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The Mental Health & Social Care Current Awareness Bulletin is produced at
Essex Public Health Resource Unit Library

on behalf of the
East of England Health Libraries Group: EoEHLG

Click on headings to navigate to your chosen subject

The bulletin is
also available R
C Reesseeaarrcchh
online at the Coonntteenntt
sites below
Addictions
Department of Health
Anxiety
EoEHLG
WEBSITE National News Dementia

International News Depression

EPHRU Dual Diagnosis

WEBSITE
Eating Disorders

Learning Disabilities
TIN
WEBSITE FFuurrtthheerr C
Coonntteenntt O/C Disorders

Occupational Therapy
New Publications
EPHRU Post Traumatic Stress
Mental Conferences
Health Blog Psychology
Useful Websites
Schizophrenia
MENTAL HEALTH
BLOG Journal TOCs Social Work
Minding Matters

For further information on the bulletin contact:

mary.edmans@midessexpct.nhs.uk

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 1
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COON
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News from all corners of
the world

Department of Health

The Government response to Law Commission consultation paper 192. Review of the law
on adult social care

back to CONTENTS LINKS

National News

Dementia sufferers toll ‘to treble by 2051’

The number of people with dementia in Northern Ireland will almost treble in the next 40 years,
according to new research

Mencap responds to the government's SEN green paper consultation

David Congdon, Mencap's head of campaigns and policy, said:

Social care skills academy accelerates self-funding plan

The National Skills Academy for Social Care is bringing forward plans to become self-funding
through employer membership fees in order to safeguard its future

One in seven young teens involved in alcohol-related emergency

One in seven youngsters, aged 11 to 16, have found themselves in an emergency situation as a
result of a friend drinking too much alcohol

License cannabis sales, expert says

Policymakers should consider allowing the licensed sale of cannabis for recreational use, says
one of the UK's leading researchers of the drug

Needs of women with personality disorder go unmet in jails

The needs of women with personality disorder are going unnoticed in prisons, despite them
making up a quarter of female inmates, the Centre for Mental Health said

Care for mental health patients must improve, says CQC

Too many community mental health patients are not getting the care they need, the Care
Quality Commission said
More social care input urged on special educational needs
Schools need to work more closely with social care services to ensure children with complex
and severe special needs receive support

Mental health LESs axed

Exclusive: PCTs are cutting LES funding for counselling and other mental health services, a

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 2
 Pulse investigation reveals

Councils to deny social care support to all but most needy

Most councils prepare to tighten care criteria to substantial or critical

Finding Your Way Through The Mental Health Act Maze

A completely revised The Maze - A Practical Guide to the Mental Health Act 1983 (amended by
MHA 2007) - has just been published by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation
Trust

UK Military Turns To Public Care For Mental Health

In a very important development concerning soldier's mental health and the armed forces of the
United Kingdom, the MoD has elected to transfer military personnel patient care to the private
sector

Dementia reversal diet claims 'are misleading'

Reports that suggest that dementia is reversible through the use of dietary supplements are
misleading, it is claimed

'Pool the commissioning of children's health and social care'

All commissioning for children's health and social care services in England should be pooled
and delivered by local partnerships, a government-commissioned report has said

Care Regulator Tells Devon Partnership NHS Trust To Improve Or Face Formal
Enforcement Action
CQC inspectors find mental health trust failed to address all concerns raised by investigation
into care and treatment of patients

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International News

No link found between vaccine mercury and autism

A new US government study adds to the evidence that thimerosal, a mercury-based
preservative until recently found in many vaccines, does not increase children's risk of autism

'Important Step Forward In Research On ADHD And Substance Abuse'

With the launch of the website the International Collaboration on ADHD and Substance Abuse
(ICASA) is now an official Foundation

Research Study To Establish Criteria For Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease In

Down Syndrome, Leading To Earlier Treatment
The Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities will play a key role in addressing
crucial gaps in knowledge about Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome through
new research funded by an $8.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health

Use of Marijuana, Ecstasy, Methamphetamine on Rise in U.S.

Experts blame recession, growing acceptance of pot

Americans still not tolerant of the mentally ill

While more and more Americans regard mental illness as a disease rooted in the brain, that
doesn't mean they are getting more tolerant of those who suffer from

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 3
 back to CONTENTS LINKS

R
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Canadian Employers Burdened With Mental Health, The Most Costly Disability
The study, published in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, looked at data
tracking the short-term disability leave of 33, 913 full-time employees in Ontario

Study Finds Where Patients Die Affects Quality Of Life And Mental Health Of Caregivers
A study of patients dying of cancer and their caregivers has found that individuals who die in the
hospital or intensive care unit had a worse quality of life at the end of their lives compared to
those cancer patients who died at home with hospice services

Addictions
Substance abuse, alcoholism,

Acamprosate for alcohol dependence

Alcohol dependence is among the main leading health risk factors in most developed and
developing countries

DocGuide TopAbstracts in Addictions

Dopamine release in ventral striatum of pathological gamblers losing money

The findings suggest a dopaminergic basis of monetary losses in pathological gambling, which
might explain loss-chasing behavior

Treatment of Cocaine Abuse During Pregnancy: Translating Research to Clinical Practice

In the late-1980s and early-1990s, much attention in America was focused on cocaine abuse. In
particular, the effects of prenatal cocaine use on mothers and infants were in the news spotlight

Anxiety Disorders

DocGuide TopAbstracts in Anxiety

The relationship between anxiety disorders and suicide attempts: findings from the
National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 4
 Previous work has suggested that anxiety disorders are associated with suicide attempts.
However, many studies have been limited by lack of accounting for factors that could influence
this relationship, notably personality disorders

Characteristics and predictors of social phobia course in a longitudinal study of primary-

care patient
Social Phobia (SP) is a prevalent disorder in primary-care settings

Deconstructing acrophobia: physiological and psychological precursors to developing a

fear of heights
Acrophobia is one of the most prevalent phobias, affecting as many as 1 in 20 individuals

Dementia
Alzheimer’s

Biomarkers May Aid in Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's

Treatment options remain limited, researchers note

DocGuide TopAbstracts in Alzheimer’s

Increased Brain Protein Levels Linted To Alzheimer's Disease

Elevated levels of a growth protein in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients is linked to
impaired neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons are generated

Depression
Bipolar disorders

Depressed Med Students Seem to Fear Stigma More Than Most

Second study finds burnt-out students report more unprofessional conduct in patient care

New moms, dads show increased depression risk

Depression is fairly common among parents of children younger than 12, with the risk being
greatest in their children's first year of life

DocGuide TopAbstracts in Depression

Depression and heart disease deadly

Suffering from heart disease and depression at the same time can dramatically increase the risk
of death

Severe Acne May Increase Suicidal Thoughts in Teens

Researchers in Norway say depression seems to stem from skin problem itself, not acne meds

Higher Altitudes Hide Deadly Problem, Increased Suicide Risk

according to new research from an investigator with the University of Utah Brain Institute the
region's lofty altitudes significantly influence a deadly problem: the high prevalence of suicides

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 5
 in this part of the country

Mixed first mood episodes predict increased morbidity in BD

Patients with bipolar disorder with an initial mixed mood episode experience greater levels of
morbidity over subsequent months than those with an initial episode of mania

Dual Diagnosis

Cannabis use ‘does not have negative cognitive effects in schizophrenia patients’
Cannabis use is not associated with negative cognitive effects in schizophrenia patients, say
Spanish researchers who found that cannabis users comprised a subgroup of schizophrenia
patients with greater cognitive function and premorbid adjustment

Pharmacological treatment for depression during opioid agonist treatment for opioid
dependence
Lifetime prevalence of depression in subjects with opioid dependence is higher than in the
general population (44-54% versus 16%) and represents a risk factor for morbidity and mortality

Eating Disorders

Perspectives on eating disorders and service provision: A qualitative study of healthcare

professionals
The study examined healthcare professionals' perspectives of eating disorder patients and
services

The diagnosis of eating disorders in adults with learning disabilities: Conceptualisation

and implications for clinical practice
The literature suggests that less attention has been afforded to eating disorders in adults with
learning disabilities than in adults of normal intellect

Learning Disabilities

Link to Autism in Boys Found in Missing DNA

New research provides further clues as to why Autism Spectrum Disorder affects four times
more males than females

Cognitive Skills in Children With Autism Vary and Improve, Study Finds
People with autism spectrum disorders are thought to have a specific profile of cognitive
strengths and weaknesses -- difficulties appreciating others' thoughts and feelings, problems
regulating and controlling their behavior, and an enhanced ability to perceive details

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 6
 Obsessive Compulsive
Disorders

Course of compulsive hoarding and its relationship to life events

Compulsive hoarding is a common and debilitating, yet poorly understood, condition
characterized by excessive acquisition of and failure to discard a large number of objects,
resulting in cluttered and often hazardous living conditions

Executive control of attention in individuals with contamination-related obsessive–

compulsive symptoms
In this study, we examined executive control of attention in individuals with contamination-
related obsessive–compulsive symptoms using a modified version of the Eriksen flanker task

Occupational Therapy

Helping children with autism spectrum disorders and their families: Are we losing our
occupation-centred focus?

Survey of paediatric occupational therapists' understanding of developmental

coordination disorder, joint hypermobility syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder
Evidence suggests that developmental coordination disorder co-occurs with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder and joint hypermobility syndrome

Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder

Intensive Care Diaries Protect Patients from PTSD, Researchers Find

Some intensive care patients develop post-traumatic stress syndrome after the trauma of a
difficult hospital stay, and this is thought to be exacerbated by delusional or fragmentary
memories of their time in the intensive care unit

Alexithymia and posttraumatic stress: subscales and symptom clusters

This study examined the relationship between the emotion-regulating factor alexithymia and the
occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder after critical incidents in a nonclinical sample of 136
nurses and ambulance personnel working in military facilities

Psychology

False Memories of Self-Performance Result from Watching Others' Actions

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 7
 Psychological scientists have discovered all sorts of ways that false memories get created, and
now there's another one for the list: watching someone else do an action can make you think
you did it yourself

Do Children Understand Irony? New Study Reveals They Do

New research findings from the Université de Montréal reveals that children as young as four
are able to understand and use irony

Schizophrenia

Study Examines Association Between Urban Living And Psychotic Disorders

The association between psychotic disorders and living in urban areas appears to be a
reflection of increased social fragmentation present within cities

Combining Medication And Psychosocial Treatments May Benefit Patients With Early-
Stage Schizophrenia
Patients with early-stage schizophrenia who receive a combination of medication and a
psychosocial intervention appear less likely to discontinue treatment or relapse-and may have
improved insight, quality of life and social functioning-than those taking medication alone

Birth weight linked to mental illness risk

A low birth weight is associated with an increased risk for schizophrenia and other mental
illnesses

Team Uncovers Possible Risk Gene For Schizophrenia

An international team of researchers has identified a risk gene for schizophrenia, including a
potentially causative mutation, using genome-wide association data-mining techniques and
independent replications

Schizoaffective disorder ‘a valid diagnosis in early psychosis’

Schizoaffective disorder is a valid diagnosis in the early phase of psychotic conditions and
defines a subgroup of patients with first episode psychotic mania

DocGuide TopAbstracts in Schizophrenia

Insight predicts clinical course in first episode psychosis

Insight is a significant predictor of general clinical course in patients with a first episode of
psychosis

Social Work

Smarter Working in Social and Health Care: Professional Perspectives on a New

Technology for Risk Appraisal with Older People
There is growing emphasis on prevention, personalisation and self-care or active citizenship in
England

Looked After Children and the Ethic of Care

This paper draws on the growing field of literature that discusses the relevance of the ethic of

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 8
 care to social work

back to CONTENTS LINKS

FFU
URRTTH
HEER
RCCO
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Books, Conferences,
Websites & Journal Tocs

NEW PUBLICATIONS
Books and reports hot of the press
Click the title to connect to the website entry

National NHS patient survey programme:Survey of community mental health services

2010
CQC:

Under the Radar

Centre for Mental Health

Getting it right for children and young people:Overcoming cultural barriers in the nhs so
as to meet their needs
DH

Working With Children to Heal Interpersonal Trauma: The Power of Play

Voices of Experience: Narratives of Mental Health Survivors

Psychosis and Spirituality: Consolidating the New Paradigm: 2nd Edition

Nursing Psychiatric and Mental Health Drug Handbook

The Psychological Impact of Breast Cancer: A Psychologist's Insight as a Patient

Psychosocial Treatment of Schizophrenia

Social Work and Social Welfare: An Introduction

Bipolar Disorder: Clinical and Neurobiological Foundations

back to CONTENTS LINKS

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 9
 CONFERENCES
Follow the link to a list, new conferences in green

CONFERENCES

WEBSITES
Follow the link below to a list of useful websites

USEFUL WEBSITES

JOURNAL TOC PAGES

New links in orange Follow the link below to a list of Journal TOC pages

JOURNAL TOCs

back to CONTENTS LINKS

DISCLAIMER
And list of websites used Follow the link to Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER

EoEHLG/MHCA/No.268/20.9.10 10
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