Cortney Mears

June 10, 2009

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most widely diagnosed disorders: an estimated 8% to 12% of children are affected worldwide. Although many studies about treatment options have been published, the genetic components that underlie the disorder are still being discovered. A special issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, highlights recent research and includes results from the first genome-wide study of patients with ADHD. Genome-wide studies have successfully identified variants associated with obesity and such diseases as age-related macular degeneration, diabetes, and prostate cancer.

February 01, 2009

Women with bulimia nervosa (BN) respond more impulsively during psychological testing than do women without eating disorders, according to a recent article in Archives of General Psychiatry.1 Functional MRI showed differences in brain areas responsible for regulating behavior in women with and without BN.

February 01, 2009

Just the sight of someone smoking may be enough to trigger the desire to start smoking again among those who have kicked the habit. Researchers from Duke University Medical Center have been trying to determine what changes in the brain lead to the desire to start smoking again. They used functional MRI to visualize changes in brain activity of persons who were trying to quit.1 Eighteen adult smokers were scanned once before quitting and 24 hours after quitting. Participants were shown photographs of people smoking during the scanning.

January 02, 2009

A combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and antidepressants to treat anxiety disorders in youngsters has yielded positive results in a government-funded study that was published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.1

January 02, 2009

Imagine seeing a patient in your office and being able to test for dozens or even hundreds of diseases with just the swipe of a card that contains microscopic samples of the patient’s blood, saliva, or urine. This technology may not be far off.

December 01, 2008

Persons who live in rural areas in this country often lack access to adequate mental health care. Psychiatrists from Michigan State University (MSU) are tackling their state’s lack of resources by providing counseling via videoconference for patients with psychiatric disorders who live in remote areas.