 06 May 2008 14:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106443.php As Americans observe 2008 May is Mental Health Month and National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, Mental Health America asks families to recognize and promote their children's mental health and overall development through increased communication, guidance and emotional support. The theme for this year's Mental Health Month is "Get Connected" to emphasize the important role of social relationships in protecting and improving mental health and building resiliency. Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106382.php A new policy ending a requirement that military personnel applying for security clearance disclose any treatment they received for service-related mental health problems is a "welcome sign that the military is serious about changing how those in need of mental care are perceived and treated," a Tue, 06 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106461.php Parents of children with autism were roughly twice as likely to have been hospitalized for a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, than parents of other children, according to an analysis of Swedish birth and hospital records by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher and colleagues in the U.S. and Europe. Tue, 06 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106331.php The children of parents who die suddenly - whether by suicide, accident or natural causes - are three times more likely to develop depression and are at higher risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than children who don't face such a difficult life event, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study published in the current issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Mon, 05 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106196.php Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday announced a new policy that seeks to reduce the stigma for military personnel who seek mental health treatment, the Washington Post reports (Scott Tyson, Washington Post, 5/2).