Medicating the Mind

(Newser) - A Seattle software company is offering new hope to parents of autistic children who struggle to get, and afford, behavioral therapy, which can cost upward of $30,000 a year and isn't usually covered by insurance. Jigsaw Learning has created a game-like computer network, called TeachTown, that provides some aspects of the therapy, the Post-Intelligencer reports. More »

(Newser) - A program that treats depression in Indian villages is seeking to transform mental health care throughout the developing world, the New York Times reports. Bypassing expensive doctors, the clinics train laypeople to avoid talk of mental illness—a shameful stigma in many cultures—by screening for "strain" and "tension," and offering patients therapy, yoga, and medication. More »

(Newser) - Mind-reading has taken a step toward possibility with a new computer that can decode brain activity to determine what a person is looking at with up to 90% accuracy, the Independent reports. With improvements, the technology could be able to reconstruct any image a person could conjure up—and someday, their very thoughts and dreams, said the lead researcher of the experiments detailed in the journal Nature . More »

(Newser) - The House has passed a bill requiring most group health insurers to provide comparable coverage for treatment of mental illness and addiction as they do for physical illness, the New York Times reports. "Illness of the brain must be treated just like illness anywhere else in the body," said one lawmaker. Supporters of the bill have been trying to get it passed for more than a decade. More »

(Newser) - Men with low levels of testosterone are more likely to be depressed, Australian researchers have found, and they recommend that those with abnormally low levels be treated with injections of the sex hormone. A study of men over the age of 70 revealed that those with the lowest testosterone levels are three times more likely to suffer depression than those with the highest levels, reports the Age . More »

(Newser) - Antidepressant Effexor XR will soon lose patent protection, and maker Wyeth is hoping Pristiq, the successor drug approved today by the FDA, will soften the financial blow. Higher-ups at the company gush over Pristiq's advantages, including zero acclimation time and no liver interaction, and hope that sales will offset losses to generic versions of Effexor, the New York Times reports. More »

(Newser) - With more pet owners working long days and leaving their furry and feathered friends alone at home, cases of animal depression are on the rise, writes the Daily Telegraph . A TV vet says the trend is hitting parrots especially hard, causing the talkative birds to pull out their feathers or peck at their own legs—until they're dosed with Prozac. More »

(Newser) - Big Pharma swallowed a bitter pill yesterday as Prozac and other antidepressants were found in a UK study to be largely ineffectual in all but the most extreme cases of depression. The meta-analysis of 47 clinical trials submitted to the FDA with licensing applications for six popular antidepressants concluded that they should be prescribed only when all other treatments fail to yield results, the Independent reports. More »

(Newser) - Researchers at Indiana University have developed a blood test that uses genetic markers to identify a patient's mood state, a discovery that could herald a breakthrough in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Widespread tests are still at least 5 years away, but already many are concerned that results would be used to screen employees, military enlistees, or even college applicants, MSNBC reports. More »

(Newser) - A 16-year-old schoolgirl found hanged in the woods yesterday became the 17th youth suicide in the area of Bridgend, Wales, since early 2007. The rash of suicides has focused intense scrutiny on the town of 39,000 and its surrounding borough, where baffled police have so far failed to unearth any common motive linking the victims, the Guardian reports. Victims have ranged in age from 15 to 26. More »

(Newser) - Suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have spiked dramatically in recent years, in contrast to flat or declining rates in younger and older demographics, mystifying experts, reports the New York Times . For people 45 to 54, the rate jumped 20% between 1999 and 2004;  for women, the increase was 31%. Theories about the cause include lack of support systems, declining hormone-replacement therapy use, and prevalence of prescription painkillers . More »

(Newser) - Maybe you're feeling a little down—not to worry! Turn to self-help books, psychiatrists, little blue pills, or Dr. Phil to make you happier! But in Against Happiness, melancholy Eric Wilson rails against our culture’s “craven disregard for the value of sadness.” And a growing wave of morose-minded thinkers is joining the anti-happiness bandwagon, Newsweek reports. More »

(Newser) - Taking epilepsy medication can double risk of suicidal behavior, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Results of a government study showed the increased risk for 11 specific drugs, including Pfizer’s Neurontin and Lyrica, but the Food and Drug Administration warned that the findings probably apply to all epilepsy medications. Labels for the drugs will be changed to reflect the risks. More »