Published: October 27, 2008

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A lack of specific brain receptors has been linked with schizophrenia in new research by scientists at Newcastle University.
In work published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team has found that NMDA receptors are essential in modifying brain oscillations – electrical wave patterns – which are altered in patients with schizophrenia. [continue reading…]
Published: October 1, 2008
In a large group of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, depression was associated with a higher death rate from all causes during a two-year study period. The findings are published in the October 2008 Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Lead author Dr. Wayne Katon, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington (UW), noted that previous research indicates that depression and diabetes is a potentially lethal mix among young to middle-aged patients. Depression also puts patients at greater risk of complications from their diabetes. This more recent study suggests that depression is also a risk factor for mortality in older patients with diabetes. Most Medicare beneficiaries, like the ones in this study, are over age 65. The mean age of the participants was 75.6 years. [continue reading…]
Published: September 24, 2008
A world-first study being conducted by The University of Sydney could radically revolutionise treatment strategies for one of society’s most debilitating mental illnesses.
Run in collaboration with UNSW and receiving one million dollars in funding from the National Health and Research Medical Council, the three-year trial aims to ascertain whether structured regimes of physical and mental exercise can delay or even prevent the onset of dementia. [continue reading…]
Published: August 27, 2008
A new study shows that older people’s mental skills start declining years before death, even if they don’t have dementia. The study is published in the August 27, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. [continue reading…]