Wellstone-Domenici Act Goes Into Effect January 1 Contact: Steve Vetzner, (703) 797-2588 or svetzner@mentalhealthamerica.net ALEXANDRIA, Va. (December 28, 2009) – Mental Health America today called for intensive education efforts to inform the public about the benefits of the new federal mental health parity law (the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity [...]
Only about half of American children and teenagers who have certain mental disorders receive professional services, according to a nationally representative survey funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The survey also provides a comprehensive look at the prevalence of common mental disorders. The results are part of the National Health [...]
ARLINGTON, Va. (Dec. 15, 2009) – A nationwide study found that suicide rates for HIV patients in Switzerland decreased by more than half, after 1996 when the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was introduced. Despite the dramatic decrease, the suicide rate among HIV-infected individuals still significantly exceeded that of the general population. The study also [...]
WASHINGTON, DC—Nerve cells transplanted into brain-damaged rats helped them to fully recover their ability to learn and remember, probably by promoting nurturing, protective growth factors, according to a new study. Building on previous investigation of transplants in the nervous system, this critical study confirms that cell transplants can help the brain to heal itself. Ultimately, [...]
Recalling Emotional Memory Opens Window of Opportunity to Re-Write It Scientists have for the first time selectively blocked a conditioned fear memory in humans with a behavioral manipulation. Participants remained free of the fear memory for at least a year. The research builds on emerging evidence from animal studies that reactivating an emotional memory opens [...]
Children with poor reading skills who underwent an intensive, six-month training program to improve their reading ability showed increased connectivity in a particular brain region, in addition to making significant gains in reading, according to a study funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study was published in the Dec. [...]
Depressed teens who report low levels of impairment related to drug or alcohol use tended to respond better to depression treatment than depressed teens with higher levels substance-related impairment, according to an analysis of data from the NIMH-funded Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA) study. However, it is unclear whether less substance-related impairment allowed [...]
Children with autism who receive a high intensity developmental behavioral intervention starting by age 18-30 months show major improvements in IQ, language, adaptive behavior, and severity of their diagnosis, according to an NIMH-funded study. Background Current guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend screening children for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by age 18 months. [...]
Alcoholic ‘energy’ drinks could raise risks from intoxication WASHINGTON, DC—People who drink may want to know that coffee won’t sober them up, according to new laboratory research. Instead, a cup of coffee may make it harder for people to realize they’re drunk. What’s more, popular caffeinated “alcohol-energy” drinks don’t neutralize alcohol intoxication, suggest the findings [...]
Epigenetic Mark in Blood Could Serve as Biomarker for Disorder For the first time, inherited disruption of gene expression in a brain system for social behavior has been implicated in autism. NIMH grantee Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., at the University of Miami and Simon Gregory, Ph.D., at Duke University, and a multinational team of researchers found [...]
Deleting one type of neurotransmitter receptor in a specific population of brain cells can induce schizophrenia-like behavior in mice, but only when the receptor is deleted early in development, according to a study by NIMH intramural scientists. The work provides strong support for previous observations implicating these receptors in psychosis; further, the mice provide a [...]
Other Subtypes May Affect Disease Outcomes Too Source: NIAID In a study of HIV-related cognitive impairment in Uganda, people with HIV subtype D were more likely than those with the other subtypes to have HIV-associated dementia (HAD), according to NIMH-funded researchers. This study, published in the September 1, 2009, issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, is [...]