Depression, schizophrenia and seasonal affective disorder are all known to suppress the sense of smell and some University of Dresden Medical School researchers think they now know why this occurs.   This loss of smell may be due to a part of the brain which is responsible for the sense of smell being smaller than normal, they say....Read Full Post (Source: About.com Depression)MedWorm Message: Register for MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network, and receive $5 free advertising.

INCREASED SENSITIVITY TO LIGHT-INDUCED MELATONIN SUPPRESSION IN PREMENSTRUAL DYSPHORIC DISORDER. Chronobiol Int. 2010 Aug.;27(7):1438-1453 Authors: Parry BL, Meliska CJ, Sorenson DL, Lopez A, Martínez LF, Hauger RL, Elliott JA Increased sensitivity to light-induced melatonin suppression characterizes some, but not all, patients with bipolar illness or seasonal affective disorder. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), categorized as a depressive disorder in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), have altered sensitivity to 200 lux light during mid-follicular (MF) and late-luteal (LL) menstrual cycle phases compared with normal control (NC) women. As an extension of a...

Abstract: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), seasonality and increased sensitivity to the fluctuation of seasons in biological and psychological parameters can manifest to varying degrees across a normal population. The serotonin-2A (5-HT2A) receptor gene has long been suggested as a candidate for the genetic basis of this phenomenon. We hypothesized that functional sequence variation in this gene could contribute to seasonality and the development of winter- and/or summer-type seasonal depression. Seasonality was measured by the self-rating Global Seasonality Score (GSS) of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire, and SAD by the Seasonal Health Questionnaire (SHQ). We analysed associations between GSS or SAD scores and 5-HTR2A receptor gene polymorphisms rs731779, rs985934 and rs631...

(NaturalNews) Modern psychiatry went wrong when it embraced the idea that the mind should be treated with drugs, says Edward Shorter of the University of Toronto, writing in the Wall Street Journal. Shorter studies the history of psychiatry and medicine.Modern U.S. psychiatry has adopted a philosophy that psychological diseases arise from chemical imbalances and therefore have a very specific cluster of symptoms, he says, in spite of evidence that the difference between many so-called disorders is minimal or nonexistent. These "disorders" are then treated with expensive drugs that are no more effective than a placebo."Psychiatry seems to have lost its way in a forest of poorly verified diagnoses and ineffectual medications," he writes.Shorter calls for U.S. psychiatry to abandon its emph...

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Conclusions  The appearance-focused skin cancer prevention intervention is robust enough to reduce indoor tanning among tanners who exhibit SAD symptoms or pathological tanning motives. Tailored interventions may address individuals' motivations for tanning and their relation to maladaptive behavior, such as dissatisfaction with appearance or the need for relaxation because of anxiety. (Source: Archives of Dermatology)

Conclusions  The appearance-focused skin cancer prevention intervention is robust enough to reduce indoor tanning among tanners who exhibit SAD symptoms or pathological tanning motives. Tailored interventions may address individuals' motivations for tanning and their relation to maladaptive behavior, such as dissatisfaction with appearance or the need for relaxation because of anxiety. (Source: Archives of Dermatology)MedWorm Message: Register for MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network, and receive $5 free advertising.