http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay) -- Use of 10/66 dementia diagnosis criteria (10/66) results in an increase in the estimated incidence of dementia in middle-income countries, according to a study published online May 23 in The Lancet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-dementia-mid-income-countries.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 24 May 2012 04:17:53 EST news257051684 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), long the master reference work in psychiatry, is seriously flawed and needs radical change from its current "field guide" form, according to an essay by two Johns Hopkins psychiatrists published in the May 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-experts-psychiatry-diagnostic-manual-overhaul.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 16 May 2012 17:00:11 EST news256405395 When children behave badly, it's easy to blame their parents. Sometimes, however, such behavior may be due to a mental disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-unruly-kids-mental-disorder.html Pediatrics Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:01 EST news254749094 "Journals, professional associations, clinical guideline developers, and others need to worry not just that disclosure provides a band-aid to the real problem of the [conflict of interest] itself, but that any attempt to stem the trouble through disclosure policies may actually be worsening the problem," say the editors of PLoS Medicine writing in an editorial that discusses the response to a paper published in the Journal last month, which examined the financial conflicts of interest of members of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) responsible for updating the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-disclosure-financial-conflicts-worsen-medical.html Other Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:00:01 EST news254505557 A Rhode Island Hospital psychiatrist and researcher explains the negative impact of broadening the diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder in the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). In a newly published commentary in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Mark Zimmerman, M.D., explains that lowering the diagnostic threshold for bipolar disorder will likely do more harm than good for patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-rhode-island-hospital-broadening-bipolar.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:32:25 EST news254485938 (Medical Xpress) -- Text messaging often gets a bad rap for contributing to illiteracy and high-risk behavior such as reckless driving. But a social welfare professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has found an upside to texting, especially for people who feel stressed out, isolated and alone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-uok-text-messages-automated.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:15:23 EST news253268116 Does the growing number of psychiatric disorder diagnoses have an effect on people with mental illnesses? According to a new study, as definitions of mental illnesses become broader, people who show signs of depression and other common mental illnesses are less likely to evoke a supportive response from friends and family members as are people with other severe mental disorders. This new study was released in a recent issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-psychiatrists-desensitizing.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:06:10 EST news253206362 Cognitive therapy reduces the severity of psychotic experiences in adults who are at risk of developing conditions such as schizophrenia, a randomised controlled trial published in the British Medical Journal claims. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-cognitive-therapy-severity-distress-psychotic.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:30:01 EST news252860687 (HealthDay) -- Children with probable developmental coordination disorder (DCD) at age 7 have a significantly increased risk of depression and mental health difficulties at age 10, according to a study published online March 26 in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-child-disorder-ups-mental-health.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:30:01 EST news252041405 There are concerns that the revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM—an internationally recognised classification of mental disorders produced by the American Psychiatric Association), scheduled for publication in May 2013, has been unduly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry despite the APA's instigating a policy of disclosing all financial conflicts of interest. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-conflicts-plague-international-manual-mental.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:00:01 EST news250876073 (HealthDay) -- For years, women with the severe form of premenstrual syndrome known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) were told that their symptoms should subside the day menstruation begins. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-severe-pms-longer-thought.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:50:01 EST news250190213 Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital has launched a study to determine whether genetic markers can be used to help identify children who are at risk of developing autism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-cleveland-clinic-children-hospital-genetically.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:17:43 EST news249733055 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London have found a relationship between molecular tags on our DNA and the weight of a particular region of the human brain called the cerebellum. The findings may provide important clues for understanding the causes of schizophrenia and autism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-dna-tags-key-brain-mental.html Genetics Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:55:22 EST news249544473 Soldiers in the National Guard with no history of alcohol abuse are at significant risk of developing alcohol-related problems during and after deployment, according to a new study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal. Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues at three other institutions found that the soldiers at greatest risk of developing alcohol-related problems also experienced depression and/or PTSD during or after deployment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-national-guardsmen-high-alcohol-abuse.html Health Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:30:01 EST news248624433 As the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is revised for the first time since 1994, controversy about psychiatric diagnosis is reaching a fever pitch. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-psychiatric.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:15:37 EST news248537731 With no lab tests to guide the clinician, psychiatric diagnostics is challenging and controversial. Antisocial personality disorder is defined as "a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood," according to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-dark-path-antisocial-personality-disorder.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:07:25 EST news247831621 The human brain has 100 billion neurons, each of which is connected to many others. Neuroscientists believe these connections hold the key to our memories, personality and even mental disorders such as schizophrenia. By unraveling them, we may be able to learn more about how we become our unique selves, and possibly even how to alter those selves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-connectome.html Neuroscience Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:40:02 EST news247818061 First-time first-trimester induced abortion is not associated with an increased risk of readmission to psychiatric facilities among women with a history of a treated mental disorder, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-first-trimester-abortion-psychiatric-readmission.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:07 EST news247756056 The initial assessment of a blood test to help diagnose major depressive disorder indicates it may become a useful clinical tool. In a paper published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, a team including Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers reports that a test analyzing levels of nine biomarkers accurately distinguished patients diagnosed with depression from control participants without significant false-positive results. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-blood-accurately-distinguishes-depressed-patients.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:30:01 EST news247324948 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers from the University of California have found that negative social interactions can cause internal inflammation that may over time lead to possible health consequences. In the study, the results of which the team has published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team writes that stressful events can lead to increased production of cytokines, molecules that are produced when inflammation occurs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-negative-social-interactions-amounts-internal.html Medical research Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:50:05 EST news246610186 (Medical Xpress) -- Autism has been the subject of much discussion recently due to proposed changes in diagnostic criteria, as laid out in the forthcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). These proposed changes would collapse three current diagnoses – Autistic Disorder, Asperger Disorder, and a diagnosis called PDD-Not Otherwise Specified – into one diagnosis. This change has led to concerns about how individuals with these previous diagnoses, as well as individuals who have yet to receive a diagnosis, will be impacted. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-autism-expert-diagnosis.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:28:44 EST news246522507 (Medical Xpress) -- The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has proposed new diagnostic criteria for the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) for autism. While final decisions are still months away, the recommendations reflect the work of dozens of the nation’s top scientific and research minds and are supported by more than a decade of intensive study and analysis. The proposal by the DSM-5 Neurodevelopmental Work Group recommends a new category called autism spectrum disorder which would incorporate several previously separate diagnoses, including autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-dsm-criteria-autism-spectrum-disorder.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:26:49 EST news246522402 Getting an autism diagnosis could be more difficult in 2013 when a revised diagnostic definition goes into effect. The proposed changes may affect the proportion of individuals who qualify for a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, according to preliminary data presented by Yale School of Medicine researchers at a meeting of the Icelandic Medical Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-autism-redefined-yale-impact-diagnostic.html Autism spectrum disorders Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:27:08 EST news246288404 One in five adults in the U.S. had a mental illness in 2010, with people ages 18 to 25 having the highest rates, according to a national survey. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-mental-illness-struck-adults.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:25:02 EST news246281089 About 200 million people around the world use illicit drugs, according to a study published on Friday in The Lancet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-million-illegal-drugs-lancet.html Health Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:50:02 EST news245050850 (Medical Xpress) -- Carrying single DNA letter changes from two different genes together may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, Johns Hopkins researchers reported in the November 16 issue of Neuron. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-schizophrenia-small-genetic-pose-disease.html Genetics Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:41:15 EST news243247262 When psychiatrists diagnose mental illness, they turn to an unwieldy book called the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," or DSM for short. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-road-mental-illness-redrawn-reshaping.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:11:44 EST news238421489 For many poorly understood mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or autism, scientists have wished they could uncover what goes wrong inside the brain before damage ensues. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-reprogramming-skin-cells-brain-scientists.html Medical research Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:55:46 EST news237642920 Mice become profoundly anti-social when the creation of new brain cells is interrupted in adolescence, a surprising finding that may help researchers understand schizophrenia and other mental disorders, Yale researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-sociability-brain-cells-adolescence.html Neuroscience Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:28:41 EST news236968099 Broad sweeps of the human genome have exposed genetic mutations that boost the risk of the devastating yet baffling diseases of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to two studies published Sunday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-genes-linked-schizophrenia-bipolar-disorder.html Genetics Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:32:21 EST news235571526