Among patients with a diagnosis of delusional skin infestation, neither biopsies nor patient-provided specimens provided objective evidence of skin infestation, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the September issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Delusional infestation is a condition in which patients steadfastly yet mistakenly believe that pa ...

Nearly everyone who has tried to quit smoking says it is incredibly difficult, and the struggle is due in part to genetic factors. Now, a new study from the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania sheds light on how one specific genetic risk for smoking relapse may work: Some of the difficulties may be due to how many receptors, called "mu opioid" receptors, a smoker h ...

Sleep problems among urban minority children, including resistance to going to bed, shortened sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness are much more common than previously thought, according to a study conducted by researchers in New York. The results of the study will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver. ...

A group of researchers of the University of Amsterdam published a new study on the impact of psychotherapy for personality disorders in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. While psychopharmacological studies are common in patients with cluster A personality disorders (schizoid, paranoid, schizotypal), the effects of psychotherapy have received little attention. ...

Contracting an acute illness means an abrupt turn from everyday life to intensive care where one’s life is at stake. Surrounding the illness is traditional knowledge derived from the natural sciences, yet for the affected it means experiences of an existential nature that health care personnel do not possess the knowledge to treat. This is shown in Sven-Tore Dreyer Fredriksen’s DrPH thesis at the Nordic Sch ...

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and King’s College London have independently identified DNA on chromosome 3 that appears to be related to depression. Jim Dryden explains these results in an audio interview with the researchers; check the end of this report for a link to this interview. ...

According to data released today by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), children and youth affected by traumatic events improve their functioning in community-based “system of care” programs. Traumatic events can include witnessing or experiencing physical or sexual abuse; violence in families and communities; natural disasters; wartime events and terrorism; accidental or ...

In the days immediately following Japan’s devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, survivors were grateful to have lived through it. But disasters that cause such wide-scale death, destruction, and disruption to daily life also leave lingering invisible wounds. Sheila A.M. Rauch, Ph.D., clinical research psychologist with Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System and assistant professor in the Depart ...

Sufferers of serious psychological distress spend an average of $1,735 more on health care each year compared to those without the condition. However, recognizing psychological distress and treating it is often complicated for patients and their doctors. Two researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina have found those with serious psychological distress frequent their doctors more than those wit ...

A landmark study by scientists at Wayne State University published in the May 6, 2011, issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, the most prestigious journal in the field, has revealed a new way to distinguish children with major depressive disorder (MDD) from not only normal children, but also from children with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The publisher made the original journal article available f ...