News items 2001

Higher risk of certain psychiatric problems depending on what season you are born (12/27/01)
Mentally ill at increased risk of homicide death (12/24/01)
New program for mental health in Russia (12/18/01)
HUBIN meets the Nobel laureate Paul Greengard (12/14/01)
WHO releases new fact sheet on mental disorders (12/12/01)
How to cope with Christmas and the holidays (12/11/01)
Psychosis among adolescents with epilepsy (12/11/01)

Antipsychotics and blood sugar irregulatites (11/28/01)
Analytical thinking also has emotions (11/27/01)
Schizophrenia in the soul (11/16/01)
Majority recover from mental illness (11/12/01)
Art from schizophrenic patients exhibited in Lund (11/09/01)
University error exposes children's psychological files online (11/08/01)
The US Senate demands changes in mental health insurance (11/06/01)
Worrying trends in the US health care for kids (11/01/01)

Researchers say there may be "genious genes" (10/31/01)
Inferior resources for mental patients in Ireland (10/31/01)
South Africa: Mentally ill receive unfair treatment (10/26/01)
Culture and mental illness in the UK (10/24/01)
Who should deal with mentally ill, agitated persons? (10/24/01)
New word for schizophrenia sought in Japan (10/17/01)
Can research on schizophrenia learn from dyslexia training? (10/15/01)

Mental health patients want more information (09/28/01)
New German museum for art by psychiatric patients (09/28/01)
International marketing of "Swedish Brain Power" (09/27/01)
Music festival raised 2.1 million dollars to mental health (09/19/01)
Irish alarm about bed shortage in psychiatric care (09/18/01)
Should youngsters suffering from mental illness be put in jail? (09/12/01)
Icelandic researchers say they have mapped gene for anxiety (09/12/01)

Arvid Carlsson honored with new institute (08/28/01)
Minority differences in the American mental healthcare (08/27/01)
Rehabilitation for individuals with mental disability (08/22/01)
Continued support for caring for relatives (08/22/01)
New schizophrenia initiative launched in United Kingdom (08/14/01)
NIMH grant application review panels (08/03/01)
OK to mental health bill in US senate (08/02/01)

Still unusual with individual plans (07/31/01)
The psychiatry reform- how is the situation today?

Is online therapy a reliable form of treatment? (05/26/01)
Funding to helpline for people in mental crisis (05/11/01)
U.S. launches suicide plan (05/03/01)

The staff finds coercion in psychiatry difficult (04/30/01)
Large efforts from family members (04/25/01)
The bank that is open all day around (04/23/01)
Award to schizophrenia scientist (04/19/01)
Suggestion: New education for mental care staff (04/18/01)
AstraZeneca goes gene-hunting in China (04/10/01)

Individuals with a mental handicap- a forgotten group? (03/20/01)
Cooperation between deCODE and Hoffmann-La Roche (03/07/01)
New psychiatric care in Uppsala helps patients in crisis (03/01/01)

Computer test can help diagnosing schizophrenia(02/21/01)
Children with low birth weight at higher risk for schizophrenia (02/19/01)
Icelandic study raises hope for new schizophrenia drugs (02/19/01)
Nobel prize winner positive about the future in psychiatry (02/08/01)

Security can reduce medication for older people with dementia
Prescription of antipsychotic drugs to older people
New perspectives on schizophrenia

Higher risk of certain psychiatric problems depending on what season you are born (12/27/01)
In agreement with several previous reports, the journal Neuropsychobiology suggests that the season of a your birth influences the chance that you'll have a specific psychiatric problem. For instance, people born in winter and spring have a greater chance of being schizophrenic, and those born in January, February and March are at higher risk of developing bipolar disorder and depression.
Source: HealthScoutNews, Thursday, December 27, 2001
Read more at Yahoo! - HelathScoutNews

Mentally ill at increased risk of homicide death (12/24/01)
It is commonly known that mentally ill are more likely to attempt suicide than the general public. Now a UK study shows that mentally ill also are at greater risk of dying from homicide. The study analyzed data from 70000 Danish individuals who had been admitted to hospital between 1973 to 1993 for psychiatric illness, and who then died during the study period. The study is published in the 22/29 issue of the Lancet.
Source: Reuters and BBC, Friday, December 21, 2001
Read more at Yahoo! News - Reuters
Read more on BBC online
The Lancet homepage

New program for mental health in Russia (12/18/01)
The Russian Ministry of health has decided on a new program to improve the treatment of mentally ill patients, according to Reuters. One part of the program is to develop new and modern hospitals. Disability due to mental illness is a large problem in Russia, and the number of individuals ill with mental diseases has increased over the last years.
Source: Reuters December 14, 2001
Read more at Reuters

HUBIN meets the Nobel laureate Paul Greengard (12/14/01)
Read more

WHO releases new fact sheet on mental and neurological disorders (12/12/01)
The fact sheet recognizes schizophrenia as one of the mental disorders which can be diagnosed as reliable and accurately as the most common physical disorders. According to WHO, around 24 million people worldwide suffer from schizophrenia and that almost half of sufferers can expect a full recovery if they receive proper treatment.
Read the fact sheet at the WHO website

How to cope with Christmas and the holidays (12/11/01)
The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) is an American nonprofit organization addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness. NMHA has developed a list of down-to-earth tips on how to cope with the upcoming Christmas and the holidays.

Beside the tips, a list of symptoms that require medical attention is included, along with inforamtion on how to contact NMHA for help and support.
Read the text at the NMHA website

Psychosis among adolescents with epilepsy (12/11/01)
If adolescents develop psychiatric symptoms an examination should be conducted to discover if he or she is falling ill in schizophrenia, according to a recent article in the Swedish journal Läkartidningen. Patients with epilepsy have a six to twelve times increased risk of falling ill with a schizophrenia-like psychosis schizophrenia, according to the authors. The medical history of two patients in their twenties is described, and treatment with antipsychotic drugs are discussed. A recommendation is to use neuroleptics (antipsycjhotics medication) with cautiousness, since this group of patients have an increased risk of motor side effects and the medication may lead to a reduced threshold for seizures.
Source: Läkartidningen 2001;98.5661-4.

Antipsychotics and blood sugar irregulatites (11/28/01)
Look out for irregularities in the blood sugar among young individuals treated with atypical antipsychotics- that is an advice for physicians provided by HealthScoutNews. In a recent article the news agency describes several case reports and scientific research papers. Also, interviews with scientists and representatives for governmental agencies are included.
Source: HealthScoutNews Nov 28, 2001
Read the article
Read more about this issue in the reseach news

Analytical thinking also has emotions (11/27/01)
Decisions are based on logical and rational thinking. Or are they? At a meeting for radiologists in Chicago recently, researchers presented proof that even in decisions which appear to be truly rational, emotions actually play a significant role. This statement was based on results from experiments with healthy subjects, whose responses to various questions were recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging of their brains. The results showed that there was a high activity in the ventromedial frontal lobe of the brain - a region generally known to be involved in emotions - when the participants were making certain choices. The researchers said their findings may have implications in psychiatric research and clinical treatment of diseases like schizophrenia.
Read more in article on HealthScoutNews online (11/27/01)

Schizophrenia in the soul (11/16/01)
In a new book, two psychiatrists mean we should stop seeing mental illness as a purely neurobiological condition, and instead look at sufferers as having a crisis of the soul.
Read more in article on seattletimes.com (11/14/01)

Majority recover from mental illness (11/12/01)
Positive reports say that a majority recover from mental illness. The British mental health charity Mind interviewed people who earlier had been diagnosed with various types of mental illness including depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. More than half of the people they interviewed said they felt they had recovered, or at least were coping with some kind of support.
Read more in article on BBC News online (11/07/01)

Art from schizophrenic patients exhibited in Lund (11/09/01)
There is still a chance to see the exhibition "På långfärd" (On a long journey), arranged by the "Stiftelsen Medicinhistoriska Museerna i Lund och Helsingborg." Until February 28, 2002, the exhibition is on display in Lund and thereafter it is shown in Helsingborg. The exhibition is focused on schizophrenia, and consists of art created by some 60 patients from different nursing homes. The exhibition tells the story of these patients life long, often very painful, disease which has been treated in hospitals, nursing homes or outpatient care.
Read more about the exhibition and see some of the artwork.

University error exposed children's psychological files online (11/08/01)
The University of Montana (in Montana) website put psychological and other personal information of some 60 children and teenagers online last week. The sensitive data was accidentally loaded onto a web server instead of a specialized, local server for research data. The patients' names, ages, addresses, visit descriptions and diagnoses could therefore be viewed by the public online until the mistake was discovered.
Read article on Yahoo! - NewsFactor (11/07/01)

The US Senate demands changes in mental health insurance (11/06/01)
The US legislation does not require companies to offer mental health coverage as part of employee health benefits. Although companies that do must provide the same level of coverage for mental health as they do for physical health, from routine checkups to major surgery. That is what an amendment from the US Senate now requires. Insurers that cover mental health conditions must treat them just like any other medical problem. ''This is an issue of civil rights!'' and ''End the discrimination.'' were some of the Senator's statements. Only one Senator, Texas republican Phil Gramm, was against the new legislation.
Read article on CNN.com (11/01/01)
Read article on the Dominion Post online (10/31/01)

Worrying trend in the US health care for kids (11/01/01)
A study at University of Washington, WA, says more children in the US are being treated in hospitals for mental illness than for injuries. The past year was the second in a row that is the case, and this trend is considered very worrying. Depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other serious mental conditions cause 20 percent of the visits among teens, and one in eight among children ages 5 to 14.
Read article on seattletimes.com (11/01/01)

Researchers say there may be "genious genes" (10/31/01)
Canadian scientists, who have studied the DNA of children with a rare disease called Williams syndrome, say there may be certain genetic mechanisms that endows people with special gifts, such as musical talent and mathematical brilliance. The study is published in the November issue of Nature Medicine, and describes how certain genes are inverted in the human genome. The authors also mean their findings may expose the roots of psychiatric diseases, like for instance schizophrenia.
Read more on National Post online (10/30/01)

Inferior resources for mental patients in Ireland (10/31/01)
Many people suffering from mental illness in Ireland could live at home instead of having to stay in psychiatric institutions, Schizophrenia Ireland says. The problem is that too few places are being created for mental health patients leaving psychiatric hospitals. The organization also says there is an over-reliance of drugs in the treatment of people with mental illness. Instead of just being given medication, the patients also ought to receive behavioural therapy, counselling, psychotherapy and other psychological treatments more often than what is cuurently the case.
Read the article on The Irish Times on the web (10/29/01)

South Africa: Mentally ill receive unfair treatment (10/26/01)
In South Africa, patients suffering from mental illness receive different treatment compared to those with as other medical conditions, according to an article in the Mail & Guardian. Examples are that some hospitals refuse to admit patients who attempted suicide since some medical aids don't cover such treatment, and a need to pay deposits to cover treatment in an intensive care unit.
Source: The Mail & Guardian, October 16, 2001.
Read the article

Culture and mental illness in the UK (10/24/01)
Reports in the United Kingdom have pointed at differences in the treatment of mentally ill people, depending on what ethnical group they belong to. A disproportionate number of black people are diagnosed as schizophrenic, and are sent to mental health institutions. Four years ago, the Nile Centre was set up. This is a north London project that aims to help black people with mental health problems. BBC News Online have spoken to Maureen Evans, who is in charge of the Nile Centre.
Read the story on BBC News online (10/19/01)

Who should deal with mentally ill, agitated persons? (10/24/01)
At the age of 21, Joshua Morgan lived together with his girlfriend and their baby. Then things started to go wrong. Joshua started to develop paranoid thoughts, and it didn't take long before he was dead. An article in a Washington State journal tells the story about Joshua, and the circumstances that led to his death. It also brings up questions regarding who should deal with mentally ill people that are agitated.
Read the story at southcountyjournal online (10/19/01)

New word for schizophrenia sought in Japan (10/17/01)
Japanese mental illness support group Zenkaren has made a move in order to change get the japanese word for schizophrenia, "seishin bunretsubyo", which means "mental breakdown disorder". The current word is thought to be associated with a strong prejudice, and a more accurate word is therefore sought after. The new name for the illness will be submitted to the society for consideration. The committee has so far come up with three suggestions: 1) a phonetic version of the English name, 2) "Kraepelin-Bleuler Disorder", which comes from the two men who first discovered the disorder, and 3) "togoshicchosho", which in Japaneese means "integrated disorder".
Read more in article on Japan Times on the web (10/05/01)

Can research on schizophrenia learn from dyslexia training? (10/15/01)
Neuroscientist Michael Merzenich has proved that special training can help some children with dyslexia (i.e. severe difficulties in reading) to learn. The training frequently makes use of computerized educational games. Neural imaging shows the retraining leads to physical changes in the brain.

Merzenich´s theory is that several neurological disorders, like schizophrenia, are inherited brain weaknesses. According to Merzenich, these weaknesses may turn into disorders during the development procedure of the brain. He believes that it might be possible to reverse this malignant development by adequate training.
Read the article at AP

Mental health patients want more information (09/28/01)
A charity organization has collected data reported by mental health patients who used a special "yellow card" to give information on the side effects of their drugs and their view on treatment. Many of the patients stated that they had not had enough information about treatment and had not been offered alternatives. A conclusion was that patients wanted choice in whether to have treatment, in ways of using medication, and alternatives to drugs.
Source: British Medical Journal, vol 323, 29 Sept 2001
Read the full story at BMJ

New German museum for art by psychiatric patients (09/28/01)
A new museum has recently opened in Heidelberg. It will exhibit a collection of 5000 artworks by German psychiatric patients, dating back to the 1920s. The art is known as the Prinzhorn collection, named after the art historian and psychiatrist Hans Prinzhorn who built up the collection between 1919 and 1922. The paintings have previously been exhibited across Europe, and meanwhile been stored in a hospital cellar.
Source: British Medical Journal, vol 323, 29 Sept 2001
Read the full story at BMJ

International marketing of "Swedish Brain Power" (09/27/01)
A Cambrian is now launched to market Swedish neuroscience abroad. The very best of the country´s neuroscience will be exposed to attract foreign companies. Invest In Sweden Agency (ISA) is responsible for the campaign, and resources have been allocated in the fall budget.
Source: Finanstidningen, 010927, page 18
Read the article in Finanstidningen (in Swedish)

Music festival raised 2.1 million dollars to mental health (09/19/01)
For the seventh year in a row, on September 15, NARSAD (National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression) held the Annual Music Festival for Mental Health in Napa Valley, CA. Despite the great tragedy in the US last week, with terrorist attacks on several targets in the country, over 300 generous donors and friends came together to make the festival a success, raising 2.1 million dollars to mental health.
Read article on Yahoo! (09/19/01)

Irish alarm about bed shortage in psychiatric care (09/18/01)
A local health board in Ireland now reports that there is a shortage of psychiatric beds, and several psychiatric patients have instead been placed in nursing homes. Some patients are also said to be sleeping on the floor.
Read more in article on Irish Times on the web (09/11/01)

Should young people suffering from mental illness be put in jail? (09/12/01)
New evidence says that approximately 90% of prisoners under 21 in England and Wales have at least one mental health problem. Out of these, one in 10 have a severe illness like schizophrenia or manic depression, which is 50 times higher than average for youths in Britain. An article on BBC News online debates whether it is accetable to put mentally ill youth in prison.
Read article on BBC News online (09/10/01)

Icelandic researchers say they have mapped gene for anxiety (09/12/01)
Researchers in the collaboration between the Icelandic genetechnology company deCODE genetics and Hoffmann-La Roche, which earlier presented results that raised hope for potential drugs against schizophrenia (see earlier news on HUBIN), now say they have mapped genes for both anxiety and obesity.
Read article on Yahoo! - Reuters (09/12/01)

Arvid Carlsson honored with new institute (08/28/01)
Professor Arvid Carlsson is a world famous scientist. One of the highlights in his scientific career was to be awarded the Noble price in physiology and medicine last year. Among other achievements, professor Carlsson has made large contributions to research on schizophrenia. He is now honored with a new research- and treatment center for Parkinsson´s disease: The Arvid Carlsson Institute.
Source: Dagens medicin, webbedition 08/28/01
Read the article on Dagens Medicin (in Swedish)
Read about Arvid Carlsson´s Nobel prize

Minority differences in the American mental healthcare (08/27/01)
A current report from the US Surgeon General reveals that two thirds on Americans who need mental healthcare treatment fail to receive it. Furthermore, members of racial and ethnic minority groups are even less likely to receive the mental health services they need. Lack of health insurance is one of the reasons for this, but language difficulties and mistrust in the system do also contribute to the situation.
US Surgeon General's homepage for Culture, Race, and Ethnicity
Read more on Yahoo!:
Races Differ in Mental Healthcare Access: Report (08/26/01)
Minorities Hit Hardest by Mental Illness - Report (08/26/01)

Rehabilitation for individuals with mental disability (010822)
In 1995, the Swedish parliament decided to introduce a reform for the psychiatric sector. The aim was to improve the situation for individuals with mental disabilities and increase their participation in society. The National Board of Health and Welfare has conducted two evaluation to investigate the activities. The first evaluation was made in 1997, the other in year 2000.

A number of changes has been made over the years. The cooperation between the authorities responsible for this group of individuals has weakened. The municipals has taken an increasingly larger share of the responsibility both for managing the activities and financing. At the same time, the county council psychiatry, the social insurance office and the public employment service have all taken a smaller responsibility for running the activities (even if they still take part in financing). A result is that the rehabilitation seldom is integrated. Instead, the activities are often limited to only social support and social rehabilitation.
Source: Report from The National Board of Health and Welfare
Read an abstract of the report
Read more about the Psychiatric reform in Sweden

Continued support for caring for relatives (010822)
The Swedish Parliament has allocated a total of 300 million SEK during a period of three years for support to relatives who help and care for members of the intimate family. The commitment is called "Anhörig 300" and the funding is for municipalities in cooperation with support organizations.

This special commitment ends at the turn of the year 2001/2002. There is, however, a need for continued support to this group of people. The government, the association of county councils and the association of municipalities has made an agreement. The parties had agreed on continued support for relatives who cares for longtime ill, elderly or individuals with functional disability or impairment.
Source: The National Board of Health and Welfare, message 8/2001
Read more

New schizophrenia initiative launched in United Kingdom (08/14/01)
A campaign is now launched in UK by The Pharmaceutical Schizophrenia Initiative. The aim is to draw attention to the current state of UK mental health services and the issues facing people living with the illness. Recently, a meeting was arranged to present and discuss a variety of aspects of the condition, highlighting areas pertinent to doctors, patients and the public in the 21st century.
Read more at Health News

NIMH invites people with experience from mental illness to their grant application review panels (08/03/01)
A recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine concludes that mental illnesses are among the most underfunded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), especially in relation to their burden on society. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) now therefore takes action by inviting individuals with experience from mental illness to serve on NIMH grant application review panels. Consumers, family members, service providers, policymakers, or educators, are all encouraged to participate in the grant review process. NIMH is the principal federal agency in charge of funding biomedical research on brain disorders, and supports and conducts an integrated program of basic and clinical research and research training in biology, neuroscience, and epidemiology. The scientific review groups meet in Washington, DC, approximately three times a year. The meetings usually lasts two full days, and a honorarium is provided to the participants.
Information from NAMI about NIMH funding
Instructions from NIMH for people interested in participating

OK to mental health bill in US senate (08/02/01)
This week, the US senate health committee cleared a bill which states that insures that cover mental health conditions have to treat them as any other medical problem. An example of the effects of this new bill is that American companies must provide the same level of coverage for mental health as they do for physical health. An other example of that co-payment and deductibles will be the same for either type of condition, whether influenza or schizophrenia.
Read more at Yahoo-AP

Still unusual with individual plans (07/31/01)
Several of those suffering from schizophrenia in Sweden receives help and support according to "LSS" (the law about support and service to some individuals with functional disabilities). The National Board of Health and Welfare has recently published an investigation which shows that very few persons get individual plans. Still fewer than five out of a hundred persons gets an individual plan focused on his or her individual needs and situation.
The aim of the investigation is to clear up uncertainties on what individual plans are and it will hopefully contribute to help more persons get individual plans.
Read more about the investigation and about LSS

The psychiatry reform- how is the situation today?
Six years ago, in 1995, the so called psychiatry reform was introduced in Sweden. The National Board of Health and Welfare has recently evaluated the situation of today to see if it corresponds to the initial intentions.
Read more

Is online therapy a reliable form of treatment? (05/26/01)
A recent poll shows that more and more people are looking for health information, and seeking help over the Internet. Furthermore, seven out of ten searches include mental illness. An article in USA Today debates whether this is a positive trend or not.
Read more in article on Yahoo! - AP (05/22/01)

Funding to helpline for people in mental crisis (05/11/01)
On May 10th the Swedish government decided that 3 million SEK will be granted to organize a telephone service for people in crisis. This helpline will have professional staff, and offer acute consultation and other services.
The National Association for Social and Mental Health ("Riksförbundet för social och mental hälsa", RSMH) took the initiative to a telephone support service, and has worked on the project for several months. Today eight mental support organizations are engaged in the project; one of those is the Support organization for schizophrenia ("Intresseförbundet för Schizofreni", Riks-IFS).
Source: TT and Göteborgsposten, published 05/10/01
Read about the project at RSMH website (in Swedish)
Read about RSMH (in Swedish)

U.S. launches suicide plan (05/03/01)
The U.S. government now launches a plan, aiming at preventing suicide. People who are troubled will be encouraged to seek help in order to get the treatment and medications they need. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S.. 30 000 people each year die from suicide, and more than 650 000 make the attempt. The number is particularly high among certain groups, like schizophrenics, alcohol abusers, those who have lost their jobs loss, or people who suffer from loneliness.
Read more in article on Yahoo! - AP (05/02/01)

The staff finds coercion in psychiatry difficult (04/30/01)
The Swedish newspaper "Dagens Medicin" report about an unpublished study from Umeå University. The study shows that coercion in nursing in the institutional psychiatric care can be experienced as insulting also to the staff, and many want more support in those situations.

According to Swedish law on psychiatric care, the staff are allowed to take coercion measures to patients at risk of hurting themselves or others. Example of actions are to lock up the patient, forced medication, forced feeding or in extreme cases buckling up the patient with a belt.

The study is done at Umeå University, where a research group conducted a questionnaire study including more than 100 persons. Most of them thought that coercion is necessary in some cases. However, many persons also suggested actions to limit the necessity of coercion in psychiatric care, e.g. smaller nursing units, more staff, better education and more cooperation with family members.
Source: Dagens Medicin website 04/27/01
Read more at Dagens Medicin (in Swedish)

Large efforts from family members (04/25/01)
The National Board of Health and Welfare has recently published a report which shows that family members often make large efforts also after their relative has moved to "special forms of accommodation". The report is based on an investigation made in Sundsvall, Sweden. The major part of the family members was women, and most of them were children or spouse to the ill person.

A conclusion is that the move to a nursing home often is made at a late stage, and the support to the family members often come late. Sometimes the family members do not receive any support at al. In order to get a well functioning support, the efforts from society have to be adjusted to the different stages of the family members nursing process.
Source: SoS "Anhöriga till äldre som flyttar till särskilt boende" Anhörig 300 2000:3
Read more at the National Board of Health and Welfare website (in Swedish)
Read the report (download the report as a pdf-file)

The bank that is open all day around (04/23/01)
Some banks need to be open 24 hours per day. To these belong for instance the so-called brain banks. In an article on Yahoo! News there is a story about such a brain bank. This was founded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is located in McLean Hospital, on a campus some 10 miles northwest of Boston, Massachuetts, US. Each year on average 300 donations are received, and between 5000 och 6000 tissue samples from these donation brains are sent out to researchers who work with studying dieases like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's.
Read more in article on Yahoo! - Reuters (04/23/01)
Read about HUBIN's brain donation program

Award to schizophrenia scientist (19/04/01)
Lena Flyckt, acting senior physician at Psychiatry Center, Jacobsberg, Sweden, has been awarded the Pharmacia CNS scholarship (30 000 SEK). Dr Flyckt is awarded the scholarship for her research on schizophrenia, which illustrates the issue of schizophrenia as a systematic disease caused by alterations in the cell membranes.
Source: Ronden (an Internet portal for Swedish physicians and their organizations).
Go to Ronden website
Read an interview with Lena Flyckt, where she describes her research and views on schizophrenia (at HUBIN´s web site)

Suggestion: New education for mental care staff (18/04/01)
Today, only some categories of the staff working in the mental care sector are allowed to administer medication. An increasing lack of staff has lead to a suggestion of a new education aiming at increasing the knowledge and competence in the pharmaceutical area. After studying at this new education, mental care staff will be allowed to administer medication to the patients. The National Board of Health and Welfare considers the suggestion as interesting, and has decided to take a closer look at the suggestion.
Source: Dagens Medicin 16/01
Read more at Dagens Medicin´s website

AstraZeneca goes gene-hunting in China (04/10/01)
Pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca Plc have signed a deal with a Chinese university to uncover the genetic basis of schizophrenia.
Read more in article on Yahoo! - Reuters (04/10/01)

Individuals with a mental handicap- a forgotten group? (03/20/01)
The National Board of Health and Welfare in Gothenburg and the
County administration in Västra Götaland has been working on a mutual project. The project has been focused on the oversight of how mentally handicapped individuals have been placed at different nursing homes by the responsible counties (in Swedish:"kommuner"). The oversight indicated that the mentally handicapped not were forgotten, but also that they not always were treated the way the legislation requires. Another finding was that the social services and the private nursing homes have very different ambitions.
Source: SoS 2001-109-2, County administration report 2001-2, 8 pages
Read more at the The National Board of Health and Welfare (in Swedish)
Read the report (pdf-format, in Swedish)

The cooperation between deCODE genetics and Hoffmann-La Roche continues (03/07/01)
HUBIN earlier reported on the successful cooperation between the Icelandic biotechnology company deCODE genetics and Hoffmann-LaRoche, where it was announced that potential leads were found for further development of drugs against schizophrenia (see article from 02/19/01). Now the two parties prolong the agreement. The main goal with the prolonged cooperation is to develop diagnostic test methods for the disease.
Read article on Yahoo! - Reuters (03/06/01)
Read article on Yahoo! - Forbes (03/06/01)

New psychiatric care in Uppsala helps patients in crisis (03/01/01)
The psychiatric Center at the Akademiska hospital in Uppsala has opened one of the first psychiatric clinics in Sweden where individual support conversational therapy, social training and group activities are used to help the patients.
Read more at the Akademiska hospital´s website

Computer test can help diagnosing schizophrenia at an early stage (02/21/01)
Canadian scientists have now developed a computer test for diagnosing schizophrenia in individuals before the first symptoms of illness have even appeared. The research team at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, uses brain maging methods to look at the blood flow in different parts of the brain. In this way they can at an early stage, by means of the computer, detect very complex patterns in the brain's blood flow, and see if these differ from what is normal, something the human eye isn't normally capable of.
Read more on Yahoo! - Reuters (02/21/01)

Children with low birth weight are at higher risk to develop schizophrenia as adults (02/19/01)
A Finnish study now shows for the first time that children who are unusually small at birth, and then in their childhood remains small and tiny, are at higher risk than others to devlop schizophrenia as adults.
Read more

Icelandic study raises hope for new drugs against schizophrenia (02/19/01)
A three-year collaboration between the Icelandic genetechnology company deCODE genetics and Hoffmann-La Roche now presents results that raise hope for new potential drugs against schizophrenia.
Read more

Nobel prize winner positive about the future in psychiatry (02/08/01)
It was a very positive Eric R. Kandel, one of the winners of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine, who at a briefing earlier this week presented the February 7 issue of The Journal of Medical Association. In the issue there is among other an article by W. Maxwell Gowan och Kandel himself, where the two present their theories on the future in neurology and psychiatry. Kandel noted in his speech that the positive prognosis in psychiatry to a great deal is due to improved methods in genetics research and techniques for brain imaging.
Read report from Kandel's speech on Yahoo! - Reuters (02/06/01)
Read the article in The Journal of Medical Association

Security can reduce medication for older people with dementia
Safe accommodation with a lot of nursing staff can reduce the need of sedatives and antipsychotic medication, according to a new Danish study.
Read more

Prescription of antipsychotic drugs to older people
Older people living in "special accommodation" are prescribed antipsychotic drugs six times more often as compared to older living in ordinary accommodation, according to a new report from the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Read more

New perspectives on schizophrenia
Interview with Lena Flyckt

Schizophrenia as a systemic disorder
New results are presented in a dissertation by psychiatrist Lena Flyckt.
Read more