Mental Illness

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September 2008
- Mom: Accused Wash. Killer 'Desperately Mentally Ill'
  
  Associated Press | Sep 3, 08 2:37 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Authorities in Washington are still piecing together what triggered Isaac Zamora’s murderous rampage yesterday, the AP reports, in which the 28-year-old described by his mother as "desperately mentally ill" killed 6 people, including a sheriff's deputy. Zamora recently completed 6 months in jail for drug possession; the deputy killed, Anne Jackson, had helped the family before, Dennise Zamora said. More »
- Bipolar Risk Rises With Father's Age
  
  Reuters | Sep 2, 08 3:26 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Children born to fathers older than 30 have an 11% higher chance of developing bipolar disorder than kids with younger dads, and the risk increases with the father’s age, new research reveals. The rate climbs to 37% of offspring of fathers aged 55, Reuters reports, compared to the overall incidence of the disorder of 1% to 3% in all adults. More »
August 2008
- Bhutto Widower Plagued by Mental Illness
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Aug 26, 08 7:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The leading candidate to succeed Pervez Musharraf as president of Pakistan has a long history of mental illness and was suffering from severe psychiatric problems as recently as 2007, reports the Financial Times . Asif Ali Zardari, who took over the Pakistan People's Party after the assassination of his wife Benazir Bhutto, has been diagnosed with dementia, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, court documents say. More »
June 2008
- Alzheimer's Drug Shows Some Promise
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 17, 08 6:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A drug currently in experimental trials seems to be effective in battling Alzheimer's disease, the pharmaceutical companies developing it tell the Wall Street Journal . Bapineuzumab—developed by Elan and Wyeth—seems to be helpful in improving cognitive ability in those stricken by the disease, though much more so in patients who don't have a gene that increases risk of the brain disease. More »
May 2008
- Dunst: Depression Drove Me to Rehab
  
  E! Online | May 28, 08 10:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Contrary to reports of broken-hearted hard-partying, Kirsten Dunst went to rehab for a far simpler problem—a good old fashioned case of the blues, Marc Malkin writes for E! Online. "I didn’t go to Cirque Lodge for alcohol abuse or drug abuse, I went there for depression," the Spider-Man star says. More »
April 2008
- NIU Shooter Saw Himself as Sensitive Victim
  
  Chicago Tribune | Apr 21, 08 12:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Steven Kazmierczak didn’t leave a note before his deadly February shooting spree at Northern Illinois University, nor clues to his motivations on his computer or cell phone. But in essays for graduate-school applications, the Chicago Tribune reports, the future killer writes extensively about his life and his mental problems—including a stint in a group home. More »
- Walker Reveals Pain of Multiple Personalities
  
  CNN | Apr 15, 08 4:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Former football star Herschel Walker has written a book revealing his struggles with dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. Walker says the disease was so serious it ruined his marriage and led him to endanger his own life, CNN reports. The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner blames the disorder on childhood trauma from being overweight and stuttering. More »
- Politicians: They're All Crazy
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Apr 15, 08 3:56 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It’s no wonder George W. Bush and Tony Blair messed up in Iraq: They were crazy. At least that’s ex-British politician David Owen’s belief. In his new book, In Sickness and in Power , the ex-doctor explores the health of leaders throughout time. Bush and Blair were afflicted with “Hubris Syndrome,” a medical condition Owen invented to describe the power-mad. More »
- Don't Expect a 20th Nervous Breakdown
  
  Newsweek | Apr 15, 08 10:11 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - “Nervous breakdown” has long been a catchall for psychological conditions as varied as depression and schizophrenia. But as psychiatric patients emerge from stigmatized isolation—and as the DSM fattens—scientists are chucking the antiquated term in favor of a more descriptive and accurate taxonomy. “I haven’t heard that term in years,” one expert tells MSNBC. More »
- She Painted Bolero
  
  New York Times | Apr 8, 08 11:14 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Struck down by a degenerative brain disease, mathematician and scientist Anne Adams lost much of her ability to do even simple scientific tasks. But the disease also unleashed a fierce artistic creativity, as her brain rewired itself to compensate for the damage. Among her work is a painting that represents 340 bars of Ravel's "Bolero," accurately reflecting the composer's musical structure in visual form, the New York Times reports. More »
- Mental Health and Disorders
  
  New York Times | Apr 7, 08
  
  A free collection of articles about mental health and disorders published in The New York Times.
- Mental Illness - Childhood disorders, Mood disorders, Psychotic disorders, Anxiety disorders, Other
  
  faqs.org | Apr 7, 08
  
  Mental Illness - Childhood disorders, Mood disorders, Psychotic disorders, Anxiety disorders, Other
- Defining mental illness: An interview with a Mayo Clinic specialist - MayoClinic.com
  
  Mayo Clinic | Apr 7, 08
  
  Mental illness — A psychiatrist puts it all into perspective, from types to treatments.
March 2008
- Schizophrenia Gene Find Surprises Scientists
  
  Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Mar 28, 08 6:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Scientists have tracked down the genetic roots of schizophrenia, but in a surprising twist researchers found that the genetic errors to blame often vary from person to person, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . The discovery suggests that multiple glitches in the genetic code are behind schizophrenia, with the exact combination unique in every patient. More »
- Therapy by Any Other Name
  
  New York Times | Mar 12, 08 6:56 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Feds Map Drug and Mental Problems by State
  
  Reuters | Mar 6, 08 8:25 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Vermonters smoke the most pot and Utah has the lowest drinking and marijuana rates among young people in the nation—but the highest rates of adults reporting mental health problems. Those are some of the nuggets uncovered in a fascinating new report by government researchers who made a state-by-state examination of substance abuse and mental health problems, Reuters reports. More »
- House Passes Mental Health 'Parity' Bill
  
  New York Times | Mar 6, 08 3:00 AM CST
  
  (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 »
February 2008
- Blood Test Aims to ID Bipolar Moods
  
  MSNBC | Feb 26, 08 6:17 AM CST
  
  (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 »
- NIU Shooter Delved Into Satanism
  
  Chicago Sun-Times | Feb 17, 08 4:55 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The shooter in the NIU carnage that left five students dead last week began to exhibit troubling signs of mental illness as a high school student as he explored satanism and white-power movements, reports AP. Steven Kazmierczak "started to identify more with hatred-type stuff," said a friend. His behavioral problems became so severe that he required mood-stabilizing drugs, and landed for a year in a psychiatric treatment center where he cut himself and resisted taking medication. More »
- Super-Strong 'Skunk' Pot Linked to Psychosis
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Feb 6, 08 12:21 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Seizures of a super-strong strain of marijuana nicknamed "skunk" have risen sharply in the UK and experts say it could be causing an epidemic of cannabis-induced psychosis, the Daily Telegraph reports. Skunk is up to four times more potent than regular herbal cannabis, and now accounts for 80% of street seizures. British politicians are now debating reclassifying marijuana as a more dangerous drug. More »