Research News

The International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry had the clout to draw a stellar line-up of presenters to its recent conference, including internationally prominent critics like David Healy, Peter Gøtzsche, Robert Whitaker and Allen Frances. There were lots of learnings and even some tense discussions, but one of the most intriguing aspects of the entire conference was the way in which scientific and social issues became deeply intertwined, especially when presenters reached for better pathways forward.

Harlan Krumholz, director of Yale University's Open Data Access Project (YODA), writes in the New York Times about YODA's agreement to oversee release of Johnson...

The odds of a child with Downs Syndrome being on a psychotropic medication increase steadily with age.

"The last four years have seen a 90% increase in the number of serious adverse drug reports received by the Food and Drug Administration," according to a report by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices." Among them, a "signal" that Cymbalta causes "an array of problems such as crying, suicidal ideation, and anger, and other symptoms including effects on appetite and weight gain."

The Center for Medicare Advocacy advised yesterday that nursing facilities could realize huge savings by eliminating "inappropriate and life-threatening" antipsychotic drugs. The statement added...

With the ties between traumatic childhood experiences and mental health issues, should we continue to focus on biological approaches?

The European Medicines Agency has announced a new policy that it says will open public access to pharmaceutical companies’ medical trial data. The new...

The American Journal of Psychiatry reviews recent research by three leading research groups that "provide intriguing evidence of the cognitive and perceptual impairments that...

A new study explores the impact of a Mindfulness-Based intervention on stress-related biomarkers in individuals diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

A blog in Scientific American reviews sleep’s role in "Obesity, Schizophrenia, Diabetes... Everything".  The article notes  a tight link between depression and sleep apnea,...

A large observational study published in CNS Drugs sheds light on serious adverse effects of the ‘gold standard’ antipsychotic Clozapine.

School discipline that punishes minor misbehavior may increase adolescents’ misconduct and lead to racial inequalities in school discipline.

Writing in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology, London researchers find that perceptions of lower social rank and inferiority amongst 24 individuals with early...

Study examines the effects on participants of being told they are at risk of developing psychosis.

Sandra Steingard, writing in the journal Psychiatric Services, reviews a recent article finding that the quality of the therapeutic relationship impacts the efficacy of medication treatment.

Attorneys representing about 300 lawsuits alleging that Risperdal causes enlargement of breast tissue in men have asked a Pennsylvania judge to unseal relevant clinical...

A new study to be published in the next issue of Schizophrenia Research examines patients suffering from a first-episode of psychosis who stop taking any antipsychotic drugs. The researchers attempt to identify variables that can serve as predictors of the successful discontinuation of antipsychotics. They find, for example, that those who discontinue the drugs have, on average, the same outcomes as those who stay on them, and that those who have better social integration are more likely to discontinue without relapse.

Ruling that health care providers, while important, "are not entitled to an elevated status in tort law that would categorically immunize them from liability...

Results reflect moderate to strong evidence in support of the non-pharmacological school-based interventions reviewed in the study.

An international team of researchers identified all drug trials registered in ClinicalTrials.gov between 2006 and 2011 and tracked the resulting publications, finding that although...

Earlier this year, the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) came out with the controversial recommendation that all adolescent and adult patients undergo depression...

Canadian researchers found that childhood adversity and other environmental factors such as family instability and cannabis use was associated with the development of schizophrenia,...

A new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, investigates the effects of anticholinergic medications, such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, on cognition in older adults diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The University of Manchester in England, along with the D'Or Insitute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have found that differences in activity in the...

A new study has found that of 10 people who were fully recovered from their first episode of schizophrenia (FES), those not taking antipsychotics did better in terms of cognitive, social, and role functioning—and reached full recovery more quickly.