Parents of asthmatic children face the challenge of ensuring that their children avoid an asthma attack by minimizing or eliminating all possible triggers. A recent study conducted at the State University of New York at Buffalo has found that distressing events may have to be added to the long list of things that may trigger a possible attack.
Researchers studied the breathing patterns of 90 asthmatic 7- to 17-year-old boys and girls before and after they watched scenes from the movie ET: The Extraterrestrial. Half of the kids had symptoms of depression, in addition to asthma, while the other half did not.
The children with both asthma and symptoms of depression were more likely to show greater airway resistance after watching troubling scenes from the movie, Dr. Bruce D. Miller, at State University of New York at Buffalo, and colleagues found.
The researchers warn parents of asthmatic children to be aware of the possible effects of emotionally stressful events on their children. Read the full article to find out more about the study.
Distressing events may be very difficult to avoid, and some stresses may even be considered as part of a normal childhood. Some may even say that it is important for children to experience some difficulties to build character and resilience. How should parents protect their children’s health without adversely affecting their emotional development? Share your thoughts below!
Filed under Blog, Mental Illness by on May 11th, 2010. Comment. 
It is common knowledge that people crave for chocolate when they feel down. But is there an actual scientific link between depression and consumption of chocolate? That is what Dr. Beatrice Golomb and her colleagues at the University of California at San Diego sought to investigate.
In the study, Golomb and her colleagues surveyed more than 900 people about their weekly chocolate consumption and their overall diet. They also gauged the moods of the participants using a standard questionnaire used to screen for depression. (People who were taking antidepressants were excluded from the study.)
They found that depressed people ate as much as 55 percent more chocolate than those who were not depressed. They also learned that the ones who were more depressed tend to eat more chocolate than those who were only slightly depressed.
The researchers speculate that eating chocolate may either be a form of self-medication, or may actually be a cause that contributes to depression. They are even considering the possibility that chocolate may be similar to alcohol, which brings temporary mood relief, but in the long run may have a negative effect on mood.
The full article gives more details about the study and its findings. Are you one of those people who start to reach for a chocolate bar when they feel down? Does your chocolate consumption increase as your mood goes down? Share your thoughts below!
Filed under Blog, Major Depression, Mental Illness by on Apr 30th, 2010. Comment.
An associate professor at the McLean Hospital claims to have invented the first objective diagnostic test for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Called the Quotient, the device consists of a motion sensor that tracks the child’s movements, and distinguishes between normal movements and the jittery restlessness that is characteristic of ADHD.
Here’s how the Quotient works: The test-taker sits at a computer, playing a simple game. Black stars flash against a white screen, and the patient has to hit the space bar as they appear. The task measures concentration and impulsivity. Three cameras record the position of reflective dots strapped to the forehead and shins, taking frames at 50 times per second.
In a study of 29 children, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 1996, it was reported that the device accurately identified 16 of the 18 children who had been previously diagnosed with ADHD, and all 11 who did not have the disorder.
Researchers have found that children who have ADHD differ from other children, not just by the number of movements they make, but also by the quality of movements. Children who do not have ADHD move more erratically, while those with the disorder had simpler, swaying movements.
Some people say that the Quotient is not much different from the CPT or continuous performance test, an older test for ADHD that has been largely abandoned as a diagnostic tool. The full article details how the Quotient is a much better tool than the CPT. Do you agree with the inventor’s claims? Share your thoughts below!
Filed under Attention Deficit Disorders, Blog, Mental Illness by on Apr 29th, 2010. 1 Comment.
Children with severe Autism can now communicate by using a device that allows them to construct sentences by simply dragging and dropping images across a computer screen. Called Speaks4Me, the device was invented by Stephen Lodge, the father of a child who has severe autism.
Mr Lodge’s system runs on any device that can run the Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 operating system. It uses the concept of dragging and dropping images from one area of the screen to another to form sentences. The user then presses a speech button to “verbalise” the sentence.
The innovative device may also be used by stroke victims, or other patients with speech impairments. The full article goes into detail about Lodge’s future plans for his invention, and how it can be made available to more people.
Maybe this high-tech solution may even help our understanding of how the autistic mind works, specially for those who have previously been unable to communicate. What do you think? Share your thoughts below!
Filed under Autism, Blog, Mental Illness by on Apr 28th, 2010. Comment.
For patients who have Borderline Personality Disorder, being symptom-free may not necessarily mean that they have achieved full recovery. The disorder affects about 2 percent of adults, and is characterized by instability in moods, relationships, behavior, and self-image. Although there is currently no standard therapy for the disorder, most patients receive talk therapy and medication to help control its symptoms.
A large majority of patients who undergo treatment experience at least a 2-year symptom-free period. However, a team of researchers at the McLean Hospital have found that only half of the patients are able to achieve a full recovery.
The research team followed 290 people with borderline personality disorder, originally inpatients at McLean Hospital, to see how their condition changed over the course of a decade.
They found that only about 50 percent of patients achieved full recovery, which was defined as a reprieve from symptoms lasting at least 2 years, plus good social and vocational functioning. Of those that did reach this mark, about a third later redeveloped symptoms, or once again struggled socially or with their job.
The researchers believe that this might be because most treatments give more focus on eliminating the symptoms, and not enough on enabling the patients to deal with practical issues like making friends, and getting and keeping a job.
To find out more about the results of the study, read the full article here. One of the interventions that the researchers recommend is vocational counseling for patients. Do you have other ideas on how to best help recovering patients find friends and jobs? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
Filed under Blog, Mental Illness, Personality Disorders by on Apr 28th, 2010. Comment.
Quitting smoking is a challenge in itself, but it becomes even more difficult for those who are also depressed. A survey found that depressed people are more likely to be smokers, and the more severe their depression, the heavier they tend to smoke.
More than 40 percent of U.S. adults who have depression are also smokers, meaning people need help with both if they want to quit, according to a U.S. government survey published on Wednesday.
The survey found more than half of middle-aged men with depression were also smokers, while half of women under age 40 who were depressed also smoked.
The results seem to indicate that in order to help smokers quit, the underlying depression needs to be treated as well. The message becomes more urgent when we take into account that smoking is responsible for almost half a million deaths annually. Read the full article to find out more about what the investigators have to say on the link between smoking and depression.
My own thoughts on the issue: With increasing public awareness on the dangers of cigarette smoking, smokers seem to be under a whole lot of pressure to quit – sometimes to the point of being stigmatized. I wonder if this attitude just makes it worse for smokers who are already depressed. What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below!
Filed under Blog, Major Depression, Mental Illness by on Apr 28th, 2010. Comment.
Illegal party drug Ecstasy, also known as MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is currently classified as having no medical use and high potential for abuse. But researchers are beginning to uncover its potentially therapeutic benefits, particularly for patients suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who have not been responsive to more traditional treatments.
The US study was the first in the United States to look at the therapeutic effects of MDMA on PTSD, and was completed in late 2008. The 20 patients, mostly women, had been resistant to psychotherapy and standard PTSD drugs. Therapists administered MDMA to the patients during two or three 8-hour “experimental sessions”, spread amongst a series of 20 to 30 psychotherapy sessions.
Two months after the last session ended, only 15% of the patients who received MDMA still met the criteria for PTSD, whereas 85% of the placebo group did.
In long-term follow-up, averaging 3.5 years after the initial treatment, most of the people remained free of PTSD — of the 16 patients who participated in the follow-up study, 13 still did not meet the criteria for PTSD.
The researchers believe that the Ecstasy works for PTSD sufferers because it stimulates the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin, thereby decreasing fear and defensiveness, which are hallmark symptoms of PTSD.
The investigators are calling for replications of the study, particularly across different cultures to find out if the beneficial effects will be observed in other cultural contexts, and to increase the likelihood that MDMA will be approved as a prescription drug. Read the full article to find out more about the clinical trial.
What do you think are the chances that Ecstasy could be approved for medical use? Do you think that the time will come when medical Ecstasy could gain as much support as medical marijuana? Would it increase substance abuse in the general population? Share your thoughts below!
Filed under Blog, Mental Illness, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by on Apr 22nd, 2010. Comment.
People suffering from a major depressive disorder are often benefited by taking antidepressant medications. However, a fraction of patients on antidepressants fail to respond to treatment, and may even develop suicidal thoughts. These people who tend to get worse with medication may now be easily identified as early as 48 hours after the start of treatment, thanks to a group of researchers who have identified a biomarker that can detect signs of suicidal thoughts in depressive patients.
Reporting in the April edition of the peer-reviewed journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Aimee Hunter, an assistant research psychologist in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry, and colleagues report that by using quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG), a non-invasive measurement of electrical activity in the brain, they were able to observe a sharp reduction of activity in a specific brain region in individuals who proved susceptible to thoughts of suicide – within 48 hours of the start of treatment.
It was observed that about 13.5% of the participants in the study experienced a drop in electrical activity in the specified regions of the brain, indicating a worsening of their condition. The researchers noted that this is the first study to show a clear link between the administration of medication and increased suicide risk. Read the full article for more about the findings of the study.
Do you think that the test should become standard procedure for new patients who are starting on antidepressant medication? Share your thoughts with us!
Filed under Blog, Major Depression, Mental Illness by on Apr 22nd, 2010. Comment.
Children who are diagnosed to have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are known to have social problems, one of which is difficulty in recognizing emotions in other people. But a group of researchers in Australia have found that the hormone oxytocin may help them in emotion recognition.
The study, published in Biological Psychiatry, found adolescents with autism — given a single dose each of the hormone or placebo via a nasal spray one week apart and asked to complete a facial expression task that measured emotion recognition — performed significantly better on the task when receiving the hormone.
The researchers believe that the beneficial effects observed in the children who participated in the trial may soon mean earlier intervention, and greater improvement for children with autism.
The full article also mentions other uses of the hormone oxytocin. Could it really be possible to improve social development by means of hormone treatment? What do you think this means for other disorders that affect social skills? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
Filed under Autism, Blog, Mental Illness by on Apr 22nd, 2010. Comment.
A recreational therapy program for disabled veterans will train them to become certified SCUBA divers. The project aims to help these veterans overcome the challenges of being disabled by war by allowing them to experience the camaraderie of diving, as well as the therapeutic benefits of engaging in the sport.
When immersed in water, paralyzed Veterans often report being able to feel areas of their bodies and a reduction of or complete lack of pain. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Veterans state the high-focus nature of SCUBA diving helps relieve anxiety and stress. The Veterans Administration hospital is currently planning to conduct a medical study of the physical and psychological benefit of SCUBA diving on disabled veterans.
The program is open to war veterans who are experiencing PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, as well as other disabilities. The full article includes contact details for those who are interested in taking part in the activity. What do you think are the physical and psychological benefits that war veterans may get from SCUBA Diving? Let us know by leaving your comments below.
Filed under Anxiety Disorders, Blog, Mental Illness, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by on Apr 19th, 2010. Comment.
