Midurethral Sling Complications May Be Associated with Psychological Stress, esp in Young Women

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Welk

Blayne Welk MD, MSc, FRCSC
Associate Professor of Surgery
St. Joseph’s Hospital
Western University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: I found that when I was referred women with midurethral sling complications, they were often quite emotional and described a significant period of time when they struggled with the complications before they were referred to someone to assess them.

The study looked at the rate of depression and self-harm behavior of women who had surgery for midurethral sling complications compared to women who did not have midurethral sling complications.

I found that there was an increased risk of both of these outcomes among women who had surgery for complications, however this risk was primarily present in younger women.

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Loss of Deep Sleep Associated With Early Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted on January 13, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Lucey

Brendan P. Lucey, MD, MSCI
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Director, Sleep Medicine Section
Washington University School of Medicine
Saint Louis, Missouri 63110

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Alzheimer’s disease and sleep are currently thought to have a two-way or bidirectional relationship.

First, sleep disturbances may increase the risk of developing AD.

Second, changes in sleep-wake activity may be due to Alzheimer’s disease pathology and our paper was primarily focused on this aspect of the relationship. If sleep changes were a marker for AD changes in the brain, then this would be very helpful in future clinical trials and possibly screening in the clinic.

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Parental Drinking Linked to Anxiety and Depression in Children

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Ingunn Olea Lund

Dr. Ingunn Olea Lund, PhD
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Oslo, Norway

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: There are significant amounts of research on children of parents with alcohol use disorders – where the children are shown to be at risk of several adverse outcomes, including mental disorders, substance use disorders, suicide, impaired school performance, and employment problems. There is very little previous research on how other, more normal levels of parental drinking may influence child outcomes, such as mental health. This is a grave oversight, as there are vastly more parents with normal drinking patterns than there are parents who suffer from an alcohol use disorder. This means that there are potentially a lot more cases of adverse effect for children, and the number of children at risk may be higher than previously assumed.

In addition to parents’ alcohol use, several other risk factors in the family that may affect child mental health outcomes, such as parents’ mental health and socio-economic status. Researchers have tended to look at these risk factors separately, but as these risks tend to co-occur, it may be more informative to consider them together.

To our knowledge, this is the first study that examines possible harm from normal levels of parental drinking, alone or in combination with other parental risk factors, on children’s anxiety and depression.

The sample consists of more than 8700 triads: children and both their parents. We combined information from three health registries with survey data where both adolescents and their parents provided information about health and social conditions. The health registers include information about the children ‘s actual contact with the health care system; we used information about whether children received diagnoses and/or treatment for anxiety and/or depression.

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Depression Rates Climb with Hearing Loss

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Golub

Justin S. Golub, MD, MS
Assistant Professor
Otology, Neurotology, and Skull Base Surgery
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Age-related hearing loss is extremely common, yet few people do anything about it. We studied a population of over 5,000 individuals and found that hearing loss was related to feelings of depression. The worse the hearing loss, the worse the symptoms of depression. Even people with just mild hearing loss had nearly two times the odds of depressive symptoms compared to normal hearing people. Among people with moderate hearing loss, the odds of depressive symptoms were four times as high. These statistics take into account various factors that can cause both hearing loss and depression, such as age and demographic background. Continue reading →

NUEDEXTA® (Dextromethorphan and Quinidine) Studied for ALS and MS but Primarily Use in Dementia

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Fralick

Michael Fralick, MD, FRCPC, SM, PhD (Cand)
Clinical Associate, General Internal Medicine
St Michael’s Hospital
Phillipson Scholar, Clinician Scientist Program, University of Toronto
PhD Candidate, IHPME, University of Toronto
Affiliated Faculty, Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This medication is a pill that combines two ingredients: dextromethorphan (the active ingredient in cough syrup) and quinidine (used to increase the concentration of dextromethorphan). The medication was primarily studied and evaluated in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or (multiple sclerosis) MS, but anecdotal evidence suggested it was being prescribed to patients with dementia. We used data from two nationwide healthcare databases to understand how the medication was being used in routine care.

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Autistic Adults Also Display Non-Social Cognitive Deficits

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Velikonja

Tjasa Velikonja, PhD
Department of Psychiatry
The Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, New York

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Autism is a lifelong condition, and challenges associated with autism persist from childhood into adulthood. Despite this, research and treatment have been largely dedicated to children. Because of that, we had very little understanding of what areas – what cognitive domains – are most severely impacted in adults with autism. Importantly, the lack of such information also limits treatment development in this area.

What is known already is that adults with autism display deficits in social cognition (which refers to the role that cognitive processes play in our social interactions). Although our meta-analysis supported these theories, it also highlighted several other challenges in cognitive processing, such as deficits in processing speed and verbal learning and memory. And these impairments were observed in adults with autism without an overall intellectual disability.

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Multiple Concussions Linked to Decrease in Executive Brain Functions

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Robert Ross, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
McConnell Hall, Room 424
University of New Hampshire

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: In the United States, 1.5-2 million people suffer from mild traumatic brain injuries, more commonly referred to as concussions, per year.

There is a large body of work illustrating the cognitive impairments associated with concussions in the immediate aftermath of the concussive event. However, it is not clear whether concussions can change cognition more long-term and how concussions might change how the brain functions during specific types of cognition.

In our study, we examined executive function, which is a cognitive process that helps control or manage other cognitive functions, in a group of healthy young adults aged 18-24 that had suffered at least two concussions and compared their performance and their brain oscillations to a group that had not suffered any concussions. Brain oscillations help the brain coordinate the activity of the thousands of neurons necessary for any sort of cognitive process to occur. The participants in the study self-reported their concussions with all concussions occurring at least one month prior to participating in the experiment.

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What Causes ‘Chemo Brain’ in Women?

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Gervais

Nicole J. Gervais, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral fellow | Einstein lab
University of Toronto, Department of Psychology
Toronto, ON

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) including letrozole are given as an adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer. Women taking this drug have reported a number of symptoms including hot flashes, memory complaints and mood changes. However, not all studies report memory issues. This might be due to the fact that studies in this population are hampered by confounds, such as chemotherapy/radiotherapy, stress and disease stage, all of which can also adversely impact memory. These confounds make it challenging to observe the independent effects of AIs on memory. By using a non-human primate model, we were able to examine the effects of aromatase inhibition on these symptoms as well as brain function without these confounding effects.

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Coordinated Care Program For Dementia Patients Reduced Need For Nursing Home Placement

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Jennings

Lee A. Jennings, MD, MSHS
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director, Oklahoma Healthy Aging Initiative
Reynolds Department of Geriatric Medicine
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Oklahoma City, OK 73117

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The research study focused on a novel model of care for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, the UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program. In the program, people with dementia and their caregivers meet with a nurse practitioner specializing in dementia care for a 90-minute in-person assessment and then receive a personalized dementia care plan that addresses the medical, mental health and social needs of both people. The nurse practitioners work collaboratively with the patient’s primary care provider and specialist physicians to implement the care plan, including adjustments as needs change over time.

The research was designed to evaluate the costs of administering the program, as well as the health care services used by program participants, including hospitalizations, emergency room visits, hospital readmissions and long-term nursing home placement. A total of 1,083 Medicare beneficiaries with dementia were enrolled in the program and were followed for three years. The study compared them to a similar group of patients living in the same ZIP codes who did not participate in the program. Continue reading →

When Asked, Teens Frequently Report Hallucinations, Paranoia or Anxiety with Marijuana Use

Posted on December 19, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Levy

Sharon Levy, MD, MPH
Director, Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction Program
Boston Children’s Hospital
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: For this study we analyzed data that were collected as part of a larger survey study that recruited a sample of adolescents who were coming to the doctor’s office for routine medical care. We asked them a lot of questions about their health, school, extracurricular activities, plans for the future, substance use patterns and problems associated with use among other things.

The main finding was that among the participants who reported marijuana use in the past year, many of them, more than 40%, said that they had experienced either an hallucination, or paranoia/anxiety related to their use.

Kids who used more frequently and those who met criteria for a substance use disorder were more likely to experience these symptoms, as were those who had symptoms of depression Continue reading →

Not All Electronic Health Record Warnings Are Accurate

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Phillips

Katharine Phillips, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
DeWitt Wallace Senior Scholar
Residency Research Director
Department of Psychiatry
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University
Attending Psychiatrist, New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Weill Cornell Psychiatry Specialty Center
Weill Cornell Medicine I NewYork-Presbyterian

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Electronic prescribing of medication by clinicians is widespread; it is required in many institutions and in some states. Electronic prescribing systems commonly use computerized decision support algorithms that give prescribers automated warnings or alerts at the time of prescribing if the system identifies a potential prescribing error.
Some prior studies suggest that electronic prescribing warnings/alerts may reduce prescribing errors and thus can be clinically useful. However, other prior studies caution that these alerts may have substantial limitations.
Despite the importance of this topic, relatively few studies have examined the accuracy of automated prescribing warnings in electronic prescribing systems; to our knowledge, no prior study has focused primarily on prescribing of medications for psychiatric conditions.
This report presents results from a survey of members of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP), a specialty society that advances the science and practice of clinical psychopharmacology, regarding automated warnings generated by electronic prescribing systems.

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Younger Siblings of Children with Autism or ADHD More Likely To Be Similarly Diagnosed

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Miller

Meghan Miller, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
UC Davis MIND Institute
Sacramento, CA 95817

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This study evaluated within-diagnosis sibling recurrence and sibling cross-aggregation of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder among later-born siblings of diagnosed children. We specifically chose to include only families who had at least one subsequent child after the diagnosis of an older child because failing to do so could bias recurrence risk estimates.

We found that, compared to later-born siblings of non-diagnosed children, later-born siblings of children with autism were more likely to be diagnosed with autism or with ADHD. Likewise, compared to later-born siblings of non-diagnosed children, later-born siblings of children with ADHD were more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD or with autism.

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Hysterectomy Can Impair Short Term Memory (at least in rats)

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Bimonte-Nelson

Heather A. Bimonte-Nelson, Ph.D.
Professor, Barrett Honors Faculty
Department of Psychology
Arizona State University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The dogma in the field is that the nonpregnant uterus is dormant, and therefore it has not necessarily been of interest to study. Textbooks have described the nonpregnant uterus as “quiescent,” “dormant,” and “useless.” When I was in graduate school studying endocrinology, I read statements in books saying that the sole purpose of the uterus is for gestation.

However, all women aging into midlife will experience some type of menopause, and some of these women will undergo surgical menopause via removal of all, or a part of, their reproductive tracts. Research evaluating reproductive tract-brain connections has grown quite a bit in the last few decades. For example, the ovary-brain connection has been focused on quite a bit, and we now know that hormones coming from the ovaries (such as estrogens and progesterone) can affect more than reproduction, and can impact brain functioning. While the uterus-brain connection is not well understood, there is research indicating that the uterus and autonomic nervous system communicate directly.

We also know that hormones released from the ovaries impact the uterus. Therefore, there is a uterus-ovary-brain triad system. This uterus-ovary-brain triad has undergone little scientific investigation for functions outside of reproduction. Given that by age 60 one in three women experience hysterectomy, thereby interrupting this uterus-ovary-brain triad system, we believe it is important to understand the effects of variants of surgical menopause including hysterectomy.

This led to our current evaluation testing multiple variations in surgical menopause using a rat model, where we tested the effects of uterus removal alone (hysterectomy), ovarian removal alone, or uterus plus ovarian removal.

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Fluoxetine (Prozac) Did Not Reduce Risk of Depression After Stroke, But Did Raise Risk of Fractures

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Prof. Mead

Prof. Gillian Mead
Chair of Stroke and Elderly Care Medicine

Prof. Dennis

Prof. Martin Dennis
Chair of Stroke Medicine

Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences
The University of Edinburgh

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: We are both practicing stroke physicians as well as clinical trialists. Therefore our interest in this area was triggered by the exciting results of the FLAME trial in 2011. This appeared to indicate that fluoxetine might boost the recovery of stroke patients. Potentially this was very important given the increasing numbers of people having disability due to stroke, and the fact that fluoxetine is inexpensive and could be introduced very easily into clinical practice. We were further encouraged by the large numbers of small RCTs we identified when we carried out a Cochrane systematic review on the topic. These trials provided more evidence of potential benefit but there was evidence that trials of greater quality showed less benefit, and benefits were greater in patients who were depressed. We felt there was a need for more evidence derived from much larger numbers of patients.

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Black Mothers More Likely To Think Their Sons Have ADHD

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. DuPaul

George J. DuPaul, PhD
Department of Education and Human Services
Lehigh University

Charles Barrett. Ph.D. School Psychologist Lehigh University

Dr. Barrett

Charles Barrett. Ph.D.
School Psychologist
Loudon County Virginia
Public Schools

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Numerous studies have shown that Black children are more likely to receive ratings that are more indicative of displaying externalizing behavior difficulties, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, many of these studies included teachers as the informants. Consistent with most teachers in the United States, raters have typically been White females. For this reason, it is unclear if these outcomes would exist if the rater and child shared the same racial/ethnic background. Additionally, most research in the United States that involved cross-cultural comparisons has used White and Hispanic boys. Few empirical studies have examined differences between Black and White boys.

The present study sought to address several limitations in the field. Most notably, cross-cultural comparisons between Black and White boys were included instead of Hispanic and White children. Next, maternal figures, rather than teachers, were included as the informants.

The present study was developed using a similar methodology that examined Hispanic and White boys’ behavior from the perspective of Hispanic and White teachers (Dominguez de Ramirez & Shapiro, 2005). In sum, we sought to determine if there were differences in how Black and White maternal figures rated Black and White boys who were demonstrating the same level/type of behavior (i.e., sub-clinical levels of ADHD). Notably, although the boys’ behaviors were the same, maternal ratings were not identical.

Specifically, using the ADHD Rating Scale, Fourth Edition (ARS-4), Black mothers assigned higher ratings to both Black and White boys.

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1 in 40 Children Reported By Parents To Have ASD

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michael Kogan, Ph.D.
Director of the office of Epidemiology and Research
Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This was a study led by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, along with researchers from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention, Harvard, Drexel, and George Washington Universities. We used the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, a nationally representative survey of over 50,000 children that examines the health and well-being of US children, to examine the prevalence, treatment, and health care experiences of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

We found that 1 out of 40 children in the US were reported by their parents to have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We also found that children with ASD were significantly less likely to receive services like needed care coordination, referrals to other services, and mental health counseling – even compared to children with other emotional, behavioral or developmental disorders (EBDs). Parents of children with ASD were also significantly more likely to report being usually or always frustrated in their attempts to get services, again compared to families of children with other EBDs. Finally, we looked at treatment patterns for children with ASD and found that 64% had received behavioral therapy in the year before the interview, and 27% had received medications to treat symptoms of irritability.

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Newer MRIs May Predict Alzheimer’s Disease Before Any Symptoms

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Raji

Cyrus A. Raji, MD PhD
Asst Prof of Radiology, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Neuroradiology Faculty and the Neuoimaging Laboratories
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and every patient suspected of having this disorder receives an MRI scan of the brain.

MRI scans of the brain in dementia are currently limited to evaluating for structural lesions that could be leading to memory loss such as stroke or tumor. What this study sought to accomplish was to determine if a newer type of MRI scan called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can predict who will experience cognitive decline and dementia. We found that DTI can predict persons who will demented 2.6 years before the earliest onset of symptoms.

This study was done in 61 individuals, 30 converters and 31 non-converters, from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and we found that DTI metrics could predict dementia 2.6 years later with 89-95% accuracy.

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Gene Expression Differences Detected in Toddlers with Autism

Posted on November 27, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Lombardo

Michael Lombardo, PhD
Assistant professor of Psychology
the University of Cyprus

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Autism is a diagnostic label we give to children with difficulties in the areas of social-communication and restricted, repetitive stereotyped behaviors and interests. The diagnosis is made based on observations about behavior and is a consensus label, meaning that clinicians can show high degrees of agreement that a given set of behaviors is ‘autism’. But aside from the diagnostic label, there is a fair degree of heterogeneity within patients that have the diagnosis. One way in which patients are heterogeneous is with regard to early language development. Some toddlers with autism are minimally verbal, while at the other end, many toddlers with autism develop language typically. An important question to answer is whether that kind of difference in language development indicates a subtype with different underlying biology.

To examine this question, we first split toddlers with autism into two subtypes defined by their language outcome at 4 years of age. Some toddlers were classified as poor language outcome, because their language performance was 1 standard deviation below typical norms. Other toddlers with autism had relatively good language outcome, as their language performance by 4 years of age was within 1 standard deviation of typical norms.

We also measured the biology behind these two autism subtypes. First we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is a non-invasive method to look at blood oxygenation response that changes according to a task. Blood oxygenation changes are an indirect measure of neural activity. We used fMRI during natural sleep at around 29 months of age while the toddlers were played language stimuli through headphones to elicit neural responses to speech. Second, we measured molecular aspects of biology, by taking blood samples, isolating leukocyte cells, and then quantifying gene expression for all protein coding genes in the genome, at around the same time as the fMRI scan.

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Aggression in Dementia: Alternatives to Antipsychotics Also Have Side Effects

Posted on November 26, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Watt

Jennifer Watt, PhD
Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research
Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation
University of Toronto

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (e.g. aggression, agitation) are common among persons living with dementia.

Pharmacological (e.g. antipsychotics) and non-pharmacological (e.g. reminiscence therapy) interventions are often used to alleviate these symptoms. However, antipsychotics are associated with significant harm among older adults with dementia (e.g. death, stroke). Regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada issued black box warnings to advise patients and clinicians of this potential for harm. And initiatives were championed to decrease the use of antipsychotics in persons living with dementia.

In response, we have seen a rise in the use of other pharmacological interventions, such as trazodone (an antidepressant). Its potential to cause harm in older adults with dementia is largely unknown. Continue reading →

Exposure to Police Violence May Be Associated With Mental Health Disparities

Posted on November 26, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Jordan E. DeVylder, PhD
Graduate School of Social Service
Fordham University, New York, New York

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This study is intended to address the lack of empirical research on police violence from a public health perspective.

The main findings are that police violence is relatively widespread in Baltimore and New York City, is disproportionately directed toward people of color and sexual or gender minorities, and is associated with psychological distress, suicidal behavior, and psychosis-like symptoms.

Continue reading →

Serious Mental Illness Raises Risk of 30 Day Readmission

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Germack

Hayley D. Germack PHD, MHS, RN
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
University of Pittsburgh

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: As nurse scientists, we repeatedly witness the impact of having a serious mental illness (i.e. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression disorder) on patients’ inpatient and discharge experience. As health services researchers, we know how to make use of large secondary data to illuminate our firsthand observations.

In 2016, Dr. Hanrahan and colleagues (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163834316301347) published findings of a secondary data analysis from a large urban hospital system that found 1.5 to 2.4 greater odds of readmission for patients with an serious mental illness diagnosis compared to those without. We decided to make use of the AHRQ’s HCUP National Readmissions Database to illuminate the magnitude of this relationship using nationally representative data. We found that even after controlling for clinical, demographic, and hospital factors, that patients with SMI have nearly 2 times greater odds of 30-day readmission. Continue reading →

Adults with Down’s Syndrome at High Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Rosalyn Hithersay
LonDowns
Kings College, London

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: In our research group, we have been following a large group of adults with Down syndrome in the UK to track changes with ageing in their health and cognitive function. It has been known for some time now that people with Down syndrome are at high risk for developing dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. This new study has shown the huge impact that this risk has on mortality for these adults.

We found that dementia is now the likely underlying cause of death in more than 70% of adults with Down syndrome aged over 35 years. This is a much bigger proportion of deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease compared to the general population: in England and Wales only 17.5% of deaths past the age of 65 would be related to dementia of any kind. Continue reading →

Transcendental Meditation May Help Veterans with Resistant PTSD

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Nidich

Sanford Nidich, Ed.D.
Director, Center for Social-Emotional Health
Maharishi University of Management Research Institute
Fairfield, Iowa

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex and difficult-to-treat disorder, affecting 10-20% of veterans across eras. Previous research raised the question of whether a non-trauma focused treatment can be as effective as trauma exposure therapy in reducing PTSD symptoms. The overall objective of the study was to compare Transcendental Meditation (TM), a non-trauma focused practice, to prolonged exposure (PE) in a non-inferiority clinical trial, and to compare both to a PTSD health education control group.

Transcendental Meditation was found to be as effective as PE in reducing PTSD symptoms severity from baseline to three-month posttest. In standard superiority comparisons, significant reductions in PTSD symptoms were found for TM vs. HE, and PE vs. HE. Percentages of participants with clinically significant improvement, as measured by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) interview (≥10 point reduction), were TM=61%, PE=42%, and HE=32% Continue reading →

Testosterone Treatment May Reduce Depression in Men

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Walther

Dr. Andreas Walther PhD
Department of Biological Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich,
Zurich, Switzerland
Task Force on Men’s Mental Health of the World Federation of the Societies of Biological Psychiatry

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The study situation with regard to endogenous testosterone level and depressive symptoms in men is currently very mixed. There are studies that show no association, but other studies show that low testosterone levels are associated with increased depressive symptoms. That is why several studies have tried to administer testosterone in men to treat depressive symptomatology among other conditions (e.g. erectile dysfunction, cognitive decline).

However, no clear conclusions could be drawn from the studies to date, as some studies reported positive results, while others did not show any effects. Likewise, some studies showed better results in certain subgroups of men such as dysthymic men, treatment resistant, men with low testosterone, which raised the question of relevant moderators.

Continue reading →

Heavy Exposure to Air Pollution During Pregnancy May Raise Air Pollution Risk

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Lief Pagalan, MSc
Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Research Trainee, Centre for Hip Health and Mobility
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Pregnant women more heavily exposed to air pollution had higher chances of having children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The causes of ASD are not fully understood, but this study adds to the growing evidence that environmental risk factors have a role to play. Our study found an association between autism spectrum disorder in the children of women more heavily exposed to air pollution. We observed these results using well-defined cases of ASD and in Vancouver, Canada, which typically has lower air pollution. These findings are consistent with studies done in the U.S., Israel, and Taiwan, which have also found an increased risk of ASD from exposure to air pollution. Continue reading →

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Category Archives: Mental Health Research

Midurethral Sling Complications May Be Associated with Psychological Stress, esp in Young Women

Loss of Deep Sleep Associated With Early Alzheimer’s Disease

Parental Drinking Linked to Anxiety and Depression in Children

Depression Rates Climb with Hearing Loss

NUEDEXTA® (Dextromethorphan and Quinidine) Studied for ALS and MS but Primarily Use in Dementia

Autistic Adults Also Display Non-Social Cognitive Deficits

Multiple Concussions Linked to Decrease in Executive Brain Functions

What Causes ‘Chemo Brain’ in Women?

Coordinated Care Program For Dementia Patients Reduced Need For Nursing Home Placement

When Asked, Teens Frequently Report Hallucinations, Paranoia or Anxiety with Marijuana Use

Not All Electronic Health Record Warnings Are Accurate

Younger Siblings of Children with Autism or ADHD More Likely To Be Similarly Diagnosed

Hysterectomy Can Impair Short Term Memory (at least in rats)

Fluoxetine (Prozac) Did Not Reduce Risk of Depression After Stroke, But Did Raise Risk of Fractures

Black Mothers More Likely To Think Their Sons Have ADHD

1 in 40 Children Reported By Parents To Have ASD

Newer MRIs May Predict Alzheimer’s Disease Before Any Symptoms

Gene Expression Differences Detected in Toddlers with Autism

Aggression in Dementia: Alternatives to Antipsychotics Also Have Side Effects

Serious Mental Illness Raises Risk of 30 Day Readmission

Adults with Down’s Syndrome at High Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Transcendental Meditation May Help Veterans with Resistant PTSD

Testosterone Treatment May Reduce Depression in Men

Heavy Exposure to Air Pollution During Pregnancy May Raise Air Pollution Risk