Science News from 2007

Family-Centered Intervention Effectively Reduces Risky Behavior Among Hispanic Youth

Science Update • December 20, 2007

Science Update December 20, 2007 Family-centered Intervention Effectively Reduces Risky Behavior Among Hispanic Youth A family-centered program that improves parent-child dynamics and family functioning is more effective at discouraging Hispanic youth from engaging in risky behavior than programs that target specific behaviors, according to a study published in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Study Aims to Develop First Medications for Fragile-X Syndrome, Leading Inherited Cause of Mental Retardation

Science Update • December 20, 2007

A new NIMH grant is enabling scientists to begin testing safety and effectiveness of potential medications for fragile-X syndrome, the most common inherited form of mental retardation. No effective medications are available for the disorder.

Behavioral Therapy Effectively Treats Children with Social Phobia

Science Update • December 17, 2007

A behavioral therapy designed to treat children diagnosed with social phobia helped them overcome more of their symptoms than the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac).

IQ Boost From Breast Milk Linked to Gene-Environment Interaction

Science Update • December 17, 2007

A new study shows that the intellectual boost associated with breast milk is only attained if a child has inherited one of two versions of a specific gene.

Schizophrenia-Related Gene Linked to Imbalance in Dopamine Pathways

Science Update • December 17, 2007

Forms of a gene known to increase risk for schizophrenia may create an imbalance in brain pathways for dopamine, suggests a recent study by NIMH scientists.

Hurricane Katrina Survivors Lack Access to Mental Health Services

Science Update • December 17, 2007

The majority of Hurricane Katrina survivors who developed mental disorders after the disaster are not receiving the mental health services they need, and many who were receiving mental health care prior to the hurricane were not able to continue with treatment, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print December 17, 2007, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Behavioral Program May Stabilize Stress Hormone Patterns in Foster Children

Science Update • November 30, 2007

An intervention designed to enhance family interaction and improve foster parenting skills may benefit young foster children who had experienced extreme neglect or maltreatment in early life.

Depression Linked to Bone-Thinning in Premenopausal Women

Press Release • November 26, 2007

Premenopausal women with even mild depression have less bone mass than do their nondepressed peers, a study funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), shows.

Depression’s Flip Side Shares its Circuitry

Science Update • November 14, 2007

Humans tend to be overly optimistic about the future, sometimes underestimating risks and making unrealistic plans, notes NIMH grantee Elizabeth Phelps, Ph.D., New York University.

Brain Matures a Few Years Late in ADHD, But Follows Normal Pattern

Press Release • November 12, 2007

In youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the brain matures in a normal pattern but is delayed three years in some regions, on average, compared to youth without the disorder.

Researchers Suggest Updating Criteria for HIV-associated Neurocognitive Disorders

Science Update • November 08, 2007

After 10 years since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the criteria for classifying HIV-related neurocognitive disorders may need to be revised and updated, according to a working group designated by NIMH and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to study the issue. The study was published October 30, 2007, in the journal Neurology.

Preschoolers with Three or More Coexisting Disorders Show No Response to ADHD Medication Treatment

Press Release • November 05, 2007

Preschoolers who are diagnosed with ADHD are not likely to respond to treatment with the stimulant methylphenidate, regardless of dosage, if they also have three or more coexisting disorders, according to a recent analysis of data from the Preschoolers with ADHD Treatment Study (PATS).

Memory-sustaining Enzyme May Help Treat PTSD, Cognitive Decline

Science Update • November 02, 2007

Chemically blocking an enzyme in a specific area in the brain’s cortex, or outer mantle, erased a long-term memory of an aversive event that rats had learned, a study funded in part by NIMH has found.

Internet-based PTSD Therapy May Help Overcome Barriers to Care

Science Update • November 01, 2007

NIMH-funded researchers recently completed a pilot study showing that an Internet-based, self-managed cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, with effects that last after treatment has ended.

NIH Funds New Program to Investigate Causes and Treatment of Autism

Science Update • October 30, 2007

The National Institutes of Health will intensify its efforts to find the causes of autism and identify new treatments for the disorder, through a new research program.

Behavioral Intervention Normalizes Stress-related Hormone in High-Risk Kids

Science Update • October 24, 2007

A family-based behavioral intervention that helps prevent social and behavior problems in high-risk preschoolers also may help normalize their cortisol levels when they anticipate stressful situations, results of a new NIMH study suggest.

Stress: Brain Yields Clues About Why Some Succumb While Others Prevail

Press Release • October 18, 2007

Results of a new study may one day help scientists learn how to enhance a naturally occurring mechanism in the brain that promotes resilience to psychological stress.

National Survey Tracks Prevalence of Personality Disorders in U.S. Population

Science Update • October 18, 2007

NIMH-funded researchers recently reported that roughly nine percent of ? U.S. adults have a personality disorder as defined by the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,

How Schizophrenia Develops: Major Clues Discovered

Press Release • October 17, 2007

Schizophrenia may occur, in part, because of a problem in an intermittent on/off switch for a gene involved in making a key chemical messenger in the brain, scientists have found in a study of human brain tissue.

New Social Neuroscience Grants to Help Unravel Autism, Anxiety Disorders

Science Update • October 10, 2007

How genes and the environment shape the brain circuitry underlying social behavior is among the questions being addressed by three newly NIMH-funded studies.

Bipolar Disorder Phenome Database May Aid Search for Related Genes

Science Update • October 02, 2007

Early findings from the recently launched Bipolar Disorder Phenome Database were published in the August 2007 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Depressed Adolescents Respond Best to Combination Treatment

Press Release • October 01, 2007

A combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication appears to be the most effective treatment for adolescents with major depressive disorder—more than medication alone or psychotherapy alone, according to results from a major clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Mental Disorders Account for Large Percentage of Adult Role Disability

Science Update • October 01, 2007

An NIMH-funded study finds that more than half of U.S. adults have a mental or physical condition that prevents them from working or conducting their usual duties (e.g., role disability) for several days each year, and a large portion of those days can be attributed to mental disorders.

Scientists May Have Found Long-Pursued Binding Site for Antidepressants

Science Update • September 28, 2007

NIMH-funded scientists have a major new clue as to where the long-pursued binding site for commonly used antidepressants – potentially the site that triggers the medications’ effects – may be on brain cells.

Genes Linked to Suicidal Thinking During Antidepressant Treatment

Press Release • September 27, 2007

Specific variations in two genes are linked to suicidal thinking that sometimes occurs in people taking the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants, according to a large study led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Workplace Depression Screening, Outreach and Enhanced Treatment Improves Productivity, Lowers Employer Costs

Press Release • September 26, 2007

Enhanced and systematic efforts to identify and treat depression in the workplace significantly improves employee health and productivity, likely leading to lower costs overall for the employer, according to a study published September 26, 2007, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

New Collaboration Evaluates Effectiveness of Mental Illness Educational Project

Science Update • September 19, 2007

Two new grants funded by NIMH will examine the effectiveness of educational materials designed to teach young people about mental illnesses and reduce the stigma associated with them.

Newly Funded Center Dedicated to Mental Health Research for Asian Americans

Science Update • September 19, 2007

Science Update September 19, 2007 Newly Funded Center Dedicated to Mental Health Research for Asian Americans A new, five-year, NIMH-funded project will establish a national center to study mental health issues affecting Asian Americans.

Drops in SSRI prescription rates may coincide with increases in youth suicides

Science Update • September 19, 2007

A 2004 spike in suicide rates may have coincided with a drop in antidepressant prescriptions for youth, following warnings from U.S and European regulatory agencies that the medications might trigger suicidal thoughts.

Family Involvement and Focused Intervention May be Key to Helping Teens with Bulimia

Science Update • September 17, 2007

Family-based treatment for adolescent bulimia nervosa (FBT-BN) is more effective than an individual-based therapy called supportive psychotherapy (SPT) in helping teens overcome bulimia according to an NIMH-funded study.