News Round-up: 19.11.04

The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the draft Mental Health Bill announced last week that an evidence session will take place in Wales…

Frontline NHS services in Wales are to get a £30million boost for buildings and equipment…

Researchers at the University of London have discovered that the UK has seen the steepest rise in the prescription of antidepressants to children…

Can Taking Painkillers During Pregnancy Cause Schizophrenia?

A new study from Denmark suggests that there may be a link. Published in the November issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, the study set out to discover whether prenatal exposure to analgesics may affect the development of the nervous system of the foetus, leading to an increased risk of schizophrenia in adulthood. Results show that mothers who take analgesics in the second three months of pregnancy are four times more likely to have a child that will develop schizophrenia.

Antipsychotics Pose Diabetes Risk to Children

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center say treating children with atypical antipsychotics for aggression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia may trigger insulin resistance – a condition that increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease later in life.

Schizophrenia Risk Higher in Children of Older Fathers

Children of older fathers are more likely to develop schizophrenia in later life – that’s the conclusion of new research published on bmj.com, the online edition of the British Medical Journal. The findings add weight to the theory that accumulating mutations in the sperm of older fathers contributes to the overall risk of schizophrenia.

Welsh Win at MHM Awards

O Flaen dy Lygaid: Camu Mlaen, a BBC Wales television production for S4C, has won the Best TV Documentary category in this year’s Mental Health Media Awards, held on 13 October at the Café de Paris in Central London.

Mental Health Bill: Bulletin

Today the Health and Social Services Committee at the National Assembly will consider the Draft Mental Health Bill, published in September for pre-legislative scrutiny.

1 in 100 Launches in Wales

Schizophrenia strikes one in a hundred of us – and affects many more. That’s the startling message of a new health campaign launched by Minister for Health and Social Services, Jane Hutt, at the National Resource Centre of Hafal – Wales’ leading charity for people with serious mental illness.

1 in 20 Report Psychotic Symptoms

A new study has found that over one in 20 people in the general population have reported experiencing psychotic symptoms. Being male was associated with paranoid thoughts, whereas female gender predicted hallucinatory experiences.