Behavioral Health News
Parents who Accommodate OCD Behaviors May Worsen the Condition
A recent study shows that parents who accommodate obsessive-compulsive behavior in their children may actually be triggering more serious symptoms—but cognitive behavioral therapy may help in reversing the symptoms.
In the study conducted by researchers at the University of Florida, 49 children ages 6 to 18 with OCD took part in 14 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy with their parents, where emphasis was placed on helping parents reduce “family accommodation,” or trying to soothe their child’s anxiety by offering comfort, giving the child objects, or even doing tasks for them like homework.
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Children of Anxious Parents More Likely to Develop Anxiety
Anxiety can be a debilitating disposition, especially for children. While children suffering from anxiety are at risk for other complications, little research has been done in the area of anxiety disorders in children who have anxious parents.
A new study from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center changes that, offering insight into this phenomenon. Science Daily recently shared a release that focused on this research, thought to be the first U.S. study designed to prevent anxiety disorders in the children of anxious parents.
During this study, researchers determined that family-based programs reduced symptoms and the risk of developing an anxiety disorder among these at-risk children. The findings from this study suggest that as few as eight weekly family sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy can make a significant difference for the child.
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Visible Intoxication is Different From Obvious Intoxication
Impaired driving is one of the most well known deadly consequences of alcohol intoxication. As well as people understand the side effects of intoxication, it can still be difficult for trained observers to fully identify intoxication.
A recent review that examines the definition of intoxication and the methods that are designed to prevent impaired driving. One key point of this review is that obvious intoxication, as defined in many court rooms, is not the same as visible intoxication.
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Research Suggests that Vulnerability Genes Can Lead to Positive Outcomes as Much as Negative Outcomes
There is some truth to the saying that your environment makes you who you are. More specifically, some individuals carry ‘vulnerability genes’ that indicate that they are genetically vulnerable individuals that are more likely to become impulsive and hyperactive if their mothers smoked while pregnant; to exhibit anti-social behaviors if abused as a child; and depressed if exposed to many negative life events.
A recent piece in Science Daily examines new gene by environment (GXE) research published in Molecular Psychiatry that suggests that those who carry these genes are also more likely to benefit from positive environments. This characteristic makes these individuals more malleable or plastic, instead of just vulnerable.
“Our analysis of many published findings suggests that one potential solution to the nature-nurture controversy is to appreciate the role played by environmental experience and the role played by heredity in shaping who we are may actually differ across people,” said Professor Jay Belsky, Director of the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues at Birkbeck, University of London Belsky.
Antidepressant Therapy Combined with Pain Self-Management Improves Patient Outlook
Pain is the most common reason that an adult will visit a primary care physician. Depression is the most common mental complaint that requires a doctor’s appointment. For as many as half of patients, these often occur together at the same time.
Science Daily recently published a release examining a report from researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute. In this report, researchers shared that a closely monitored antidepressant therapy combined with pain self-management could produce significant improvements in both depression and pain.
“Treating depression these days is like treating high blood pressure. There are many effective drugs out there. To control high blood pressure, the physician closely monitors the patient to determine the most appropriate drug and the proper dosage,” said the study’s principal investigator, Kurt Kroenke, M.D., professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine and a Regenstrief investigator.
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ADHD and Ritalin: The Problem of Unnecessary Diagnosis
By Colin Gilbert
In 2005, the Center for Disease Control released a report stating that 4.4 million children aged 4 to 17 years had been diagnosed with ADHD. Of those cases, 2.5 million (56 percent) were taking medication for the disorder.
With roughly 10 percent of children in the United States estimated to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), there is growing concern about the label’s credibility and related prevalence of kids being prescribed Ritalin. Due to the debatable criteria for diagnosing the disorder, many are skeptical of the label’s prevalence in society. Naturally, skeptics are also troubled by the high number of children being prescribed Ritalin for ADHD.
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Genetic Cause of Fetal Alcohol-Related Developmental Disorders Found
A new animal study found a specific genetic cause of fetal alcohol-related developmental disorders. When pregnant women consume alcohol, the genetic processes that control thyroid hormone levels in the fetal brain are interfered with.
Fetal alcohol exposure can cause neurodevelopmental disorders such as emotional behavioral disorders and deficits in learning, memory, and speech. Past animal research has shown that some of these lasting cognitive impairments occur because alcohol consumption during pregnancy decreases the level of maternal thyroid hormones and therefore fetal thyroid hormones. There is currently no treatment for this.
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Study Finds Better Ways to Treat Schizophrenia
Instance of schizophrenia have puzzled researchers for years as the causes and promising treatments have changed with better and more in-depth research. The latest findings in this area have implicated machinery that maintains the flow of potassium in cells and revealed a potential molecular target for new treatments.
Science Daily reported on an extensive series of experiments that suggested the selective inhibiting of this suspect form could help to correct disorganized activity that occurs in the brain of those suffering from schizophrenia. This treatment also removes the cardiac side effects associated with some existing anti-psychotic medications.
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Researchers Identify Way to Reduce Morphine Tolerance to Lower Risk of Addiction
Becoming addicted to a drug as the result of extended medical care is a common problem in the health care industry. While doctors do take necessary steps to try and prevent addiction in their patients, it can still easily happen – especially with highly addictive drugs.
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Researchers Identify Potential Alternative Drug Treatment
For those who have never used drugs or experienced a dependence upon them, it is hard to understand the draw. Yet, when someone is dependent upon drugs or alcohol, the pleasure center within the brain is hijacked, which disrupts the normal functioning of its reward circuitry.
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