Mental Health
Progress in Treatment for Mental Health Disorders
In search for answers:
According to the American Psychiatric Association and National Institute of Mental Health, researchers have made tremendous progress in pinpointing the physical and psychological origins of mental illnesses and substance abuse. For example,
- Scientists are now certain that some disorders are caused by imbalances in neurotransmitters, the chemicals in the brain that carry messages between nerve cells. Studies have linked abnormal levels of these neurotransmitters with depression and schizophrenia.
- A special imaging technology, called positron emission tomography (PET), has allowed psychiatric medical researchers to "watch" the living brain's functioning. Researchers have used PET to show that the brains of people suffering from schizophrenia do not metabolize the sugar called glucose in the same way as the brains of healthy people. PET also helps physicians determine if a person suffers from schizophrenia or the manic phase of manic-depressive illness, which can have similar symptoms.
- Refinements of lithium carbonate, used in treating manic-depressive (bipolar) disorder, have led to an estimated annual savings of $8 billion in treatment costs and lost productivity associated with bipolar disorder.
- Medications are helpful in treating and preventing panic attacks among patients suffering severe anxiety disorders. Studies also indicate that panic disorders could be caused by some underlying physical, biochemical imbalance.
- Studies of psychotherapy by the National Institute of Mental Health have shown it to be very effective in treating mild-to-moderate depression.
- Scientists are beginning to understand the biochemical reactions in the brain that induce the severe craving experienced by cocaine users. Through this knowledge, new medications may be developed to break the cycle of cocaine craving and use.
This page was last updated on: May 30, 2006.
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