An article published in The Lancet finds that cancer patients who received a care package called "Depression Care for People with Cancer" (DCPC) had lower levels of depression than those who received the usual care (antidepressants and mental health services recommended by the cancer team). Professor Michael Sharpe (University of Edinburgh, UK) and other colleagues who study psychological medicine...

It's almost the definition of a good mother: someone who puts her child's welfare ahead of her own. So women may agonize if they are pregnant and must decide whether to accept a treatment that could help them but harm their fetus. As many as 20 percent of pregnant women experience significant depression. Stopping antidepressant medication during pregnancy may increase the risk of relapse for the mo...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first generic versions of Risperdal (risperidone) tablets. Risperdal is an antipsychotic drug used for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric conditions."This generic drug approval is another example of the FDA's efforts to increase access to safe and effective generic drugs as soon as the law permits," said G...

The newer, atypical antipsychotics were no better than a first-generation agent in reducing violent behavior in schizophrenic patients, researchers here said.Among 1,445 patients randomly assigned to one of five antipsychotic drugs, the overall proportion showing violent behavior declined from 19% at baseline to 14% after six months on an intent-to-treat basis, with no differences seen between diff...

In the 19th century England, mental health issues were governed by what was known as 'lunacy law'. Although Victorian parliamentary acts changed the status of those suffering from mental illness from prisoners to patients, they were still kept in brutal asylums.Today, modern medicine has a sophisticated understanding of the broad spectrum of disorders that constitute mental illness, but politics se...