A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Obsessive-compulsive disorder can be a disruptive condition to live with, but there are steps that you can take to cope with it. In this Spotlight, we take you through them. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) occurs when a person has recurring thoughts and behaviors that they cannot control. Individuals with OCD feel that they must repeat these thoughts [...]
Credit: Somsak Suwanput/ShutterStock Scientists have developed a new blood test that could finally lead to personalised depression treatments for patients, giving doctors a tool that can identify which antidepressants are likely to work for patients the first time around, instead of relying on trial and error. This could make a huge difference, because [...]
Paul Enck, a medical psychologist at the University of Tübingen, Germany, agrees. He suggests a method that he calls “placebo-controlled dose reduction”. For example: when someone is prescribed a suitable drug, after two or three weeks of taking it regularly they could switch to a pack in which their pills are interspersed with identical placebos. [...]
One of the world’s largest drug makers is testing whether an anti-inflammatory drug can help people with depression. Photo: APSTOCK One of the world’s largest drug makers is testing a radical new approach to treating depression — by dialling down inflammation in the body, rather than tinkering with chemicals in the brain. If it works, it’s [...]
Photo: Tim Beddow/Getty Images Schizophrenia is a devastating and often destructive mental disorder, one that overtakes a young mind and sends it spinning out of touch with reality. About one in 100 Americans is estimated to have schizophrenia, and although the word itself has been around for just over 100 years, the illness has [...]
"This is a major concern. Antipsychotics are strong drugs with serious side effects such as obesity, diabetes and sedation, and these tend to be worse in young people. Despite this, these drugs are increasingly used in situations where other treatments may be safer and more appropriate," said Karanges. Use of the main ADHD medication Ritalin [...]
