The body's immune response to infectious agents may imperil the brain.

For more than a century, researchers have explored whether infectious agents might trigger some types of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. For the most part, however, these theories rested on studies that proved only an association between certain infections and mental disorders, not cause and effect.

But since 2000, researchers have produced a growing body of observational and biological evidence suggesting that the body's defensive immune response, rather than the infection itself, may be what damages the brain. Further, chronic stress may activate a harmful immune response, even in ...

 

Options include drugs targeting serotonin and various types of hormone therapy.

Most women experience some degree of emotional or physical discomfort a few days before and just after their menstrual period begins each month. About 5% of women of childbearing age, however, experience premenstrual symptoms that are so severe they cause significant mental distress and interfere with work, school, or relationships — thereby meeting the criteria for premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; see below). Another 18% to 35% of women suffer from less severe, but ...

Serious problems are unusual, but monitoring is key.

Lithium is one of the most effective treatments for bipolar disorder, not only helping to prevent relapse, but also reducing risk of suicide in these patients. But clinicians and patients may be concerned about risks of long-term lithium use, including damage to the kidneys.

In the past few years, however, researchers have better defined what kidney problems might occur and how to guard against them.

Excess thirst and urination The most common lithium-induced kidney problem is impaired ability to concentrate urine, which may affect up to 60% of patients in the ...

A test found that the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram did not relieve symptoms of repetitive behavior or movement in children with autism spectrum disorders.

An amino acid supplement may be an effective treatment for some people with the compulsive hair-pulling disorder trichotillomania.

Q. To prevent post-traumatic stress disorder, is it helpful to provide psychotherapy to everyone who has been exposed to a significant trauma?

A. The research so far says no.

By the end of the 1990s, investigators had demonstrated that a single "critical incident stress debriefing" group session did not reduce the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for individuals who had been exposed to a trauma. This technique, which became popular in the 1980s for emergency service workers, such as firefighters and police officers, involved reviewing traumatic experiences in a group setting. Not only was it ineffective for preventing ...