Couples therapy: how effective is it?

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, have been studying the effectiveness of couples therapy in a study of 134 married couples. Most of the couples were in their 30s and 40s and slightly more than half of them had children. The couples were chronically and seriously distressed and fought frequently but were hoping to improve their marriages. The couples received 26 therapy sessions a year and psychologists carried out follow-up sessions approximately every six months for five years after therapy ended. Some of the couples received traditional behavioural couple therapy, focusing on making positive changes and learning better ways of communicating and working towards solutions, while others received integrative behavioural couples therapy which focuses more on emotional reactions. When the therapy sessions were over about two-thirds of the couples had shown significant clinical improvement. The integrative approach was more effective in the first two years but the difference was not dramatic and did not last as the years went on. Five years after the treatment about half the couples were significantly improved, a quarter were unchanged and a quarter were separated or divorced.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100419151119.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Obesity, genes and Alzheimer's disease

FTO is a gene associated with obesity. People with one copy of it are on average 1.5kg heavier than average and people with two copies of it are 3kg heavier. The gene is carried by 46% of Western Europeans and researchers from California University now think it may also be associated with Alzheimer's disease. The scientists found that those people with the variation had 8% fewer cells in the frontal lobe of the brain and 12% less in the occipital lobe - areas associated with complex judgments and the processing of mental imagery respectively. Obesity increases the risk of dementia because it can lead to damage to the blood vessels in the brain, in turn leading to damage to brain cells but the differences could not be attributed to cholesterol levels, diabetes or high-blood pressure.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7608210/Obesity-gene-may-also-cause-Alzheimers.html

Another study into the links between genetics and Alzheimer's disease, also carried out by researchers at the University of California looked into the effect of variations in a gene called Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT). A sample of 2,858 African-American and Caucasian people between the ages of 70 and 79 were studied over an eight-year period. Their DNA was analyzed and they were tested on their language, concentration and memory, response time and attention. People with the 'Met' variant of the gene experienced a greater decline in their thinking skills over the years while people with the 'Val' variant scored, on average, 32% better if they were Caucasian and 48% better if they were African-American.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100419162119.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Nature, nurture and ADHD

Although there is some debate about the exact proportions of each most psychiatrists now accept that the nature/nurture debate is a pointless one and that mental-health problems are due to a complex interaction between people's genes and their environment. ADHD is no exception to this and a team of researchers from Michigan State University studied 304 youths to look further into the causes of the condition. They looked at variations in a genetic region - 5HTTLPR - which led to either a very low or very high production of serotonin in the brain and the children's tendencies to blame themselves for arguments between their parents. They found that the children with variations in the gene and who were more prone to self-blame had more ADHD symptoms.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100415205746.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Aliens, incentives and ADHD

Researchers from Nottingham University in the U.K. have been using a computer game to assess the effectiveness of behaviour therapy in treating children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In behaviour therapy children are rewarded for not behaving impulsively and the game took a similar approach by rewarding children for zapping the right colour aliens and penalising them for behaving impulsively and zapping the wrong colour ones. For some of the children the rewards and penalties of the game were increased fivefold. The children whose incentives were greater performed better at the game and the game affected activity in the same region of the brain as the ADHD drug Ritalin.

You can find out more about this research at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8625741.stm

Even short-term meditation can boost concentration

Even a small number of meditation sessions can have a beneficial effect on people's cognition. Researchers at the University of North Carolina studied 49 students. Half of them listened to an audio book while the other half received meditation training made up of four daily, 20-minute sessions. Both groups' mood improved but even after this short course of mindfulness training the participants who meditated showed 'significant improvement in their critical cognitive skills.'

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/04/19/short-term-meditation-is-beneficial/12929.html

Black men with chronic pain are more likely to experience depression than White men. Researchers from the University of Michigan studied 1,600 men and found that those who were Black were more likely to experience depression, 'affective distress' and disability. The Black men were in poorer overall health and were at a higher risk of not being able to take care of themselves or their families. Alcohol and caffeine use were linked to less depression as was being married whereas being embroiled in a lawsuit relating to the pain or having high blood pressure were linked to more depression.

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/04/19/depression-risk-for-black-men-with-chronic-pain/12922.html

Linking the Big Five to depression

Psychologists often use the 'Big Five' or OCEAN model to assess people's personality on five variables: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (the tendency to see events in a negative or pessimistic light). Previous research has linked extraversion to a decreased risk of depression and neuroticism to an increased risk but there has been little or no research into all five factors. Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia studied 44,112 people including 542 pairs of twin - something which allowed them to explore the links between personality type, genetics and depression. They found that neuroticism was the most-important personality factor in influencing the link between genetics and depression. The next most important factor was conscientiousness - the less conscientious people were the more likely they were to become depressed. Openness, extraversion and agreeableness all had less of an influence.

Kendler, K.S. and Myers, J. - The genetic and environmental relationship between major depression and the five-factor model of personality Psychological Medicine May 2010, 40(5), 801-806

Bullying: not just something to grow up and get over

Bullying is a feature of many children's lives but is often thought to be an inevitable phase of growing up, something that is down to bad luck, that passes with age and that has few long-term consequences. Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London have been reviewing the evidence on bullying and their conclusions disagree with all these assumptions. They found that being a victim of bullying was linked to certain personal characteristics and family factors, that it can last a long time, that it is associated with severe symptoms of mental-health problems including self-harm, violent behaviour and psychosis and that it has long-lasting effects that can persist until late adolescence.

Arseneault, L., Bowes, L. and Shakoor, S. - Bullying victimization in youths and mental-health problems: 'Much ado about nothing'? Psychological Medicine May 2010, 40(5), 717-729

Young drug users prefer being high to being healthy

Researchers from Liverpool John Moores University and IREFREA, a European body which researches drug use and its prevention, have been looking into 'recreational' drug use and its impact on people's happiness and well-being. They studied 1,341 16-35 year-olds in nine European cities. Starting to use drugs at a younger age and using them more frequently were linked to poorer life satisfaction and more suicidal thoughts and hopelessness. Younger people who used drugs more frequently placed more value on having fun than maintaining long-term health. People who were homosexual or bisexual were more likely to report hopelessness, suicidal thoughts and dissatisfaction with life and more likely to prefer fun to health. People who had started using cocaine at a younger age were more likely to have thought about killing themselves in the last 12 months.

Sumnall, H. ... [et al] - A choice between fun or health? Relationships between nightlife substance use, happiness and mental well-being Journal of Substance Use April 2010, 15(2), 89-104

Saturday night's alright for fighting

For many people a fight is as much part of a good night out as drinking, flirting and dancing. Researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University hung around eight city-centre night clubs in a bid to find out more about violence. They saw 171 violent incidents of which 108 involved men. Male violence involved a ritualised choreography of verbal challenges, drink-spilling and jostling whereas female fighting was much more difficult to predict, tended to involve hair-pulling and was more difficult for male security guards to deal with.

Forsyth, A.J.M., and Lennox, J.C. - Gender differences in the choreography of alcohol-related violence: an observational study of aggressive within licensed premises Journal of Substance Use April 2010, 15(2), 75-88

Community arts projects help mental health

Community arts projects can increase people's sense of psychological well-being and help reduce levels of anxiety and depression. Dr Asiya Siddiquee from Manchester Metropolitan University studied six projects based in the North-West of England which involved a diverse range of activities such as creative writing, photography and dance. She studied 96 people who had taken part in the projects and found they had had a significant increase in their mental health with less anxiety and depression. The participants felt more in control of their lives, more independent and had a greater sense of purpose.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/185411.php

Spanking and aggression

Researchers from Tulane University in New Orleans have been looking into the effects of spanking on children. The researchers studied nearly 2,500 children asking their mothers about how often they were spanked and about their behaviour. The children who were spanked more often were twice as likely as those who weren't spanked to develop aggressive behaviour such as getting into fights, destroying things or being mean to others. More than half of the children had been spanked in the month before the interview. Those who had been spanked more than once by the age of three had double the risk of being highly aggressive by five. The findings held true even after taking into account psychological maltreatment, maternal depression and substance abuse.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE63B2XR20100412?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true

Girls with eating disorders slip through the cracks

People with eating problems who do not meet the criteria for a full-blown eating disorder are often classified as Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). This is sometimes seen as less serious but new research from Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that a diagnosis of EDNOS can mask serious health problems. The researchers studied 1,310 female patients treated for eating disorders at the Lucile Packard's Children's Hospital and assessed them for signs of malnutrition such as a low heart rate, low blood pressure, low body temperature and low levels of potassium and phosphorus. 60% of the EDNOS patients met the medical criteria for hospitalisation and this group was, on average, sicker than patients with full-blown bulimia. The sickest EDNOS patients were those who had dropped more than 25% of their body weight before diagnosis. Although the girls had been overweight when they started they had lost weight very quickly and showed signs of severe malnutrition.

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/04/13/medical-criteria-for-eating-disorders-miss-the-mark/12795.html

Wasting away with Alzheimer's

Researchers from the University of Kansas School of Medicine have been looking into the relationship between body composition (how much of our body is fat and how much is muscle, bones and organs) and Alzheimer's disease. Weight loss often happens among people with Alzheimer's disease and can occur before any symptoms of memory loss. The researchers studied 140 people aged 60 and over, half of whom had Alzheimer's disease. The participants also had MRI brain scans and psychological tests. The study found that lean mass was reduced in the people with Alzheimer's disease. Decreases in the volume of the whole brain and of white matter, and declines in cognitive performance were all associated with loss of lean mass but it was a decline in lean mass, not an increase in body fat that was responsible for people's changing body composition. It is not known whether the loss of lean mass is associated with the lack of exercise on the part of people with Alzheimer's or whether there is some underlying mechanism responsible for a loss of lean mass and Alzheimer's disease.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100412161915.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Diet and Alzheimer's disease - more research backs healthy diet

There has already been a lot of research into the links between diet and Alzheimer's disease and a new study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York has added more weight to the evidence linking a healthy diet to a reduced risk of the condition. The researchers asked more than 2,100 New Yorkers aged 65 and over about their dietary habits and over the next four years 253 of them developed Alzheimer's. However, those whose diets included the most salad dressing, nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry and dark-green leafy vegetables and the least red meat, high-fat dairy, offal and butter had a 38% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's than those whose diets included fewer fruits, vegetables and poultry and more red meat and high-fat dairy.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=news&id=127434&cn=231

Antibody treatment shows promise for Alzheimer's

As people's Alzheimer's disease progresses their brain shrinks and the fluid-filled ventricles at the centre of the brain increase in volume. Researchers at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have been using a naturally-occuring antibody found in people's blood to arrest this process and, in a small-scale trial, have had some success. In a study of 20 patients the researchers gave half of them the antibody and half a placebo. After 18 months the patients were given an MRI brain scan and a series of cognitive tests. The group given the antibody had much less enlargement of their ventricles (6.7% vs 12.7%) and slightly less brain shrinkage (1.6% vs 2.2%). Those who received the antibody - IGIV - showed significantly less decline in their overall functioning and thinking abilities than the group given the placebo.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100413170705.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Smugness at sixty - self-esteem through the lifespan

People's self-esteem reaches a peak at 60 with the highest levels being enjoyed by well-off married men. Ulrich Orth from the University of Basel studied 3,617 American men and women aged between 25 and 104 between 1986 and 2002. The study found that self-esteem peaked at 60 but declined thereafter due to retirement and failing health. Better education, income, health and employment status were all linked to higher self-esteem as was being in a happy marriage. Apart from people in their 80s and 90s women tended to have lower self-esteem than men.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7547748/Men-aged-60-have-highest-self-esteem.html

Smoking and IQ

People who smoke have lower IQs than those who don't. That's according to a study of over 20,000 men carried out by Professor Mark Weiser of Tel Aviv University. The men took IQ tests and were asked about their smoking habits when they were conscripted into the Israeli army. The average IQ of the smokers was 94 compared to 101 for the non-smokers. Because the sample was so large the researchers were able to rule out the influence of socioeconomic factors and in cases where one twin smoked and the other did not the non-smoking twin was found to have a higher IQ.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7548002/Smokers-have-lower-IQs.html

Not-so-young and want a good night's sleep? Stick to a routine.

Sticking to a set routine could be the key to getting a good night's sleep for older adults. A team of researchers led by Anna Zisberg from the University of Haifa in Israel studied 96 Russian-speaking older adults living in retirement communities. The participants were asked about their daily routines and their sleep patterns. Those participants who stuck most closely to their daily routine fell asleep more quickly and had a better quality of sleep. Washing, dressing and eating at regular times were particularly associated with getting a good night's sleep.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100401085336.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Oxytocin, autism and emotions

Oxytocin is a hormone which plays an important part in labour, delivery and breastfeeding and it also plays a role in promoting trust, love and social recognition. Recently psychologists have become interested in using oxtyocin to treat autism. Dr Adam Guastella from the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney studied the effects of oxytocin on adolescents with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). They gave half of them an oxytocin nasal spray and half a placebo. The participants were also asked to complete a facial expression task that measured how well they recognised emotions. The study found that the participants were better at recognising emotions after they had received the oxytocin spray.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100408105200.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader