Lithium is present naturally in many water systems and was once considered an elixir. It has long been used to treat bipolar disorder, but researchers have also started exploring its role in dementia.
Quetiapine, sold under the brand name Seroquel, is a short-acting antipsychotic drug to treat major mental illnesses. It has also been increasingly prescribed off-label for insomnia.
Gender is important in defining susceptibility and exposure to a number of mental health risks. Gender can also explain differences in mental health outcomes.
Critics have portrayed ECT as a form of medical abuse. Yet many psychiatrists, and more importantly, patients, consider it to be safe and effective. Few medical treatments have such disparate images.
Decisions to stop taking medication are typically regarded by mental health professionals as being due to ‘lack of insight’ but some are trying other strategies.
Researchers have suggested a new theory for why neurotic unhappiness and creativity are often found in the same person. But is the assumption that creative people are more neurotic actually true?
Social communication requires us to integrate information from all our senses. But it seems the systems that govern different emotion perception skills may be impaired in people with bipolar disorder.
Deciding to disclose information about a non-obvious disability at work is complicated and potentially risky, no matter what you do for a living. For people with a mental health issue, like bipolar disorder…
People seeking therapy should always talk to a practitioner who provides good quality treatment that’s appropriate to their needs. Because research shows that even the innocuous-sounding “talking therapies…
A new study has suggested that it may be possible to develop blood tests for suicide by identifying biomarkers in the blood. Although it has its limitations, the study is an important step towards a more…
Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression share common genetic variations, a new study has found, with researchers saying they can now calculate how much of the risk for developing such disorders…
Many therapeutic drugs and toxins affect us without us knowing exactly how. We know, for example, that Epilim, or sodium valproate, one of the most highly prescribed medicines for epilepsy can prevent…
Scientists have linked common genetic markers with major psychiatric disorders including autism and schizophrenia, in the largest ever genetic study of psychiatric illness. The study findings, published…
From Psycho onward, film portrayals of the mentally ill have contributed to the stigma faced by people with these conditions. Films tend to create and reinforce stereotypes of the mentally ill as “homicidal…
The brains of people with a family history of bipolar disorder but no symptoms react differently when shown emotive faces to those with no genetic history, a new study has found. The researchers who conducted…