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 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
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