NAMI NEW JERSEY programs:
nimh outreach partnership

NIMH National Outreach Partnership

Partners To Deliver Science-Based Messages Across the Nation

NAMI NEW JERSEY is one of the 51 organizations partnering with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to conduct mental health outreach and education for the public, health professionals, K-12 schools, minorities and other populations such as youth and older adults using mental health-related information provided by NIMH or other sources.


              NIMH Lastest Update [July 7, 2008] 

NIMH Science and Service News Updates:


NIMH: Antipsychotic Medications May Ease Some Alzheimer’s Symptoms, Not Others
Antipsychotic medications may lessen symptoms like hostility and aggression in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, but do not appear to lessen other symptoms or improve quality of life, according to a recent analysis of data from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness Alzheimer’s Disease (CATIE-AD) study. The analysis was published online ahead of print June 2, 2008, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/antipsychotic-medications-may-ease-some-alzheimers-symptoms-not-others.shtml


NIMH: New Grant Aims to Overcome Obesity in People with Serious Mental Illness
A new grant funded by NIMH will test the effectiveness of a promising intervention designed to help people with serious mental illness who are overweight or obese lose weight and keep it off. Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/new-grant-aims-to-overcome-obesity-in-people-with-serious-mental-illness.shtml

NIMH: Anxious Youth Have Disturbed Brain Responses When Looking at Angry Faces
When looking at angry faces so quickly that they are hardly aware of seeing them, youth with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) have unchecked activity in the brain’s fear center, say NIMH researchers. This disturbance is greater in those who are more severely anxious.
Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/anxious-youth-have-disturbed-brain-responses-when-looking-at-angry-faces.shtml


NIMH: New Grant Supports Stem Cell-Derived Model of Autism-Related Illness
For the first time, researchers are developing a test tube model of Rett syndrome, a debilitating autism-like illness, in neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells. The study, recently funded by a grant from NIMH’s Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science, addresses a crucial gap in understanding the workings of the rare autism spectrum disorder.
Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/new-grant-supports-stem-cell-derived-model-of-autism-related-illness.shtml


Mental Disorders Cost Society Billions in Unearned Income
Major mental disorders cost the nation at least $193 billion annually in lost earnings alone, according to a new NIMH-funded study. The study was published in the May 2008 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Direct costs associated with mental disorders like medication, clinic visits, and hospitalization are relatively easy to quantify, but they reveal only a small portion of the economic burden these illnesses place on society. Indirect costs like lost earnings likely account for enormous expenses, but they are very difficult to define and estimate.
Press Release: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/mental-disorders-cost-society-billions-in-unearned-income.shtml


Medication-only Therapy and Combination Therapy Both Cost Effective for Treating Teens with Depression
Treating depressed teenagers with either the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) or a combination of fluoxetine and psychotherapy can be cost effective, according to a recent economic analysis of the NIMH-funded Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). The study was published in the May 2008 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/medication-only-therapy-and-combination-therapy-both-cost-effective-for-treating-teens-with-depression.shtml


Study Launched to Test Possible Preventive Treatment for Schizophrenia in High Risk Youth
NIMH has recently awarded a grant to study whether an intensive computerized training program can help prevent those at high risk of developing schizophrenia from having a first psychotic episode and improve adaptive functioning. The program is based on principles of brain development and resilience and an understanding of the processes that go awry in schizophrenia. Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/study-launched-to-test-possible-preventive-treatment-for-schizophrenia-in-high-risk-youth.shtml

Medication-Enhanced Learning in Therapy Hailed as “Paradigm Shift” for Anxiety
A medication that enhances learning, taken just before an exposure therapy session, may aid cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders, say NIMH-funded researchers, who adapted the technique from studies in rats. D-cycloserine, is used to “specifically enhance the efficacy of the emotional learning process that takes place in psychotherapy and hopefully make these new emotional memories more robust and long-lasting,” explained psychologist Barbara Rothbaum, Ph.D., an NIMH grantee at Emory University, in an editorial in the March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP). She heralded the new approach as “a paradigm shift.”
Science news: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/medication-enhanced-learning-in-therapy-hailed-as-paradigm-shift-for-anxiety.shtml


Human Brain Appears “Hard-Wired” for Hierarchy—Scans Hint at Why It Can Be Unhealthy Even at the Top
Human imaging studies have for the first time identified brain circuitry associated with social status, according to researchers at the NIMH. They found that different brain areas are activated when a person moves up or down in a pecking order – or simply views perceived social superiors or inferiors. Circuitry activated by important events responded to a potential change in hierarchical status as much as it did to winning money. The researchers report on their functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in the April 24, 2008, issue of the journal Neuron. Press release: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/human-brain-appears-hard-wired-for-hierarchy.shtml

Journal Highlights Effectiveness of Research Based Psychotherapies for Youth
Reviews of the current research on psychosocial and behavioral therapies, or psychotherapies, for children and adolescents found a number of "well established" and "probably efficacious" treatments for many mental disorders. For example, six were "probably efficacious" for anxiety disorders, and two were "well established" for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to scientists funded by NIMH and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The results were published in a special issue of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and cover the current state of research psychotherapies for children and adolescents with mental disorders. This special issue provides a 10-year update on the original special issue on psychosocial treatments, published in 1998.
Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/journal-highlights-effectiveness-of-research-based-psychotherapies-for-youth.shtml


Maintenance Treatment Crucial for Teens’ Recovery from Depression
Long-term maintenance treatment is likely to sustain improvement and prevent recurrence among adolescents with major depression, according to an NIMH-funded study published in the April 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. The study analyzed data from the Treatment of Adolescents with Depression Study, a large, NIMH-funded trial in which depressed teens were randomized to one of three treatments for 36 weeks—fluoxetine (Prozac), cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) or a combination of both.
Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/maintenance-treatment-crucial-for-teens-recovery-from-depression.shtml

New Research to Help People with Mental Disorders Quit Smoking
A new grant funded by NIMH will develop an intervention designed to help people with serious mental illness (SMI) quit smoking. The addiction is very common among people with SMI, and contributes significantly to deteriorating health and higher costs for care. But it is difficult to treat among people with SMI because they require a tailored approach that is incorporated into their existing mental health treatment.
Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/new-research-to-help-people-with-mental-disorders-quit-smoking.shtml

Paying More for Prescriptions May Limit Seniors’ Access to Antidepressants
New cost-sharing policies may prevent some older adults diagnosed with depression from filling new antidepressant prescriptions, according to an analysis published in the April 2008 issue of Psychiatric Services. The NIMH-funded study examined eight years of data from a British Columbia, Canada, program that evolved from comprehensive prescription coverage to cost-sharing in which seniors were responsible for a part of the costs of their prescriptions.
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/paying-more-for-prescriptions-may-limit-seniors-access-to-antidepressants.shtml


NIMH Links:

  Outreach Partnership Program
  Publications and resource
  Real Men. Real Depression.
  The NIH Record
  NIMH clinical studies
  National Institute of Health (NIH) Clinical Trials

 

Related Links:

  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
  National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
  National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Publications

 

NAMI NEW JERSEY is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families who are affected by mental illness.

NAMI NEW JERSEY
1562 Route 130, North Brunswick, New Jersey 08902
Phone:732.940.0991 Fax:732.940.0355
E-mail: info@naminj.org
Web Address: www.naminj.org
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