Mental Health Research
25 Apr Brief Sexual Contact Between Parents Linked to Greater Risk of Schizophrenia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48829" align="alignleft" width="130"] Dr. Malaspina[/caption]
Dolores Malaspina MD, MS, MSPH
Professor or Psychiatry, Neuroscience,
Genetics and Genomic Sciences
Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai
Department of Psychiatry
New York, NY 10128, USA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Schizophrenia is a severe disorder that presents in late adolescence or early adulthood with declining function, social withdrawal and psychotic symptoms such as auditory hallucinations and fixed false beliefs. It is a common condition, affecting 1% of the population, which can be not yet be prevented or cured. Its causes are still puzzling.
Evidence from many different research approaches now suggests that an overactive immune system plays some role in causing schizophrenia, but the origins of the immune dysfunction are not known.
We considered that too brief a period of sexual contact between parents could cause immune activation in offspring and thus be a risk factor for schizophrenia.
With repeated sexual contact the maternal immune system develops tolerance to genetic material from the father. Otherwise, inflammatory processes may restrict the placental blood supply between the fetus and mother.
25 Apr Early Childhood Infections Associated With Eating Disorders In Adolescence
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48823" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dr. Breithaupt[/caption]
Lauren Breithaupt, PhD
Department of Psychology
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Our study provides novel insight into the relationship between the immune system and eating disorders characterized by chronic restriction (e.g., anorexia nervosa) and binge eating and/or purging (e.g., binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa). These findings also add to the growing body of literature linking the immune systems broadly and mental disorders.
We found that infections in early childhood were associated with an increased risk of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and other eating disorders such as binge eating disorder in adolescence. These relationships appear to be both time and dose-dependent, meaning that the onset of eating disorder diagnosis is greatest in the first three months following the infection, and the more infections, the greater the risk.
25 Apr Afraid of Spiders? Maybe Spiderman Can Help
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Yaakov Hoffman, PhD.
Senior Lecturer and Clinical Psychologist
Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences
Max & Anna Webb St. Ramat-Gan, Israel, 5290002
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Foundation: This study was conceptualized during a conversation we had, namely, Dr. Yaakov Hoffman, Interdisciplinary department of social sciences, Bar Ilan University, and Professor Menachem Ben-Ezra School of Social Work, Ariel University, following the release of the Antman movie. We are both psychologists who are also avid Marvel superhero fans. In this meaningful conversation we discussed the issue of fear of insects which led to the idea that positive exposure to phobic stimuli (exposure to spider or ants) within the context of Marvel superheroes will lead to robust reduction in phobic symptoms. As most of the conventional treatments for specific phobias use exposure to the phobic stimuli in neutral contexts, we thought that framing the exposure in a positive fun, albeit fantasy context would yield robust results, as well as perhaps reducing stigma.
22 Apr NYU Researchers Develop Siri-Like Application to Identify PTSD by Speech Analysis
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48742" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Marmar[/caption]
Charles R. Marmar, MD
The Lucius N. Littauer Professor
Chair of the Department of Psychiatry
NYU Langone School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Several studies in recent years have attempted to identify biological markers that distinguish individuals with PTSD, with candidate markers including changes in brain cell networks, genetics, neurochemistry, immune functioning, and psychophysiology. Despite such advances, the use of biomarkers for diagnosing PTSD remained elusive going into the current study, and no physical marker was applied in the clinic.
Our study is the first to compare speech in an age and gender matched sample of a military population with and without PTSD, in which PTSD was assessed by a clinician, and in which all patients did not have a major depressive disorder. Because measuring voice qualities in non-invasive, inexpensive and might be done over the phone, many labs have sought to design speech-based diagnostic tools
19 Apr DNA Copy Number Variants Linked to Increased Risk of Depression
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48629" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Kendall[/caption]
Dr Kimberley Kendall MBBCh
Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellow
[caption id="attachment_48630" align="alignleft" width="150"] Prof. Walters[/caption]
Professor James Walters
MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics
Professor, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences
Cardiff University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Copy number variants (CNVs) are the deletion or duplication of large sections of DNA. Large, rare CNVs have been shown to increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia. However, the impact of these CNVs on risk of depression was unclear from the existing literature.
18 Apr Stem Cell Therapy Improved Motor Deficit in Traumatic Brain Injury Trial
Posted at 12:04h
in Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Stem Cells, Surgical Research, University of Pittsburgh
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_48666" align="alignleft" width="133"] Dr. Okonkwo[/caption]
Dr. David Okonkwo, M.D., Ph.D.,
Professor of Neurological surgery
Director of the Neurotrauma Clinical Trials Center
University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Okonkwo discusses the results from the STEMTRA Phase 2 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of SB623 in patients with chronic motor deficit from traumatic brain injury.
The results were presented at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), April 2019
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the US and around the globe. The effects of TBI are often long-lasting, with more than one-third of severe TBI patients displaying a neuromotor abnormality on physical examination 2 years following injury and, yet, there are no effective treatments. The public health implications are staggering: there are approximately 1.4 million new cases of TBI in the US annually, resulting in over 50,000 deaths and 80,000 disabilities; over 5 million Americans currently suffer from long-term disability caused by TBI. A successful neuroregenerative or neurorestorative therapy, such as stem cell implantation, would have significant impact.
17 Apr Short Rest Periods Are Performance Enhancers
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48644" align="alignleft" width="156"]
In a study of healthy volunteers, NIH researchers found that taking short breaks, early and often, may help our brains learn new skills.Courtesy of Cohen lab, NIH/NINDS[/caption] Leonardo G. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Investigator Marlene Bönstrup, M.D., Postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Cohen's lab NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Learning a new skill is typically divided into online (during practice) and offline (after practice has ended) components. Particularly motor skill learning occurs to a considerable degree offline, meaning that performance further improves even after practice has ended. A single practice session itself however, is typically divided into short (level of seconds) periods of practice and rest. In this study, we set out to investigate the contribution of those short periods of practice and rest to the learning during a practice session (i.e. online learning). We found that during early motor skill learning, when most of the total learning occurs, performance improvements actually precipitate during short periods of rest whereas during practice periods, performance mostly stagnated. We found a signature of neural activity predictive of those performance improvements during rest: The lower the beta rhythmic activity in the parietofrontal regions of the brain during those short periods of rest, the higher were participant’s performance jumps.
16 Apr Unhealthy, Binge Behaviors in College Students Disrupts Brain Chemistry
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48618" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Begdache[/caption]
Lina Begdache, PhD, RDN, CDN, CNS-S, FAND
Assistant Professor
Health and Wellness Studies Department GW 15
Decker School of Nursing
Binghamton University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: College students engage in activities such as binge drinking, abuse of ADHD medications as "study drugs" or use of illicit drugs during a critical brain developmental window that supports maturation of the brain (the prefrontal cortex) necessary for emotional control, cognitive functions and regulation of impulsive behaviors. These activities not only affect brain function, thus mental health and cognitive functions, but may dampen brain development with potential long-lasting effects.
As for findings, we were able to identify neurobehavioral patterns that associate with mental wellbeing and mental distress in young adults. Based on evidence from the literature, we constructed conceptual models that describe how one behavior may lead to another until virtuous or vicious cycles set-in.
16 Apr Despair Rising in Young Middle Aged Adults, Regardless of Ethnicity or Education
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48633" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Gaydosh[/caption]
Lauren Gaydosh, PhD
Assistant Professor
Center for Medicine, Health, and Society
Public Policy Studies
Vanderbilt University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Several years ago, life expectancy at birth in the United States declined, and this decline has continued every year since. Part of the cause underlying this decline is that midlife mortality – deaths among those 45-54 – has been rising. This increase in midlife mortality has been attributed by some to the “deaths of despair” – a cluster of causes of death including suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol-related disease - and has been most pronounced among middle-aged white adults with a HS degree or less.
In our research, we wanted to better understand the indicators of despair that would be predictive of these causes of death. Things like depression, substance use, and suicidal ideation. And study them in individuals before the period of elevated risk of death – in other words, before they reached middle age. Our goal was to evaluate whether these markers of despair were rising for a younger cohort, and whether this pattern was isolated to white adults with low education.
16 Apr Brain Training Can Strengthen Cognitive Function in Patients With Mild Impairment
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48608" align="alignleft" width="160"] Dr. Chapman[/caption]
Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman PhD
Founder and Chief Director, Center for BrainHealth,
Co-Leader, The BrainHealth Project
University of Texas, Dallas
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Finding effective treatments to reverse or slow rates of cognitive decline for those at risk for developing dementia is one of the most important and urgent challenges of the 21st century.
Brain stimulation is gaining attention as a viable intervention to increase neuroplasticity when used in isolation or when combined with cognitive training regimens. Given the growing evidence that certain cognitive training protocols, such as SMART, benefit people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a population that is vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease, we were interested in exploring whether we could further increase the gains from cognitive training (i.e., SMART) when the training was preceded by brain stimulation using tDCS.
13 Apr Brain Aging Impacted by Modifiable Risk Factors
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carla R. Schubert, MS Researcher, EpiSense Research Program Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences School of Medicine and Public Health University of Wisconsin Madison, WI 53726-2336 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Mildlife is an important time-period for health later in life and also when declines in sensory and cognitive functions may begin to occur. Hearing, vision and smell impairments have been associated with cognitive impairments in older adults and with worse cognitive function in middle-aged adults. These associations may be reflecting the close integration of sensory and cognitive systems as both require good brain function.
12 Apr Lead in Topsoil Linked to Cognitive Difficulties in 5 Year Old Boys
Posted at 10:29h
in Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Environmental Risks, Pediatrics, Toxin Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_48515" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Severnini[/caption]
Edson R. Severnini PhD
Assistant Professor Of Economics And Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Although lead has been banned from gasoline, paint, and other substances in the United States and many other countries around the world, the legacy of lead use is a critical environmental and public health issue. Surface soil contamination, in particular, has been long recognized as an important pathway of human lead exposure, and is now a worldwide health concern.
This study estimates the causal effects of exposure to lead in topsoil on cognitive ability among 5-year-old children. We draw on individual level data from the 2000 U.S. Census, and USGS data on lead in topsoil covering a broad set of counties across the United States.
We find that higher lead in topsoil increases considerably the probability of 5-year-old boys experiencing cognitive difficulties such as learning, remembering, concentrating, or making decisions. Living in counties with topsoil lead concentration above the national median roughly doubles the probability of 5-year-old boys having cognitive difficulties. This harmful effect does not seem to extend to 5-year-old girls, potentially due to the natural protection of estrogen.
10 Apr Verubecestat Failed to Slow Progression of Early Alzheimer’s Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Michael F. Egan, MD
Vice President, Neuroscience
Global Clinical Development
Merck Research Laboratories
North Wales, PA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) appears to be due to the gradual accumulation of amyloid over many years (the “amyloid hypothesis”). At some point, it is thought that amyloid triggers abnormalities in tau, which then forms deposits within neurons and leads to progressive neurodegeneration.
Amyloid is made up of a small, sticky peptide, Abeta, which is produced when the enzyme BACE cleaves a large protein called APP. In our trial, we tested whether a potent BACE inhibitor, verubecestat, could slow disease progression in subjects with early AD (or prodromal AD) by blocking formation of Abeta. A previous trial in subjects with dementia due to AD failed to find evidence of efficacy.
One possible reason for this failure is that subjects had too much amyloid in their brain already.
10 Apr Parkinson’s Disease: Mindfulness Yoga and Stretching To Reduce Anxiety and Depression
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jojo Kwok R.N., BN(Hons), MPH, Ph.D. School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine The University of Hong Kong MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Before the study, we knew that mind-body exercises such as yoga and stretching improves the physical health of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), however the benefits to their mental health was not known. This study concludes that mindfulness yoga alleviates psychological distress, improves spiritual well-being and quality of life, not to mention motor symptoms and mobility. When it comes to managing the stress and symptoms of Parkinson Disease, what is exciting, is that yoga has now been proven to be a better strategy than just stretching. Yoga draws together body, mind and spirit through mindful practice of 1) yoga posture, 2) breathing and 3) meditation. These form the three core components of our Mindfulness Yoga Program. Mindfulness is non-judgemental awareness of the present moment - of one’s physical sensations and thoughts, be they positive or negative. By adopting a mind-body approach, patients are much better positioned to reframe their illness journey than through physical training alone. By learning to relate non-judgmentally to their physical symptoms and emotions, they develop new coping skills that cultivate openness, acceptance and resilience to these symptoms. They feel better.
08 Apr Same Autistic Trait Can Be Helpful or Hindering, Depending on Context
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48453" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Russell[/caption]
Ginny Russell, PhD
College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter Medical School
University of Exeter
Exeter United Kingdom
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The study was done to find out what autistic adults could tell us about their own abilities. They told us about their abilities and how these abilities had helped them in their everyday lives: at work, in their relationships with other people, and at home.
Hyper focus, attention to detail, and the ability to remember were the abilities that autistic people said benefitted them most often. But autistic adults who were interviewed said although their autistic traits were sometimes helpful, at other times they hindered their progress. So the same trait might be useful in some circumstances and unhelpful in other situations. For example, hypersensitivity led one person to enjoy nature, but was difficult to cope with in crowded streets. The study highlights this interchangeability.
08 Apr Is There a Link Between Benzodiazepines During Pregnancy and Childhood ADHD?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48399" align="alignleft" width="128"] Dr. Lupattelli[/caption]
Dr. Angela Lupattelli, PhD
School of Pharmacy
University of Oslo
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Between 1-4% of pregnant women take at least once a benzodiazepine and/or a z-hypnotic medication during the course of gestation. These medications are generally used intermittently in pregnancy, mainly for treatment of anxiety disorders and sleeping problems, which are not uncommon conditions among pregnant women.
However, data regarding the safety of benzodiazepine and/or a z-hypnotic in pregnancy on child longer-term development are sparse. For instance, studies on child motor skills are only available up to toddler age, and little is known in relation to other child developmental domains. So, there is an urgent need to better understand whether prenatal use of benzodiazepine and/or a z-hypnotic medication may pose detrimental longer-term child risks.
08 Apr Medicaid Work Requirements Disproportionately Affect Those with Mental Health or Substance Use Disorders
Posted at 01:45h
in Addiction, Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, Occupational Health, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_48428" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Wen[/caption]
Hefei Wen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Management & Policy
University of Kentucky College of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Work requirements condition Medicaid eligibility on completing a specified number of hours of employment, work search, job training, or community service. Little is known about how behavioral health and other chronic health conditions intersect with employment status among Medicaid enrollees who may be subject to work requirements.
03 Apr Insulin Resistance Characterizes a Subset of Schizophrenia Patients
Posted at 16:49h
in Author Interviews, Diabetes, Genetic Research, JAMA, Mental Health Research, Schizophrenia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_48354" align="alignleft" width="99"] Prof. Bahn[/caption]
Prof Sabine Bahn MD PhD MRCPsych FRSB
Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research
[caption id="attachment_48355" align="alignleft" width="99"]
Dr. Tomasik[/caption]
Jakub Tomasik, PhD
Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
University of Cambridge
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Schizophrenia patients are at increased risk of impaired glucose metabolism, yet the comorbidity between the two conditions cannot be fully explained by known risk factors such as obesity, smoking, stress or antipsychotic medication. Previous family and genome-wide studies have suggested that the co-occurrence between schizophrenia and impaired glucose metabolism might be due to shared genetic factors, as exemplified by increased risk of diabetes in first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients, but the biological mechanisms underlying this association remain unknown.
We examined the association between insulin resistance, schizophrenia polygenic risk and response to treatment in 58 drug-naive schizophrenia patients and 58 matched healthy individuals while controlling for a range of demographic (age, gender, body mass index), lifestyle (smoking, alcohol and cannabis use) and clinical (psychopathology scores, treatment drug) factors.
We found that insulin resistance, a key feature contributing to the development of type 2 diabetes, significantly correlated with schizophrenia polygenic risk score in patients, with higher genetic risk of schizophrenia associated with increased insulin resistance. Furthermore, we found that patients with higher insulin resistance were more likely to switch medication during the first year of treatment, which implies lower clinical response.
28 Mar Criminal and Socially Inappropriate Behaviors Could Be Signs of Dementia
Posted at 15:15h
in Accidents & Violence, Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_48239" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Madeleine LiljegrenPhoto: Ingemar Walldén[/caption] Madeleine Liljegren, MD Division of Oncology and Pathology Department of Clinical Sciences Lund University Lund, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We know from former studies including patients with a clinical diagnosis of dementia, that criminal and socially inappropriate behaviors can be signs of dementia, sometimes even the first signs of a neurodegenerative disorder. We wanted to study this relatively large (n=220) cohort of neuropathologically verified Alzheimer disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients, who had been followed clinically by specialists in cognitive medicine or geriatric psychiatry during their disease period, to see if we could confirm results from previous studies. In this paper, we further wanted to study potential differences regarding protein pathology and criminal behavior in frontotemporal dementia patients. This has, to our knowledge, never been done before.
28 Mar Urban Youth Exposed to Air Pollution Have Greater Risk of Psychotic Experiences
Posted at 14:05h
in Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Joanne B. Newbury, PhD
ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow
King’s College London
Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
London, United Kingdom
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Urban living is one of the most well-established risk factors for adult psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. However, less is known about the role of the urban environment in subclinical psychotic experiences in childhood and adolescence, such as hearing voices and extreme paranoia. These early psychotic experiences are a developmental risk factor for adult psychotic disorders and a range of other serious mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
It is therefore important that we understand what factors might contribute to the development of early psychotic experiences so that we might be able to intervene and prevent their onset and progression.
In a cohort of over 2000 UK-born children (The Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study), we have previously shown that subclinical psychotic experiences are also around twice as common among children and teenagers raised in urban versus rural settings. We have also shown that this appears to be partly explained by social features in urban neighbourhoods such as higher crime levels and lower levels of social cohesion.
However, no studies have examined the potential link between air pollution and psychotic experiences. This is despite air pollution being a major health problem worldwide (particularly in cities), and despite emerging evidence linking air pollution to the brain.
28 Mar Marijuana Use During Pregnancy May Increase Risk of Psychosis in Offspring
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48215" align="alignleft" width="160"] Jeremy Fine[/caption]
Jeremy Fine
B.A. in Philosophy, Neuroscience, and Psychology
Washington University in St. Louis, Class of 201
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Alongside increasingly permissive marijuana use attitudes and laws, the prevalence of marijuana use among pregnant mothers has increased substantially (by 75% between 2002 and 2016), with some evidence that pregnant women may be using cannabis to combat pregnancy-related nausea.
Our data came from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which included over 4,000 subjects with data on maternal marijuana use during pregnancy.
Our main finding was that the children of mothers who used marijuana after learning they were pregnant had a small but significant increase in risk for psychosis in their future.
26 Mar Anti-Vaccine Groups Are Not Just Worried About Autism
Posted at 15:23h
in Author Interviews, Autism, Social Issues, University of Pittsburgh, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_48157" align="alignleft" width="160"] Beth Hoffman[/caption]
Beth Hoffman, B.Sc., graduate student
University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
Research Assistant,
University of Pittsburgh Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Vaccine refusal is a public health crisis - low vaccination rates are leading to outbreaks of deadly vaccine-preventable diseases. In 2017, Kids Plus Pediatrics, a Pittsburgh-based pediatric practice, posted a video on its Facebook pagef eaturing its practitioners encouraging HPV vaccination to prevent cancer. Nearly a month after the video posted, it caught the attention of multiple anti-vaccination groups and, in an eight-day period, garnered thousands of anti-vaccination comments.
Our team analyzed the profiles of a randomly selected sample of 197 commenters in the hopes that this crisis may be stemmed if we can better understand and communicate with vaccine-hesitant parents.
We determined that, although Kids Plus Pediatrics is an independent practice caring for patients in the Pittsburgh region, the commenters in the sample were spread across 36 states and eight countries.
By delving into the messages that each commenter had publicly posted in the previous two years, we also found that they clustered into four distinct subgroups:
- “trust,” which emphasized suspicion of the scientific community and concerns about personal liberty;
- “alternatives,” which focused on chemicals in vaccines and the use of homeopathic remedies instead of vaccination;
- “safety,” which focused on perceived risks and concerns about vaccination being immoral; and
- “conspiracy,” which suggested that the government and other entities hide information that this subgroup believes to be facts, including that the polio virus does not exist.
24 Mar Adult Atopic Dermatitis Linked to Anxiety and Depression, Often Undiagnosed
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_24142" align="alignleft" width="128"] Dr. Jonathan Silverberg[/caption]
Dr. Jonathan L. Silverberg MD PhD MPH
Assistant Professor in Dermatology
Medical Social Sciences and Preventive Medicine
Northwestern, Chicago, Illinois
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Atopic Dermatitis is characterized by chronic and often severe and debilitating itch, skin pain, sleep disturbances, skin lesions and multiple comorbid health conditions. The signs, symptoms and comorbidities of atopic dermatitis can lead to significant psychosocial distress and mental health burden
We performed a cross-sectional, population-based study of 2893 US adults. We found that adults with atopic dermatitis had more severe symptoms scores for anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression anxiety). Adults with atopic dermatitis also had higher prevalences of anxiety and depression. Mean symptom scores and prevalences of anxiety and depression were even higher in adults with moderate and severe atopic dermatitis compared to those with mild atopic dermatitis. All respondents with severe PO-SCORAD, POEM and PO-SCORAD-itch scores had elevated anxiety and depression scores.
Many adults with atopic dermatitis that had elevated anxiety and depression scores reported no diagnosis of anxiety or depression.
21 Mar Case of Sudden Onset Schizophrenia Linked to Cat Scratch Fever Bacteria
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48055" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Bartonella - Wikipedia image[/caption]
Dr. Ed Breitschwerdt, DVM, DACVIM
Melanie S. Steele Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine
NC State
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this case report? Can you briefly explain the signs/symptoms of a Bartonella infection?
Response: Bartonella henselae is a bacteria most commonly associated with cat scratch disease, which until recently was thought to be a short-lived (or self-limiting) infection. There are now at least 40 different known species of Bartonella, 13 of which have been found to infect human beings. The ability to find and diagnose Bartonella infection in animals and humans – it is notorious for “hiding” in the linings of blood vessels – has led to its identification in patients with a host of chronic illnesses ranging from migraines to seizures to rheumatoid illnesses, some of which the medical community previously hadn’t been able to attribute to a specific cause. Evolving data suggests a role for these bacteria in a spectrum of cardiovascular, neurological and rheumatological diseases. Specific symptoms or diseases that have been reported with neurobartonellosis previously include encephalitis, headaches, migraines, demyelinating polyneuropathy, neuroretinitis and transverse myelitis. Documentation of Bartonella henselae blood stream infection in a boy diagnosed with Schizophrenia and Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) extends the spectrum of symptomatology associated with neurobartonellosis.
20 Mar How Do Men Express Grief After Pregnancy Loss?
Posted at 18:34h
in Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Mental Health Research, OBGYNE, Psychological Science
MedicalResearch.com Interview with
[caption id="attachment_48025" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dr. Kranstuber Horstman[/caption]
Haley Kranstuber Horstman, Ph.D.
Department of Communication
University of Missouri
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Miscarriage is a prevalent health concern, with one in five pregnancies ending in miscarriage, which is a pregnancy loss before 20 weeks’ gestation. Past research has shown that women who have miscarried often suffer mental health effects such as heightened grief, depression, loneliness, and suicidality.
Although much of the research on coping with miscarriage has focused on women’s health, many miscarriages occur within romantic relationships and affect the non-miscarrying partner as well. Women in heterosexual marriages report that their husband is often their top support-provider. Past research has shown that husbands suffer with mental health effects after a miscarriage, sometimes for even longer than their wives, but are not often supported in their grief because miscarriage is a “woman’s issue” and they feel uncomfortable talking about it.
08 Mar Supplements Did Not Prevent Depression in Study of Obese Adults
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_47759" align="alignleft" width="89"] Dr. Visser[/caption]
Prof. Marjolein Visser PhD
Professor of Healthy Aging
Head section Nutrition and Health
Department of Health Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Amsterdam Public Health research institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: More than 40 million Europeans experience a major depressive disorder. One in ten men, and one in five women suffer from clinical depression at least once during their lifetime. Depression is one of the most prevalent and disabling disorders in the EU.
Given the increasing prevalence of depression, more people are actively searching for ways to decrease their risk through lifestyle modification, but are often overwhelmed by confusing and contradictory information.
The MooDFOOD prevention trial is the largest randomized clinical trial to study the effects of nutritional strategies on the prevention of major depressive disorder. Over 1000 overweight or obese participants identified as being at elevated risk for depression but who were not currently depressed, from four European countries -the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain, took part in the study. Participants were randomized to either take nutritional supplements containing folic acid, vitamin D, zinc, selenium or to a pill placebo, and half of participants also received a behavioral lifestyle intervention intended to change dietary behaviors and patterns.
07 Mar Long Term Hormone Use May Raise Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_47814" align="alignleft" width="142"]
Dr. Mikkola[/caption]
Tomi Mikkola MD
Associate Professor
Helsinki University Hospital
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Helsinki, Finland
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: In Finland we have perhaps the most comprehensive and reliable medical registers in the world. Thus, with my research group I have conducted various large studies evaluating association of postmenopausal hormone therapy use and various major diseases (see e.g. the references in the B;MJ paper). There has been various smaller studies indicating that hormone therapy might be protective for all kinds of dementias, also Alzheimer’s disease.
However, we have quite recently shown that hormone therapy seems to lower the mortality risk of vascular dementia but not Alzheimer’s disease (Mikkola TS et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2017;102:870-7). Now in this upcoming BMJ-paper we report in a very large case-control study (83 688 women with Alzheimer’s disease and same number of control women without the disease) that systemic hormone therapy was associated with a 9-17% increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Furthermore, this risk increase is particularly in women using hormone therapy long, for more than 10 years. This was somewhat surprising finding, but it underlines the fact that mechanisms behind Alzheimer’s disease are likely quite different than in vascular dementia, where the risk factors are similar as in cardiovascular disease. We have also shown how hormone therapy protects against cardiovascular disease, particularly in women who initiate hormone therapy soon after menopause.
05 Mar Obesity and Depression Can Be Treated With Collaborative Care
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_47752" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dr. Jun Ma[/caption]
Jun Ma, MD, PhD, FAHA, FABMR
Professor and Associate Head of Research
Department of Medicine
Director, Center for Health Behavior Research
The University of Illinois at Chicago
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Obesity and depression are major public health problems. Obesity affects 40% of United States (US) adults. About 20% in US women and 13% in men experience major depressive disorder at some point in their lifetime and, additionally, many adults have elevated depressive symptoms that do not meet clinical diagnostic criteria but can nevertheless negatively affect their health and quality of life. Obesity and depression share common risk factors, such as poor diet and lack of exercise, and cause other health problems, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. People with obesity are at increased risk of being depressed and, likewise, people with depression are at increased risk of being obese. Consequently, obesity and depression often co-occur. To date, there has been no integrated therapy to effectively treat patients affected by both conditions at the same time.
The RAINBOW randomized clinical trial addressed this gap.
The main finding from the trial is that, among adult patients with obesity and depression, a collaborative care intervention integrating behavioral weight loss treatment, problem-solving therapy, and as-needed antidepressant medications significantly improve weight loss and depressive symptoms over one year compared with usual care, which patients received through their primary care physicians.
04 Mar Collaborative Chronic Care Model Improved Patient Outcomes in Complex Mental Health Patients
Posted at 19:33h
in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Health Care Systems, JAMA, Mental Health Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
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Dr. Bauer[/caption]
Mark S. Bauer, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus
Harvard Medical School
Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research
VA Boston Healthcare System-152M
Boston, MA 02130
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Collaborative Chronic Care Models (CCMs) have extensive evidence for their effectiveness in a wide variety of mental health conditions. CCMs are frameworks of care that include several or all of the following six elements: work role redesign for anticipatory, continuous care; self-management support for individuals in treatment; provider decision support; information system support for population-based and measurement-guided care; linkage to community resources; and organization and leadership support.
However, evidence for Collaborative Chronic Care Model effectiveness comes almost exclusively from highly structured clinical trials. Little is known about whether CCMs can be implemented in general clinical practice settings, and the implementation evidence that does exist derives primarily from studies of the CCM used in primary care settings to treat depression.
We conducted a randomized, stepped wedge implementation trial using implementation facilitation to establish CCMs in general mental health teams in nine US Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.
We found that establishing Collaborative Chronic Care Models was associated with reduced mental health hospitalization rates and, for individuals with complex clinical presentations, improvements in mental health status. Additionally, standardized assessment of team clinicians indicated that facilitation improved clinician role clarity and increased focus on team goals.