Earlier today we reported on new research that shows a link between a parent’s mental health and an increase in the likelihood of having a child develop autism. The research examined Swedish hospital records of children born between 1977 and 2003 who were diagnosed with autism and compared them with children who were not diagnosed […]

If it’s May, it must be Mental Health Month, that special, warm, cozy time of the year that we all gather around our medication bottles and sing a little mental health happiness song.
Yes, I’m starting a new tradition. Please join in if you’d like.
But for most Americans, Mental Health Month is meant to highlight mental […]

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) got some grant money from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to produce an updated brochure on Women and Depression. The result?
A publication that is largely information that’s been regurgitated time and time again (you can see many of the same topics in NIMH’s Women and Depression brochure), culled from a myriad […]

The latest research results on deep brain stimulation (DBS) suggests it is helpful for severe, chronic depression. DBS is a simple surgical procedure that implants electrodes in parts of your brain. Once implanted, they emit tiny electrical pulses that help block the dysfunctional activity in your brain. The key to success in the procedure is […]

In the mental health blogosphere this week my favourite post came from Dr. Shock, in a post that is part of the cool Research Blogging initiative. He reported on a new paper published in Cyberpsychology & Behavior called Lighting in Digital Game Worlds: Effects on Affect and Play Performance, by Igor Knez and Simon […]

Walmart has made $4 generics the talk of medicine. But are generic medications always as good as their name-brand counterparts? Not always.
The Wall Street Journal yesterday wrote an entry yesterday about how they differ — Inexact Copies: How Generics Differ From Brand Names. The spotlight is shining on generics because of their low cost and […]

Apparently some of the people running the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA), the agency charged with taking care of our military veterans’ health and mental health needs when they leave the service, think nothing of lying about some of the significant issues they’re facing. Especially with regards to veterans’ suicide rates.
According to their own internal emails […]

One of our favorite blogs (in fact, one of the ones we named “Best of the Web” in the Depression category) is back — depression introspection.
I very much like her response, Response to “Mental Health Blogs Going Bye-Bye?”, to Philip’s Furious Seasons’ entry about where do mental health blogs go to, since it seems like […]

Joseph of the Corpus Callosum blog wrote a great post about a study on psychotherapy for terminally ill cancer patients with depression. Though you might assume anyone who is terminally ill would become depressed, only about 25% develop serious symptoms of depression. A meta-analysis finds that they do respond to therapy with significant improvements.
The argumentative […]

Where would we be without economic researchers to tell us the price of things without context? Probably happier.
If you didn’t know what the average car cost and I try and sell you a Honda for $100,000, you might believe it’s worth it. If you learn most people drive a Honda costing around $20,000, then you […]

An experimental drug, called CP-316, 311 and made by Pfizer, was as effective as placebo (a sugar pill) in its initial clinical trials. At the interim analysis to determine efficacy, the researchers found the drug not to be working to help people with depression, and so the trial was terminated. CP-316, 311 is a selective […]

The Infinite Mind is a long-running weekly public radio show about health issues, psychology and the mind in society, produced by Lichtenstein Creative Media and hosted by Dr. Fred Goodwin. Dr. Fred Goodwin is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of The Center on Neuroscience, Medical Progress, and Society at The George Washington University Medical […]