Science News from 2006

Males with Autism Have Fewer Cells in Brain’s Emotional Memory Hub

Science Update • July 26, 2006

Males with autism have fewer cells in a part of the brain that has a key role in emotion and memory, according to NIMH-funded researchers at the University of California, Davis.

Brain Changes Mirror Symptoms in ADHD

Science Update • July 19, 2006

The severity of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in youth appears to be reflected in their brain structure, recent NIMH-supported brain imaging studies are finding.

New Factors Identified for Predicting Violence in Schizophrenia

Science Update • July 18, 2006

A study of adults with schizophrenia showed that symptoms of losing contact with reality, such as delusions and hallucinations, increased the odds of serious violence nearly threefold.

New Tool Can Boost or Block the Body’s Protective Inner Barriers

Press Release • July 13, 2006

A team of experts funded by NIH has developed a chemical tool that allows scientists to manipulate control of the passage of substances through the barriers between blood and the tissues of every organ — from the brain, lungs, and heart to the organs of the immune system.

Obesity Linked with Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Science Update • July 03, 2006

Results of an NIMH-funded study show that nearly one out of four cases of obesity is associated with a mood or anxiety disorder, but the causal relationship and complex interplay between the two is still unclear.

Targeted Therapy Halves Suicide Attempts in Borderline Personality Disorder

Science Update • July 03, 2006

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) reduced suicide attempts by half compared with other types of psychotherapy available in the community in patients with borderline personality disorder, an NIMH-funded study has found.

Switching to a Third Antidepressant Medication May Prove Helpful to Some with Treatment-Resistant Depression

Science Update • July 01, 2006

The next wave of results from the nation's largest real-world study of treatment-resistant depressionshows that patients had a moderate chance of becoming symptom-free when they switched to a third antidepressant medication, following two previously unsuccessful medication attempts.

Behaviors, Not ADHD Diagnosis, Predict Adolescents’ Initial Substance Use

Science Update • June 23, 2006

A small NIH-funded study that followed 12-to 14-year olds over four years suggests that specific behaviors can help predict which youth will begin to use tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana.

Adult Children of Depressed Parents Have Higher Risk of Mental and Physical Illness

Science Update • June 21, 2006

As children of depressed parents enter adulthood, they continue to suffer greater risk of mental disorders and begin to report more physical illnesses than grown-up children of non-depressed parents.

Antipsychotic Prescriptions Rise Sharply for Children and Adolescents

Science Update • June 19, 2006

The number of antipsychotic medication prescriptions for children and adolescents increased six-fold from 1993 to 2002, according to a study of visits made by people 20 years old and younger to doctors' offices.

Antidepressant Does Not Reduce Risk Of Relapse Among Patients With Anorexia Nervosa

Science Update • June 14, 2006

An NIMH-funded study has concluded that the antidepressant medication fluoxetine (Prozac) is no more effective than placebo in preventing relapse among patients with anorexia nervosa who had achieved a healthy weight during inpatient or day-program treatment.

Intermittent Explosive Disorder Affects up to 16 Million Americans

Press Release • June 05, 2006

A little-known mental disorder marked by episodes of unwarranted anger is more common than previously thought, a study funded by NIMH has found.

Fear Circuit Flares as Bipolar Youth Misread Faces

Press Release • May 29, 2006

Youth with bipolar disorder misread facial expressions as hostile and show heightened neural reactions when they focus on emotional aspects of neutral faces, NIMH researchers have discovered.

Depression Rates Are Lower in Children Whose Mothers Are Successfully Treated

Science Update • May 09, 2006

When women treated for depression become symptom-free, their children are less likely to be diagnosed with depression, according to a study published in the March 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Studies ID Molecular Accomplices of Suspect Schizophrenia Genes

Science Update • May 02, 2006

NIMH-funded researchers have discovered how certain genes work at the molecular level to increase the risk of schizophrenia.

Properly Timed Light, Melatonin Lift Winter Depression by Syncing Rhythms

Science Update • May 01, 2006

Most Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) symptoms stem from daily body rhythms that have gone out-of-sync with the sun, a NIMH-funded study has found.

ADHD Medication Use Held Steady in Recent Years

Science Update • April 01, 2006

The results of a study conducted by researchers at the Agency of Healthcare Research Quality and the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health indicate that the prevalence of stimulant use among U.S. children for treating symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) remained relatively constant between 1997 and 2002.

Harvard Study Suggests Significant Prevalence of ADHD Symptoms Among Adults

Science Update • April 01, 2006

A recent NIMH-funded survey tracking the prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms found that an estimated 4.4 percent of adults ages 18-44 in the United States experience symptoms and some disability.

Studies Offer New Information About Treatment Choices for Schizophrenia — Phase 2 Results

Science Update • April 01, 2006

A national clinical trial comparing clozapine with other new-generation antipsychotic medications for the treatment of chronic schizophrenia has shown that people who switched to clozapine from their first medication because it failed to manage symptoms adequately were twice as likely to continue treatment as patients who switched to other antipsychotic medications.

Cortex Matures Faster in Youth with Highest IQ

Press Release • March 29, 2006

Youth with superior IQ are distinguished by how fast the thinking part of their brains thickens and thins as they grow up, researchers at NIMH have discovered.

New Strategies Help Depressed Patients Become Symptom-Free

Press Release • March 23, 2006

Results of the nation’s largest depression study show that one in three depressed patients who previously did not achieve remission using an antidepressant became symptom-free with the help of an additional medication and one in four achieved remission after switching to a different antidepressant.

Aggression-Related Gene Weakens Brain’s Impulse Control Circuits

Press Release • March 20, 2006

A version of a gene previously linked to impulsive violence appears to weaken brain circuits that regulate impulses, emotional memory and thinking in humans, researchers at NIMH have found.

Maintenance Treatment Prevents Recurrence in Older Adults with Single-Episode Depression

Press Release • March 16, 2006

People age 70 and older who continued taking the antidepressant that helped them to initially recover from their first episode of depression were 60 percent less likely to experience a new episode of depression over a two-year study period than those who stopped taking the medication, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Gene Influences Antidepressant Response

Press Release • March 15, 2006

Whether depressed patients will respond to an antidepressant depends, in part, on which version of a gene they inherit, a study led by scientists at NIH has discovered. Having two copies of one version of a gene that codes for a component of the brain’s mood―regulating system increased the odds of a favorable response to an antidepressant by up to 18 percent, compared to having two copies of the other, more common version.

Depression Model Leaves Mice with Molecular Scar

Press Release • February 27, 2006

In addition to triggering a depression-like social withdrawal syndrome, repeated defeat by dominant animals leaves a mouse with an enduring “molecular scar” in its brain that could help to explain why depression is so difficult to cure, suggest researchers funded by NIMH.

Lithium Blocks Enzyme To Help Cells’ Clocks Keep On Tickin’

Science Update • February 17, 2006

NIMH-funded researchers have discovered how lithium likely fixes body clocks gone awry, stabilizing sleep-wake cycles and other daily rhythms disturbed along with mood in bipolar disorder.

Mice Lacking Social Memory Molecule Take Bullying in Stride

Press Release • February 09, 2006

The social avoidance that normally develops when a mouse repeatedly experiences defeat by a dominant animal disappears when it lacks a gene for a memory molecule in a brain circuit for social learning, scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered.

Largest Study to Date on Pediatric Bipolar Disorder Describes Disease Characteristics And Short-Term Outcomes

Science Update • February 08, 2006

Recent findings from the multi-site, NIMH-funded Course and Outcome of Bipolar Illness in Youth (COBY) study are helping to shape the understanding of three major subtypes of bipolar disorder that affect children and adolescents and how this diagnosis may affect them as adults.

Early Findings from Largest NIMH-Funded Research Program on Bipolar Disorder Begin to Build Evidence-Base on Best Treatment Options

Science Update • February 01, 2006

Findings from an NIMH research program on bipolar disorder provide much needed long-term data on the chronic, recurrent course of the disorder, and begin the work of building an evidence-base on the best treatments for those with the disorder.

Stopping Antidepressant Use While Pregnant May Pose Risks

Science Update • February 01, 2006

Pregnant women who discontinue antidepressant medications may significantly increase their risk of relapse during pregnancy, a new NIMH-funded study has found.