Obsessive-compulsive disorder may take years to diagnose, partly because its symptoms are similar to those of other disorders. Many patients who receive treatment (typically behavioral therapy, medications, or a combination) experience improvement.
Women who follow the healthy “DASH diet” have fewer heart attacks and strokes, a study has found. The research used 25 years of data on 88,000 women. All were part of the Nurses’ Health Study. The DASH diet is a plan designed to reduce blood pressure. It includes twice as many fruits, vegetables and grains as the average American diet. About 15,000 women in the study ate in a way similar to the DASH diet. Their heart attack rate was 24% lower than the rate for women in the study who ate typical American diets. Their stroke rate was 18% lower. The Associated Press wrote about the study April 15. It was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
Although not always regarded seriously, hypnosis can be an effective treatment for pain or anxiety. Certain other conditions may lend themselves to treatment with hypnosis, but the results are less certain.
Patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may be at increased risk for gastrointestinal bleeding, particularly if they are also taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
Endophenotypes are characteristics of a disorder or illness that are not observable. It is hoped that study of these characteristics may lead to better understanding of the genetic causes of mental illnesses.
A large study found that middle-aged people with elevated or high cholesterol were more likely to develop dementia later in life.
Somatoform disorders are generally defined as symptoms of pain or fatigue with no apparent physical cause. Studies have shown cognitive behavioral therapy to be the most effective treatment for these disorders.
Research is challenging the perception that people can combat insomnia or anxiety by learning muscle relaxation techniques.
Research suggests that for patients who are starting treatment for depression, their type of attachment anxiety should be taken into consideration as a factor in determining the best course of treatment.
Research into schizophrenia is attempting to find ways to identify those at risk of developing psychosis before the disorder reaches the chronic, disabling stage.