News tagged with 'Mental Illness'

While Risperdal is already approved for use in adolescents, three other makers of powerful atypical anti-psychotics are seeking FDA approval for use in the young.  The drugs are effective in some, but others say they can be fatal and are known to cause weight gain and increase the risk of diabetes. 

In one of the largest imaging studies on whether depression runs in families - researchers find that a thinning in the right hemisphere of the brain appeared to be linked to a risk of depression.

If schizophrenia runs in a family, bipolar disorder most likely does as well (and vice versa), suggests new research. A new study, published online in the January issue of the journal The Lancet, suggests both disorders share common genetic causes.

Patients taking a newer group of atypical antipsychotics are twice as likely to suffer sudden cardiac failure and death as nonusers, according to a newly published study in the New England Journal of Medicine.  The newer atypicals were thought to be safer than the older medications. An editorial says they are all overprescribed.

Published studies uncover a genetic component to schizophrenia that had never before been seen. For a disease that has seen few breakthroughs, these discoveries will help target therapies and earlier diagnosis.

New gene-scanning technology is allowing researchers to uncover the underlying biology of mental disorders by pinpointing glitches in individual genes that may lead to schizophrenia.  We all may have gene glitches but how they work together is the key.

People who spend excessive amounts of time texting or are obsessed with their computer and software, may be showing signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, an addiction not easily broken. There are four signs to look for.