UK’s National Health Service is preparing to launch its first internet addiction clinic “A London hospital is preparing to launch the first NHS-funded internet addiction centre for young people and adults” The Guardian revealed. The centre ill initially focus on gaming disorder--a new diagnosis to be introduced in the forthcoming 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, the World Health Organization announced earlier this week. However, the plan is to expand services in the future to cover other internet-based addictions--for instance, porn- or social media addiction. Source: The Guardian
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Many psychiatric disorders share an underlying genetic basis, a new study finds The fact that psychiatric disorders tend to run in families in certainly no news. However, what a new study demonstrates is that many conditions share a complex underlying basis. The discovery was made possible by the collaboration of 600+ institutions worldwide, who investigated genetic patterns across the disorders of 260,000+ patients and 780,000+ controls. Final results indicated widespread between different conditions, particularly ADHD, bipolar disorder, MDD and schizophrenia. Anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorders also appeared to be related. Interestingly, neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s appeared distinct from mental illnesses. Based on their findings, researchers concluded that the categorical distinctions upon which current classification systems are based might overlook common characteristics between disorders. An important topic for future research, given its implications for treatment. Source: Corvin, Neale, et alia (2018) Pregnancy complications might turn on schizophrenia genes. Looking at the genetic profiles and prenatal histories of nearly 4,000 adults from four countries, about half of which had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, a recent study found that a number of genes known to be associated with the disorder were likely to be turned on by pregnancy complications. The latter included serious problems, such as pre-eclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction, and premature rupture of membranes. Moreover, in high-risk patients, these complications came with a fivefold increase in the risk of developing the psychotic disorder. Interestingly, males seemed to be more vulnerable than females to such prenatal stress factors. Source: Weinberger et alia (2018) Gaming addiction is to be officially classified as a disease by the World Health Organization The World Health Organization just announced that the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases will include a “Gaming disorder” defined by the three following symptoms (present for a year at least): Gaming behavior takes precedence over other activities, to the extent that other activities become peripheral. The control over these behaviors is impaired, and they continue, or even escalate, as their negative consequences occur. The condition leads to significant distress and impairment in personal, family, social, educational or occupational functioning. Gaming will thus become (after gambling) the second offcially recognized non-substance addictive disorder. It should be noted, however, that not all psychiatrists agree with the new diagnosis, many pointing out that behaviors such as gaming can be a coping mechanism for individuals with an underlying “true” condition, such as Major Depression. Sources: WHO 2018 Many commonly-prescribed drugs may increase the risk of depression, a new study finds An American study including 25,000+ adults found that 37% of the medications they reported taking (over a 9-year period) listed depression as one of their side-effects. As a matter of fact, 7.6% (+50% compared to the baseline risk) of those taking one of these drugs displayed depressive symptoms. The rate reached 9% (+80%) for those taking two, and even 15% (+300%) for those taking three or more. These medications included very commonly prescribed birth control pills, painkilers, as well as antacids. Although the reason for this correlation are still unclear, the reason is sometimes quite straightforward--e.g., in t he case of oral contraceptives, which affect hormonal activity. Source: Olfson et alia (2018) Screen time is associated with insomnia and depressive symptoms in adolescents, a new study finds. Surveying 3,000+ adolescents (mean age 15) about their sleep (issues falling and/or staying asleep, as well as duration), depressive symptoms, and daily screen time (messaging, web surfing, streaming, gaming), American researchers found that the latter mediated a correlation between insomnia and signs of depression. For each of the four activities, the more time adolescents devoted to them, the more insomniac and the more depressed they were. Hale et alia (2018) Obesity might be accompanied by changes in gut bacteria that promote anxiety This is the conclusion reached by researchers at Harvard Medical School after demonstrating that symptoms of this mood disorder can be induced in mice by feeding them a diet that makes them obese. Anxiety-like behavior was confirmed using well-established measures, such as the observation of the rodents’ tendency to explore an unknown maze, eat in a novel environment, or bury marbles. To test their hypothesis on the role of gut bacteria in the development of the disorder, researchers placed antibiotics in the mice’s drinking water and transferred fecal matter from obese to normal individuals. The former decreased observed anxiety, while the latter proved anxiogenic. Interestingly, examination of brain tissue showed that the high-fat diet had made neurons unable to use insulin to transform glucose into energy. Source: Kahn et alia (2018) Scientists may have identified genes associated with infantile schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a major mental disorder, sometimes dubbed the “cancer of psychiatry.” Indeed, individuals with this condition experience hallucinations, delusions, and often exhibit disorganized thought, speech, and behavior, leading to significant distress and impairment in functioning. Even more disturbing is childhood-onsent schizophrenia, which comes with similar symptoms, but occurs before adolescence. Children suffering fro this condition are generally severely disabled and never get to enjoy a normal life. To shed light on this disorder, Chaumette et alia (2018) analyzed genetic data from 19 patients and compared them to their unaffected parents. This allowed the researchers to identify a mutation in the ATP1A3 gene that could constitute a natural vulnerability. Interestingly, this gene plays a crucial role in the normal functioning of neurons--more specifically, in reuptake, or reabsorption of neurochemical molecules post-neurotransmission. This finding could also help further our currently very limited understanding of the heritability of schizophrenia, which is estimated at 80%. Source: Chaumette et alia (2018) Neuroscientists have located the cells that store long-lasting memories of traumatic experiences Using mice engineered to carry a reporter gene signaling neuronal activity, as well as a fear-inducing exercise, researchers were able to identify the subpopulation of neurons that are involved in storing long-term traumatic memories and to locate them in a specific part of the hippocampus: the dentate gyrus. Next, mice underwent a fear-reducing training resembling exposure-based therapy in humans. Interestingly, mice no longer showed signs of trauma, but the same population of neurons was still active. Moreover, when researchers reduced the excitability of this population of neurons, mice showed less fear reduction following a similar training--but more when their excitability was enhanced. Overall, this suggests that the same brain region may be involved in both storing and rewriting traumatic memories. Source: Khalaf et alia (2018) Predisposition to depression could be linked to the stress hormone cortisol and have a genetic basis, a new massive study finds. In a new study published in the prestigious journal Nature, researchers compared the DNA of depressed and non depressed patients and were able to identify two genetic variations associated with depressive symptoms. Interestingly, one of them is linked to a gene to the production of the “stress hormone” cortisol. This study, one of the largest ever conducted on the subject, initially involved researchers from 17 countries and over 160,000 subjects. Its results werelater corroborated with an ever larger cohorst of nearly 370,000 individuals. Source: Okbay et alia (2018) |
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