mental health

mental health

mental health

Clinical trial tests digital avatar to treat voices in people with psychosis

A team of researchers from the United Kingdom has conducted a phase 2/3 clinical trial in people with a psychotic disorder to study the efficacy of interaction with a digital avatar in alleviating the discomfort generated by hearing voices. After analyzing it in 345 people, they conclude that it can reduce the frequency of occurrence at 16 and 28 weeks. The discomfort provoked is reduced at 16 weeks, but not at 28 weeks. The team publishes the results in the journal Nature Medicine.

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Commission warns of health impacts of gambling, calls for tougher regulation

According to a Lancet Public Health commission on commercial gambling, stricter regulations are needed on a global scale to reduce its impact on health and wellbeing worldwide. The authors argue that the harms caused by gambling are a threat to public health, exacerbated by the rapid expansion and digital transformation of the industry. These harms include physical and mental health problems, increased risk of suicide, gender-based violence and financial problems.

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Mondays and New Year's Day have a higher risk of suicide, says international study

An international team with Spanish participation has analysed which day of the week has the highest risk of suicide mortality, and it is Monday. The research, published in The BMJ, includes more than 1,700,000 suicide cases registered in 26 countries - including Spain - from 1971 to 2019. The data also show a sharp increase in the risk of suicide on New Year's Day in most of the countries analysed. Taking these results into account, the authors propose that they should be used to define plans and awareness-raising campaigns.

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Home brain stimulation device improves symptoms of depression, clinical trial finds

A phase 2 clinical trial has tested the efficacy and safety of a transcranial magnetic stimulation device used at home to treat major depression in 174 patients. After dividing them into two groups, one group received the treatment and the other a placebo procedure. After ten weeks, both groups had improved their symptoms, but the improvement in the active treatment group was 0.4 points greater on the Hamilton depression scale. According to the authors, who publish the results in the journal Nature Medicine, ‘it could potentially serve as a first-line treatment for major depression’.

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Brain amygdala activity associated with a tendency to suffer depression in pregnant women, study finds

An international team of researchers has conducted a study in which they conclude that increased activity of the brain amygdala detected by magnetic resonance imaging is associated with an increased risk of developing symptoms of depression in pregnant women. According to the authors, the finding could be used to identify those who are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression. The results of the study, still in prepublication form and not yet peer-reviewed, will be presented at the ECNP (European College of Neuropsychopharmacology) conference.

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High body mass index in childhood may be linked to increased risk of schizophrenia

A study published today in Science Advances suggests that there may be a correlation between having a high body mass index (BMI) in childhood and developing schizophrenia later in life. However, the study also indicates that having a higher BMI in adulthood may be correlated with a lower risk of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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Pandemic related isolation accelerated the brain maturation in adolescents, especially in girls

Brain maturation is measured by the thickness of the cortex. It is known that stress accelerates cortical thinning, which is associated with a higher risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders. A study published in PNAS analyzes MRI data collected from 160 adolescents before COVID-19 and from 130 of them after the measures implemented during the pandemic. The comparison of brain structure before and after reveals accelerated cortical thinning which, measured in terms of equivalent years of brain development, was 4.2 years in girls and 1.4 years in boys.brain maturity

 

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Use of drugs such as Ozempic is not associated with an increased risk of suicide

The use of GLP-1 analog diabetes drugs-such as semaglutide, sold under the trade name Ozempic-is not linked to an increased risk of suicide, according to two studies published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The first, led by a U.S. team, analyzes data from more than 3,300 people who have participated in clinical trials. The second analyzes data from 124,517 users of these drugs in Sweden and Denmark, and compares them with an even larger group of people who used another type of diabetes medication.

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