NIMH: Research-based Principles May Help Improve Mental Health Recovery Following Mass Trauma

Experts on trauma-related research and medical practices from around the world recently
identified five principles to guide mental health care efforts immediately or shortly after a
mass trauma, such as a natural disaster or terrorist attack. A related commentary discusses
how these principles may help determine effective mental health care for large numbers of
people following an emergency, and how best to deliver it. The article and commentary
were published in the Winter 2007 issue of Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological
Processes.

Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/research-based-principles
-may-help-improve-mental-health-recovery-following-mass-trauma.shtml

NIMH: Autism Risk Higher in People with Gene Variant—Difference in Gene Appears to Pose More Risk When Inherited from Mothers

Scientists have found a variation in a gene that may raise the risk of developing autism,
especially when the variant is inherited from mothers rather than fathers. The research
was funded by the NIMH. Inheriting the gene variant does not mean that a child will
inevitably develop autism. It means that a child may be more vulnerable to developing the
disease than are children without the variation. Results of the study were reported online
January 10, 2008 in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Press Release: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/autism-risk-higher-in-people-
with-gene-variant.shtml

NIMH: Mood Disorders Predict Later Substance Abuse Problems— Mania Symptoms and Bipolar Disorder II More Likely to Lead to Substance Abuse than Depression

People with manic symptoms and bipolar disorder type II are at significant risk of later
developing an alcohol abuse or dependence problem, a long-term study conducted in
Switzerland confirms. The results of the study were published in the January 2008 issue of
the Archives of General Psychiatry by lead researchers from the NIMH Mood and Anxiety
Disorders Program.

Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/mood-disorders-predict-later-
substance-abuse-problems.shtml

NIMH: Real-World Outcomes in Schizophrenia Are Focus of Two New NIMH Grants—Results Can Show Best Method of Determining If Treatments Help Patients Live Independently

Two new NIMH grants are aimed at determining the most accurate methods of measuring
how well community-dwelling people with schizophrenia are faring. Results of the project
are meant to provide scientists who conduct future research on the effectiveness of treatments
with tools that will reflect the truest possible picture of daily-life outcomes.

Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/real-world-outcomes-in-
schizophrenia-are-focus-of-two-new-nimh-grants.shtml

NIMH: Scientists Can Predict Psychotic Illness in up to 80 Percent of High-Risk Youth

Youth who are going to develop psychosis can be identified before their illness becomes
full-blown 35 percent of the time if they meet widely accepted criteria for risk, but that figure
rises to 65 to 80 percent if they have certain combinations of risk factors, the largest study
of its kind has shown. Knowing what these combinations are can help scientists predict who
is likely to develop the illnesses within two to three years with the same accuracy that other
kinds of risk factors can predict major medical diseases, such as diabetes. The research
was conducted in youth with a median age of 16 and was funded primarily by the NIMH.
Results were published in the January 7, 2008, issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Press Release: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/scientists-can-predict-
psychotic-illness-in-up-to-80-percent-of-high-risk-youth.shtml

NIMH: Foreign Nativity May Not Always Protect Against Mental Disorders in the United States

Though all Latino immigrants tend to display better overall mental health compared to their
US-born counterparts, a recent study by NIMH-funded researchers has found that the
protective benefits of foreign nativity vary widely across subgroups of this population.
Factors such as neighborhood stability, perceived discrimination, and the strength of family
bonds all combine to influence the prevalence of mental disorders across distinctive Latino
ethnic groups. The finding reflects varying immigration and acculturation processes
experienced by Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other Latino groups. Results of the
study were published in the July 2007 issue of Social Science and Medicine.

Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/foreign-nativity-may-not-
always-protect-against-mental-disorders-in-the-us.shtml

NIMH: Ethnicity Predicts How Gene Variations Affect Response to Schizophrenia Medications

Different variations in the same gene influence how well different ethnic groups, and people
within the same ethnic group, respond to various antipsychotic medications, report NIMH-
funded researchers. If confirmed, their findings could one day help clinicians predict which
medication is most likely to help a patient, based on his or her genetic makeup. Results
of the study were reported in the January 1, 2008 issue of Biological Psychiatry.

Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/ethnicity-predicts-how-
gene-variations-affect-response-to-schizophrenia-medications.shtml

NIMH: Family-centered Intervention Effectively Reduces Risky Behavior Among Hispanic Youth

A family-centered program that improves parent-child dynamics and family functioning is
more effective at discouraging Hispanic youth from engaging in risky behavior than
programs that target specific behaviors, according to a study published in the December
2007 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2007/family-centered-intervention
-effectively-reduces-risky-behavior-among-hispanic-youth.shtml

NIMH: Study Aims to Develop First Medications for Fragile-X Syndrome, Leading Inherited Cause of Mental Retardation—Proposed Medications also May Reveal Treatments for Autism

A new NIMH grant is enabling scientists to begin testing safety and effectiveness of potential
medications for fragile-X syndrome, the most common inherited form of mental retardation.
No effective medications are available for the disorder. The animal studies currently
underway are designed to lay the groundwork for the first human clinical trials in subsequent
phases of the research. People with other developmental disorders that share some of the
same brain mechanisms which lead to fragile-X syndrome, including some cases of autism,
also may benefit from this research.

Science Update: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2007/study-aims-to-develop-first-
medications-for-fragile-x-syndrome-leading-inherited-cause-of-mental-retardation.shtml

NIAAA: Brief Intervention Helps Emergency Patients Reduce Drinking

Asking emergency department patients about their alcohol use and talking with them about
how to reduce harmful drinking patterns is an effective way to lower rates of risky drinking
in these patients, according to a nationwide collaborative study supported by the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Emergency department patients who
underwent a regimen of alcohol screening and brief intervention reported lower rates of
risky drinking at three-month follow-up than did those who received only written
information about reducing their drinking. A report of the study by the Academic Emergency
Department Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment Research Collaborative
appears in the December 2007 issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Press Release: http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/NewsEvents/NewsReleases/briefintervention.htm

CDC Statement on Release of Genetic Testing Recommendations

The National Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) established the independent, non-federal Evaluation of Genomic
Applications in Practice and Prevention (EGAPP) Working Group in 2005 to support the
development of a systematic process for evaluating genetic tests in clinical practice. Reliable,
evidence-based information is urgently needed by health care providers, consumers,
policy makers, and others to help determine which genetic tests are safe and effective, and
to provide guidance on their appropriate use. The EGAPP Working Group released the first
in a planned series of recommendation statements on the use of genetic tests in clinical
practice for use by health care providers, consumers, policy makers, and others. In their first
statement, the working group addresses the use of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) testing in
adults with depression who are beginning treatment with a widely prescribed class of
antidepressants.

Press Release: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2007/s071219.htm

New on NIMH Website—Meeting Summary Available for Genetics and Genomics of Social Behavior Workshop

The NIMH and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) co-hosted a workshop for
participants to (1) become familiar with how and which model organisms are being used
currently in the field of social behavior and (2) identify opportunities that will benefit public
health by supporting high-impact basic research exploring the genetics of social behavior.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/research-funding/scientific-meetings/2007/genetics-and-genomics-
of-social-behavior-workshop.shtml

NIA: Information on Participating in Clinical Trials Now Available

What is a clinical trial and how does it work? What are the benefits and the risks? If you
are an older adult, should you consider participating in a clinical trial? These and many other
questions are addressed in Participating in Clinical Trials, a new topic just added to
NIHSeniorHealth, a Website developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and
the National Institute on Aging (NIA).
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/participatinginclinicaltrials/toc.html

SAMHSA: New Resources

Latest SAMHSA News Available

The November/December 2007 edition of SAMHSA News highlights topics related
to the prevention of suicide on college campuses.

http://www.samhsa.gov/SAMHSA_News/index.htm

The Courage to Remember: Childhood Traumatic Grief Curriculum Guide

Developed by SAMHSA’s National Child Traumatic Stress network, this guide
provides specific guidelines and options for interventions to (1) educate care
providers about childhood traumatic grief, (2) introduce others to principles of
treatment that have been identified as helpful in treating the condition, and (3) offer
practitioners an opportunity to enhance their treatment skills.

Order online: http://nmhicstore.samhsa.gov/publications/ordering.aspx

Three New Overview Papers Provide Information on State-of-the-Art Approaches
to Treatment for People with Co-Occurring Disorders

Three new short overview papers provide information about how epidemiology,
services integration and systems integration research and practices can be best utilized
in helping people with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.

http://www.coce.samhsa.gov/products/overview_papers.aspx

Alcohol and Drug Treatment: How It Works, and How It Can Help You

This brochure informs people involved in the criminal justice system about substance
abuse treatment resources. The brochure describes what can be gained through
substance abuse treatment before trial or while a person is incarcerated, on
probation, or on parole.

http://www.kap.samhsa.gov/products/brochures/consumer/index.htm

SAMHSA: New Reports from the Office of Applied Studies

Treatment for Past Year Depression among Adults

Based on SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 67.4 percent of
the adults who had experienced at least one major depressive episode during the
past year had received treatment for depression in the past year. The types of
treatment received for depression in the past year by the adults with past year
depression were: 69.4 percent both talked to a professional and received medication
for their depression, 23.8 percent only talked to a professional about their depression,
and 6.7 percent only received medication for their depression.

http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/depression/depressionTX.cfm

Misuse of Over-the-Counter Cough and Cold Medications among Persons

Aged 12 to 25

Based on SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2006 about
3.1 million persons aged 12 to 25 had ever used an over-the-counter cough and
cold medication to get high; that is, used it nonmedically.

http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/cough/cough.cfm

FDA Launches E-mail Alert Subscription Service through Public Website

The FDA announced a new e-mail service that alerts subscribers whenever information is
updated on certain FDA Web pages. The service is free and available for a wide variety of
FDA's Web pages, including food safety protection, medical product approvals and
consumer health information.

http://www.fda.gov/emaillist.html

CDC: Preventing Chronic Disease—Articles on Depression in Older Adults

Preventing Chronic Disease, a peer-reviewed electronic journal established to provide a
forum for public health researchers and practitioners to share study results and practical
experience, is published quarterly by the CDC. The current issue discusses the health
concerns of these seniors, including depression:

Depression as a Major Component of Public Health for Older Adults

We present the diagnostic criteria for, prevalence of, and risk factors for depressive
disorders among older adults; the challenges of recognizing and treating depression in
this population; the cost-effectiveness of relevant public health interventions; and the
public health implications of these disorders.

http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2008/jan/07_0150.htm

Treating Depression in Older Adults: Challenges to Implementing the
Recommendations of an Expert Panel

We report findings from a recent project to review the scientific literature for published
reports about treatment for depression among community-dwelling older adults and to
recommend the interventions with proven effectiveness. We also summarize the research
findings related to each recommended intervention and describe the elements of each.

http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2008/jan/07_0154.htm

AHRQ Releases Toolkits to Help Providers and Patients Implement Safer Health Care Practices

An array of toolkits designed to help doctors, nurses, hospital managers, patients and others
reduce medical errors was released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ). The 17 toolkits, Patient Safety Tools: Improving Safety at the Point of Care,
developed by AHRQ-funded experts who specialize in patient safety research, are free,
publicly available, and can be adapted to most health care settings.

http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/pips/

NIDA Invites Comments on its Draft Strategic Plan

Given recent revolutionary advances in drug abuse research, the National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA) has recently undergone a strategic planning process gathering
recommendations from the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse and from ongoing
dialogue with its various stakeholder groups to establish achievable goals and objectives for
the future. NIDA's Draft Strategic Plan outlines four major goal areas – Prevention,
Treatment, HIV/AIDS, and Cross Cutting Priorities – each with Strategic Objectives that
will guide NIDA's research agenda for the future. The public is invited to review this draft
plan and provide comments. Comments must be emailed or postmarked by

February 6, 2008.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/StrategicPlan/

Invitation to Comment on ED's Models of Exemplary, Effective, and Promising Alcohol or Other Drug Prevention Programs on College Campuses Grant Competition

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) seeks to recognize exemplary, effective, and
promising campus-based alcohol or other drug abuse prevention programs that can be
practical models for replication and adaptation at other institutions of higher education. The
goals of this grant competition are to identify and disseminate information about exemplary
and effective alcohol or other drug abuse prevention programs implemented on college
campuses. Through a notice of proposed priority, definitions, requirements, and selection
criteria published in a recent issue of the Federal Register, ED invites comments for this
grant competition. Comments must be received on or before

January 25, 2008.

http://www.higheredcenter.org/grants/models/fy08/notice.pdf

Workshop: Compassion Fatigue/Vicarious Trauma

St. Louis, Missouri, January 29-30, 2008

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office for Victims of Crime is offering this workshop to
provide an overview of the definitions and symptoms of compassion fatigue, burnout,
vicarious trauma, and secondary post-traumatic stress disorder, and will include an
interactive exploration of self-care techniques, strategies for recognizing symptoms of
compassion fatigue, and strategies supervisors can use to ensure balance and self care for
those they supervise.

http://www.sei2003.com/ovcttac2008/compassion.htm

Workshop: Responding to School Violence

Portland, Oregon, March 11-12, 2008

The DOJ’s Office for Victims of Crime is offering to this training, to explore strategies to
create a culture of nonviolence within schools, strategies to intervene and prevent potential
school attacks, immediate, short- and long-term strategies to respond to a violent episode,
and strategies to address reactions to violent episodes.

http://www.sei2003.com/ovcttac2008/SchoolViolence.htm

National GAINS Center Conference—Creating More Effective Services

Washington, DC, March 18-20, 2008

The SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services’ (CMHS) National GAINS Center
Conference represents a unique opportunity for practitioners and researchers working at
the interfaces of the criminal justice and mental health systems to network, learn, and share
knowledge on creating effective services for justice-involved individuals with mental illness.
The purpose of this conference is to develop and expand the research base for effective
criminal justice/mental health programs and policies. Registration, which is free, is open
until March 1, 2008.

http://gainscenter.samhsa.gov/2008conference/

Save the Date: Blending Addiction Science and Treatment—The Impact of Evidence-Based Practices on Individuals, Families and Communities

Cincinnati, Ohio, June 2-3, 2008

This NIDA conference provides an important opportunity for clinicians and providers to
interact with the developers of empirically supported treatments in awareness raising
workshops focused on treatment implementation. The goal of the Blending Addiction
Science and Practice Conference is to improve addiction treatment practices so more
people recover from addictive disorders.

http://www.NIDABlendingConference.info

Save the Date: The National Center for Trauma-Informed Care Learning Exchange

Washington, DC, July11-12, 2008

The SAMHSA CMHS funded National Center for Trauma-Informed Care will be hosting
a two-day learning exchange and networking transformation forum to highlight useful and
practical strategies for moving forward together with the implementation of trauma-informed
care in organizations, programs, and services.

http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/nctic/

Call for Abstracts: The 13th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health

Phoenix, Arizona, September 25-27, 2008

Sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Center for School
Mental Health and the IDEA Partnership, this year’s conference theme is “School Mental
Health for All Students: Building a Shared Agenda for Youth, Families, Schools, and
Communities.” The abstract submission deadline is January 31, 2008.

http://csmh.umaryland.edu/conf_meet/AnnualConference/index.html

NIMH Grant Funds Available to Support Partnerships to Research Stigma Reduction Efforts

The program announcement, Reducing Mental Illness Stigma and Discrimination
(Collaborative R01), was recently released by the NIMH. This Funding Opportunity
Announcement (FOA), issued by the NIMH, and conceived in collaboration with the
SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) will provide funding for
partnerships to assess the effectiveness of existing stigma and discrimination reduction
programs and approaches, including media-oriented approaches such as public service
announcements; develop innovative new programs and approaches; and examine the
role of media in perpetuating and changing mental illness stigma and discrimination.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-040.html

CDC: Dissertation Grant Awards for Doctoral Candidates for Violence-Related
Injury Prevention Research in Minority Communities

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=HGZZxX8sLJSNQCYTpxTwPhZd
NQrGTrzYjbG2bGykp8BPd22BQjjN!1376556039?oppId=16335&flag2006=true&mode=VIEW

DOJ: Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/indian.html

ED: Alcohol Abuse in Secondary Schools

http://www.ed.gov/programs/dvpalcoholabuse/applicant.html

NIH Program Announcements (PAs)

[Full listing of NIH PAs at http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/index.html ]

NIH Revision Awards for Studying Interactions Among Social, Behavioral,
and Genetic Factors in Health (R01)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-065.html

NIH Revision Awards for Studying Interactions Among Social, Behavioral,
and Genetic Factors in Health (R21)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-066.html

NIH Revision Awards for Studying Interactions Among Social, Behavioral,
and Genetic Factors in Health (P01, P20, P50, P60, U01, U10, U54)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-067.html

Long Acting, Sustainable Therapies for Opiate Addiction (R01)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-08-061.html

NIH Request for Applications (RFAs)

[Full listing of NIH RFAs at http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/index.html ]

Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for Drug
Abuse in General Medical Settings (R01)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-08-021.html

If you have found this information useful, won't you please consider supporting NAMI?
Your contribution will help us to continue helping millions of people living with mental illness.
HOT LINKS:
Emergency Preparedness Forensics Educational Programs
Resources Legislation News Affiliates Join