Current News Items of Interest About Psychiatric Illness

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Mental Health Resources Finder Provided by SAMSHA, an agency of the U.S. Government

• For Mentally Ill, Care In Jail Often Out Of Reach
  According to criminal justice experts, many other jails and prisons have struggled to adequately handle mentally ill inmates. Few areas of the country, they say, have the money and resources and staff to handle such a challenging population.
  Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:48:40 -0800


• Mentally ill prisoner found lying on floor of locked room
  A MENTALLY ill prisoner who had lost control of bodily functions was found lying on the floor of a locked room in a prison, an Oireachtas committee has heard.
  Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:19:14 -0800


• Aid for mentally ill
  JOHOR BARU: Property developer Dynasty View Sdn Bhd recently presented food and basic necessities worth RM2,500 to the Johor Baru Mentally Handicapped Children Association in conjunction with Chinese New Year.
  Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:40:40 -0800


• LOIS HENRY: Some small steps on road to helping mentally ill
  The news hasn't been good for the mentally ill lately, particularly when they cross paths with law enforcement.
  Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:23:10 -0800


• Wash. Lawmaker Pushes 'Evidence-Based' Treatments For Mentally Ill Youth
  "Talk therapy" may work in some cases. But a Washington state lawmaker says it's time to invest in evidence-based programs to treat mentally ill youth. This past fall we brought you a series of stories on failures in how the Northwest treats young people with serious mental health issues.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:56:39 -0800


• Kadner: No state plan to treat mentally ill
  Illinois is once again planning to close the Tinley Park Mental Health Center.This is the hospital that treats severely mentally ill people who don’t have health insurance or Medicaid . We’re talking about people who are potentially dangerous to themselves and others.And the state doesn’t have a plan in place to treat those people once Tinley Park is closed.Mental health officials for Illinois ...
  Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:25:37 -0800


• Taunton State Hospital, home to 169 mentally ill patients, will close this year
  After more than 150 years of housing mentally ill patients, Taunton State Hospital will close its doors and its remaining patients will be sent to other facilities by the end of the year, state officials said today. The closure will help pay for the opening of a new hospital for the mentally ill in Worcester, which is scheduled to open this summer and will likely house many of the 169 patients ...
  Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:58:06 -0800


• Mentally ill housed in tents in Esperance
  Mental health services in Esperance say they have been forced to house two mentally ill people in tents because of a lack of accommodation.
  Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:32:04 -0800


• Houston Sheriff Says Separate Unit Needed for Mentally Ill Inmates
  Talton says state budget cuts to mental health services for inmates put the burden on the county.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:22:47 -0800


• Opposition weighs in to mentally ill housing crisis
  The State Opposition says the Minister for Mental Health needs to intervene personally in the case of two mentally ill people who are being housed in tents on the state's south coast.
  Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:41:24 -0800


• Canadian News Media Regularly Stigmatize People with Mental Illness
  Symposium targets journalism studentsTORONTO , Feb. 2, 2012 /CNW/ - Ryerson journalism students learned today that the Canadian news media stigmatize people with mental illness. Students heard from a McGill ...
  Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:30:00 -0800


• One in six afflicted with mental illness nationwide
  SUNGAI PETANI: One in six people in the country has been afflicted with mental health illness, a statistic described by a concerned Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA) as ‘high’.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:58:34 -0800


• Mounting cost of coping with mental illness
  Mental health is becoming a significant issue for New Zealanders.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:10:14 -0800


• As Part of National Suicide Prevention Week, from February 5 to 11, 2012 - The Mental Illness Foundation recalls that ...
  MONTREAL , Feb. 3, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - As part of the 22 st Suicide Prevention Week (http://semaine.aqps.info), which runs from February 5 to 11, 2012, the Mental Illness Foundation wishes to reiterate ...
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:18:00 -0800


• General : One In Six Afflicted With Mental Illness Nationwide - Psychiatric Association
  SUNGAI PETANI, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- One in six people in the country has been afflicted with mental health illness, a statistic described by a concerned Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA) as 'high'.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:02:42 -0800


• Is India waking up to mental illness?
  NEW DELHI - Ignorance, stigma and lack of doctors have long marred mental healthcare in India. But with stressful lifestyles and ever increasing cases of depression, this much neglected segment is now gaining importance in the country’s medical scenario.
  Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:45:34 -0800


• One In Six Afflicted With Mental Illness Nationwide - Psychiatric Association
  SUNGAI PETANI, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- One in six people in the country has been afflicted with mental health illness, a statistic described by a concerned Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA) as 'high'.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:52:50 -0800


• VIDEO: MPs and the stigma of mental illness
  Comedian Ruby Wax said depression was like "being in a coma, but awake" as the panel debated how politicians should discuss their issues.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:12:56 -0800


• Another Brutal Interaction Between Police and Mental Illness
  We do not have any reason to believe routinely brutal interaction between police and persons with active mental illness and/or addiction is exclusive to Portland, or to Oregon. We believe scrutiny of almost any police bureau will show the same strong corr
  Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:05:24 -0800


• Edward Street offers mental illness support
  A new apartment complex that officially opened last week is housing Edmontonians struggling with mental illness.[...]
  Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:27:54 -0800


• Schizophrenia: When hallucinatory voices suppress real ones, new electronic application may help
  When a patient afflicted with schizophrenia hears inner voices something is taking place inside the brain that prevents the individual from perceiving real voices. A simple electronic application may help the patient learn to shift focus.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:18:47 -0800


• Electronic app may help schizophrenia patients to avoid hallucinations
  When a patient afflicted with schizophrenia hears inner voices something is taking place inside the brain that prevents the individual from perceiving real voices. A simple electronic application may help the patient learn to shift focus.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:02:30 -0800


• Topekan talks about living with schizophrenia
  A Topeka woman is sharing what it is like to live with schizophrenia in a 30-minute documentary that will air Sunday on Topeka's public television station.
  Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:31:54 -0800


• Eli Lilly Net Drops 27% After Schizophrenia Drug Loses Patent Protection
  Eli Lilly & Co., whose schizophrenia drug Zyprexa lost patent protection in October, said fourth- quarter profit declined 27 percent on plummeting sales of the drug that had been its biggest seller for years.
  Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:09:49 -0800


• Grant aimed at improving schizophrenia treatment
  (SACRAMENTO, Calif.) - Michael Minzenberg, a UC Davis psychiatry researcher, has been awarded a prestigious three-year, $200,000 seed grant from the Dana Foundation to study the brains of patients being treated for schizophrenia
  Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:40:09 -0800


• Environment affects mental illness genes
  WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Genes linked to schizophrenia and autism are members of a select club of genes regulated during environmentally sensitive times, U.S. researchers said.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:37:46 -0800


• In schizophrenia research, a path to the brain through the nose
  ( Elsevier ) A significant obstacle to progress in understanding psychiatric disorders is the difficulty in obtaining living brain tissue for study so that disease processes can be studied directly. Recent advances in basic cellular neuroscience now suggest that, for some purposes, cultured neural stem cells may be studied in order to research psychiatric disease mechanisms. But where can one ...
  Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:21:15 -0800


• The father of Andrew Downs describes son's slide into schizophrenia
  The father of Andrew Downs, Gary Downs, described his son's slide into schizophrenia during his testimony in Andrew's sanity trial on Wednesday.
  Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:05:54 -0800


• Eli Lilly Profit Slumps as Sales for Schizophrenia Drug Plunge
  Eli Lilly & Co., whose schizophrenia drug Zyprexa lost patent protection in October, said fourth- quarter profit declined 27 percent on plummeting sales of the drug that had been its biggest seller for years.
  Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:50:43 -0800


• Grant will fund study of cognition and schizophrenia
  SACRAMENTO — Michael Minzenberg, a UC Davis psychiatry researcher, has been awarded a prestigious three-year, $200,000 seed grant from the Dana Foundation to study the brains of patients being treated for schizophrenia to determine how additional treatment to improve cognition interacts with antipsychotic medication.
  Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:51:02 -0800


• Being bipolar in Pakistan
  I suffer from a disability called bipolar disorder, something that 2.4 per cent of the global population suffers from . For most of us, it is a genetic disease, but there are others who don’t have a family history of it.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:19:48 -0800


• New Treatment for Patients with Bipolar I Disorder
  LONDON , January 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --First sublingual treatment for moderate to severe manic episodes associated with bipolar I disorder, one of the leading causes of disability[1] affecting an estimated ...
  Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:00:00 -0800


• Henderson Sheriff's case highlights complex, sometimes devastating bipolar disorder
  Henderson County Sheriff Rick Davis. / Special to the Pisgah Mountain News National Alliance on Mental Illness, Western Carolina — Offers support, advocacy, education and other help.
  Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:24:30 -0800


• Lithium For Bipolar Disorder - Pros And Cons Unclear
  The most effective long-term treatment for bipolar disorder is lithium. It offers protection against depression and mania and reduces the risk of suicide and short-term mortality. However, according to a study in The Lancet ,safety concerns have made the use of lithium controversial. The authors examined about 400 articles to research the possible adverse effects of lithium and found ...
  Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:13:35 -0800


• Bipolar drug bad effects may be overcome
  Young people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may be spared the side effects of taking medication.
  Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:17:26 -0800


• Bipolar Drug May Spur Weight Gain, Thyroid Problems: Review
  THURSDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- A new medical review finds that lithium, a common treatment for bipolar disorder, can lead to weight gain and causes high rates of abnormalities in the thyroid and parathyroid glands.
  Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:48:10 -0800


• Therapist and author Kay Redfield Jamison will talk about her life with bipolar disorder
  Unlike a lot of psychiatry experts who treat or research mental illness, Kay Redfield Jamison actually has one. The acclaimed Johns Hopkins psychiatry professor and best-selling author will share her personal struggle with manic depression, or bipolar disorder, and her professional insights at a free community lecture Monday night at Rollins College. The lecture is sponsored by The Winter Park ...
  Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:11:12 -0800


• Bipolar diagnosis weighed in car theft guilty plea
  LOCKPORT—A Buffalo man diagnosed with bipolar disorder pleaded guilty Friday to stealing a car and plowing it into a Wheatfield snowbank last March 7....
  Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:18:34 -0800


• Does Borna disease virus cause mental illness?
  Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have linked Borna disease virus with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and dementia, but study results have been inconsistent. Now, the first blinded, case-control study to examine this issue finds no association between the virus and psychiatric illness.
  Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:18:17 -0800


• Study finds no link between BDV and psychiatric illness
  Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have linked Borna disease virus (BDV) with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and dementia. Genetic fragments and antibodies to this RNA virus, which causes behavior disorders in a range of mammals and birds, have been found to be prevalent in psychiatric patients, but study results have been inconsistent. Now, the ...
  Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:48:47 -0800


• Depression link to heart disease not affected by medication
  People with major depression and anxiety are 75% more likely to have a heart rate condition linked to cardiovascular disease – regardless of whether they are taking antidepressants, new research shows.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:33:01 -0800


• Magnetic Therapy for Depression Becoming More Popular
  A new magnetic therapy that treats major depression "is rapidly gaining momentum." Nearly 300 centers in the United States now offer transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
  Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:40:54 -0800


• Transcranial magnetic stimulation that treats depression gains momentum
  A new magnetic therapy that treats major depression "is rapidly gaining momentum," said Dr. Murali Rao of Loyola University Medical Center, one of the first Chicago-area centers to offer the treatment.
  Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:18:37 -0800


• Blood Test May Help Diagnose Depression
  A new study found a blood test may help diagnose depression.
  Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:00:44 -0800


• Blood Test Shows Promise in Aiding Depression Diagnosis
  A blood test may help diagnose depression, according to a team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital. In a new study, the researchers report that a blood test analyzing the levels of nine biomarkers accurately identifies patients diagnosed with depression from control participants. “Traditionally, diagnosis of major depression and other mental disorders has been made [...]
  Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:36:24 -0800


• Once Again: Grief Is Not a Disorder, But It May Be Accompanied by Major Depression
  Dr Pies is Editor in Chief Emeritus of Psychiatric Times and Professor in the psychiatry departments of SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, and Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston.
  Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:36:45 -0800


• Blood test diagnoses depression
  A team of American medical researchers has created a blood test which they say can accurately diagnose depression. read more
  Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:34:25 -0800


• 'I Wanted To Live': New Depression Drugs Offer Hope For Toughest Cases
  The anesthetic and club drug ketamine seems to lift depression symptoms in a matter of hours. But how does it work? Researchers are searching for the answer in an attempt to make a new class of depression medications. "We can take care of a migraine in hours," one researcher asks. "So why do we have to wait weeks or months with depression?"
  Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:41:43 -0800


• Allen Frances: Don't Confuse Grief With Depression
  Grief is the normal and absolutely unavoidable price we must pay for having the capacity to love -- it is most certainly not a disease.
  Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:02:27 -0800


• 'Club Drug' Cure?
  More data is now available—this time from the Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, Texas—suggesting that the “club drug” ketamine can rapidly relieve symptoms of major depression.
  Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:43:59 -0800

"Help, Help! The mental patients are revolting!"