Mental health is a state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life.
The antidepressant citalopram does not appear to reduce the occurrence of repetitive behaviors in children and teens with autism spectrum disorders. – Citalopram, a medication commonly prescribed to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), was no more effective than a placebo at reducing repetitive behaviors, according to researchers.
History of hyperactivity off-base, says researcher. Educators do children and parents a disservice by claiming Mozart and others had ADHD. – A Canadian researcher working in the U.K. says doctors, authors and educators are doing hyperactive children a disservice by claiming that hyperactivity as we understand it today has always existed.
‘Happy hour’ gene discovery suggests cancer drugs might treat alcoholism – A class of drugs already approved as cancer treatments might also help to beat alcohol addiction. That’s the conclusion of a discovery in flies of a gene, dubbed happyhour, that has an important and previously unknown role in controlling the insects’ response to alcohol.
Heart disorder atrial fibrillation linked to Alzheimer’s disease dementia. Study of more than 37,000 patients shows relationship between atrial fibrillation and development of Alzheimer’s disease. – Researchers at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City believe that they have made a breakthrough connection between atrial fibrillation, a fairly common heart rhythm disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease, the leading form of dementia among Americans.
Alzheimer’s Disease risk index – New tool can help predict risk of Alzheimer’s in elderly. – A new tool can help predict whether people age 65 and older have a high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Research on the tool is published in the May 13, 2009, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Maria Shriver discusses Alzheimer’s disease in Stanford medical school interview, podcast – Sargent Shriver, an advisor to two presidents and the first director of the Peace Corps, no longer remembers the name of his daughter: Maria, California’s first lady and former television reporter. He has Alzheimer’s disease.
Alcohol in Britain: trends show young men are binge-drinking less, but women are binge-drinking more – A new research shows that the proportion of women who binge-drink almost doubled between 1998 and 2006 and is now at 15% (men who binge-drink increased by 1% to 23%).
Hypertensive kids more likely to have learning/attention problems – Children who have high blood pressure are more likely to have learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than children who are not hypertensive. They are also more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI), an indicator of body fat.
Imaging study finds evidence of brain abnormalities in toddlers with autism – Toddlers with autism appear more likely to have an enlarged amygdala, a brain area associated with numerous functions, including the processing of faces and emotion, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
World’s largest DNA scan for autism uncovers new gene variant for disorder. Risk of autism tied to genes that influence brain cell connections. – Researchers have identified a new gene variant that is highly common in autistic children. Gene, known as CDH10, is most active in key regions that support language, speech and interpreting social behavior.
