Australia makes mental health breakthrough

Scientists from the Mental Health Research Institute in Melbourne have linked a form of schizophrenia to a lack of a certain protein in the lining of the brain, this article reports. Until now, the only way to diagnose schizophrenia was through major symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, social withdrawal and deterioration in self-care.

“Now we can study a form of schizophrenia in isolation, it makes it much easier to see what is changed in the brains of subjects,” Professor Dean – the head of the 10 member research group - said. “This significant step forward is helping us unravel the potential causes so that we are able to develop better treatments.”

“With that level of diagnosis, it is quite likely there are a number of different diseases that come under the order of one disorder.”

The next phase of the research will involve working with a professor of neuropsychiatry at the University of Melbourne, Christos Pantelis, and his team using neuro-imaging to identify living people with this form of schizophrenia. Professor Dean acknowledged that they have a huge task ahead of them, but holds high hopes he and his team will find a marker to diagnose schizophrenia in the next two years.

Fincancial crisis increases mental health crisis

A transcript from radio program The Word Today on Monday May 4 has highlighted the rise of people seeking help for mental health problems as a result of the current economic climate. The Mental Health Care Council of Australia says spending on the Medicare rebate for mental health consultations has increased by 40%, meaning it has already exceeded its annual budget.

JENNIFER MACEY: Every month, psychologist Dr Leigh Hodder flies to Biloela and Emerald in regional Queensland to see patients suffering from depression and anxiety.

In the past few months she’s seen a big jump in the number of referrals from local GPs and Dr Hodder is blaming the global financial crisis that’s already led to thousands of job losses in some mining communities.

LEIGH HODDER: Particularly in the rural and remote areas because I deal with a lot of mining communities and as we know, they have shed at least 5,000 jobs up here in Queensland. You know with the farmers, when I first started seeing them it was primarily to do with the drought etc but now there is just so much financial pressure on everybody in those rural and remote areas.

I also see people in the city and their concerns are pretty much the same – redundancies, cutbacks, how are we going to pay for the groceries, how are we going to buy the kids their shoes and their books and all this sort of stuff.

So it is really hitting people quite hard.

The Mental Health Council of Australia’s CEO David Crosbie says the government has uinderestimated the costs of providing mental health through medicare.

DAVID CROSBIE: For the current financial year, the budget in the original estimate was about $108-million. What we expect the actual to be is well over $300-million – so three times as high as that and if it continues to grow the way it is, we would expect that expenditure, you know, within a couple of years will be over half a billion dollars on these three measures alone.

With the severe conditions that are in affect today it seems the Australian Government has not stepped up to meet the changing needs of the public. Jeff Cheverton, the CEO of Queensland Alliance which represents the mental health community sector in Queensland pointed out that Australia has very little health promotion compared to New Zealand and the UK. People are not being taught how to maintain their own mental health, something that may be a major detriment to Australian society in the future.

Foundation helping alarmingly high suicide rate in US

America’s suicide rate is at an all time high with more than 30 000 citizens commiting suicide every year. An article published on healthnews.com is giving kudos to small, non profit organisation Give to Life Foundation for their efforts against the war on suicide. The suicide statistics in the States are sad and confronting, equaling to 83 people taking their lives per day and one every 17 minutes.

Mental health service cuts have been threatened across the country in a time where is seems the people of America need it the most. The Give to Live Foundation is the brainchild of Francesco Bellefante, who once attempted suicide.

The Give to Live Foundation is committed to increasing awareness about this growing epidemic and to helping suicidal people find ways to stay alive, city by city in America.  The organization has started in Southern California, posting two large billboards in Los Angeles. The billboards, located on Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and Las Palmas Avenues in Hollywood, California, mark the beginning of a national public awareness campaign.  Bellafante will spread his message nationwide via a public speaking tour and through three initial projects: “Stand Up,” a series of 30-second public service announcements, “i am,” a feature-length documentary, and “Committed,” a feature length dramatic biopic.  “The mission is to entertain people, while inspiring them to think in new ways to catalyze social change,” said Bellafante.

The foundation hopes to decrease the suicide rate by 50% in the United States by January 20, 2017. Through public service announcements, feature films, outdoor advertising and targeted online marketing campaigns, heres hoping the Give to Live Foundation succeeds.

US calling for mental health funding

It seems all over the world the public is calling for greater mental health funding. This was highlighted in America this past week when non profit groups called on the US government to improve the mental health of the nations youth. The article, published on medicinenet.com shed the spotlight on the need for prevention rather then cure. An estimated $247 billion is already being spent each year in the US on such issues like mental health. However, according to a report done by The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine it is questionable whether the government is getting to the heart – or mind – of the problem.

Their report calls for a federally devised 10-year plan and better coordination and funding of existing U.S. agencies to promote and deal with children’s mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, conduct disorder and substance abuse. A public discussion of the report was set for March 25 in Washington, D.C.

“There is a substantial gap between what is known about preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and what is actually being done,” Kenneth E. Warner, dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health and chairman of the committee that wrote the report, said in a news release from its sponsors. “It is no longer accurate to argue that these disorders can never be prevented. Many can. The nation is well-positioned to equip young people with the skills and habits needed to live healthy, happy, and productive lives in caring relationships. But we need to develop the systems to deliver effective prevention programs to a far wider group of children and adolescents.”

Up to 20% of young people in United States experience a mental health issue each year, the report estimates. And symptoms that start in childhood occur in half of the adults who have mental, emotional and behavioral disorders, it notes.

The article displays US programs that these non profit organisations say are worth duplicating:

• Clarke Cognitive-Behavioral Prevention Intervention, which teaches at-risk adolescents how to handle stress and helps prevent major depression.
• Good Behavior Game, a school-based program that offers elementary school students rewards, such as extra free time, for appropriate behavior. Studies involving first-graders showed that it greatly reduced incidents of bad behavior and, in subsequent years, reduced incidents of alcohol and drug abuse and lowered rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
• Positive Parenting Program, which gives parents instruction in methods to deal with aggressive behavior or uncooperativeness in their children. Improvements in a child’s behavior were apparent even a year after the training ended, the report said.

Mental health funding is vital throughout the world, this article stating the very important fact that there is no cure without prevention. The importance of mental health awarenesss has been highlighted in my earlier post regarding international Brain Awareness Week.

Brain Awareness Week

Brain Awareness Week is an international public awareness campaign organised by leading neuroscience organisations around the world. In 2009, Brain Awareness week has already commenced, beginning on the 16 March and ending on the 22nd. Mentioned briefly in this Sydney Morning Herald article, Brain Awareness Week has not been well publicised in the media. This article states that simple, regular mental stimuli, such as doing a cross word, is the key to long-term brain health.

“Doing crosswords or other puzzles, you’ll activate part of your brain but that leaves massive amounts of it unactivated,” said Prof Robinson, of the School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine at Melbourne’s Monash University.

“To get those other areas activated you need to do things that concentrate on the ability to listen carefully, or movement.”

Having an active social life and keeping physically fit, to ensure strong blood flow to the brain’s tiny vessels, also protected the brain as a person aged, he said.

Prof Robinson said studies that looked at identical twins found the sibling who was more active from their 50s had a lower rate of mental deterioration.

 

In our local Wollongong region the importance of mental health funding and awareness has been touched upon by the Illawarra Mercury, following a statement from South Coast MP, Shelley Hancock.

“There are many important issues such as the Princess Hwy, police numbers and jobs, but my gut feeling is still mental health” she said. “We have some serious problems with mental health and early intervention in the Illawarra” Mrs Hancock pointed to Helping Hands as an effective program that could be used in areas of the Illwarra in need.

A follow-up story for this short article could be to track the funding that is given to promote awareness of mental health and support mental health research throughout the Illawarra. The NSW Cabinet’s reaction to Mrs Hancock’s statement could indicate whether action will be taken toward fixing the Illawarra’s mental health system.

Information on how you can take part in Brain Awareness Week and increase brain awareness can be found on www.brainaustralia.org.au