Experts at the Douglas address mental health issues

Your mental health shouldn’t be taken for granted. – approximately, one in five Canadians will develop a mental illness during their life. Not all of these illnesses are life threatening, but many are debilitating. Researchers at the Douglas are looking at these conditions and as part of National Mental Health Week (May 2-8, 2005), are available to discuss their work. Some of the on-going studies are listed below:

Pregnancy complications and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD)
Five to ten percent of children are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Ridha Joober, MD, PhD, is looking at the environmental factors that may play a role in this condition. He and his colleagues recently found that children who had complications early in life such as, low birth weight, surgery, and hospital admission, were more likely to have ADHD. These findings suggest that some neonatal complications are risk factors for ADHD.

Fighting neurodegenerative disease with healthy eating
Mom was right; eating your fruits and vegetables is a good idea. Researchers, Stéphane Bastianetto and Rémi Quirion, PhD, are looking at how natural antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables, may prevent or delay age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The antioxidants (known as polyphenols) work by neutralizing specific chemicals (reactive oxygen species and amyloid) that have been shown to play a role in theses diseases. Naturally occurring antioxidants are particularly abundant in tea, red wine and blue-purple fruits.

Spring a depressing time for some
Suicide varies according to the season – it peaks in the spring and dips in the winter. Gustavo Turecki, MD, PhD, director of the McGill Group for Suicide Studies at the Douglas Hospital, is studying this trend in male suicide victims from Montreal. His recent findings showed this seasonal trend in men who had previously experienced depression but did not have any other personality disorders. In contrast, he demonstrated that there was no seasonal trend in men who were depressed and had other personality disorders. These findings suggest that assessment of suicide risk should include consideration of seasonal effect, and other personality disorders.

Working the nightshift
Working into the night may affect more than one’s social life. Some nightshift workers are less alert, have difficulty sleeping during the day, and may develop health complications. According to Diane Boivin, MD, PhD, light treatment may be an easy way to counteract some of these affects and help shift workers adapt to atypical schedules.

The importance of Mother’s care
Michael Meaney, PhD, associate director of the Research Centre, is studying the role of maternal care on infant brain development. He was the first to identify that mom’s care influences the child’s reaction to stressful situations and the development of brain regions involved in emotional and cognitive responses to stress.

Schizophrenia, what are the risk factors?
Researcher Patricia Boksa, PhD, is looking at the link between complications during pregnancy and birth and the development of schizophrenia. Although the causes of schizophrenia are unknown, early environmental insults and genetics may play a role. Patricia Boksa is investigating Caesarean sections, maternal infections and fever during pregnancy and a lack of oxygen during birth as risk factors for schizophrenia.

Claire-Dominique Walker, PhD, director of the Neuroscience research division, is looking at the importance of mom’s touch in collaboration with Dr Johnston, from McGill University’s School of Nursing. They are studying the role of maternal comforting on reducing the effects of repeated pain in preterm infants. They are also looking at the consequences of early stress on infant brain development.

The Douglas today: 250 beds, 7,000 out-patients
The field of psychiatry has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. Not long ago, the Douglas was home to over 1,500 in-patients with mental illness. Many of these people spent years on our wards. However, in the 1970s, the Douglas was one of the first mental health institutions in Quebec to begin de-institutionalizing patients, the idea being that individuals with mental illness have a greater chance of recovering and maintaining their health when living in a normal, community setting. Today, the Douglas Hospital has only 250 beds for ultraspecialized care. However, it also serves 7,000 out-patients—a number that is projected to rise as more and more people suffer from mental health problems and seek help.

The Douglas Hospital treats people of all ages—from children to the elderly—for many illnesses, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer Disease and schizophrenia. Moreover, the cutting-edge research conducted at the Douglas Hospital Research Centre allows our clinicians to better understand their patients and provide them with superior treatments.

Affiliated to McGill University and the World Health Organisation, the Douglas Hospital Research Centre is one of the largest in the country, with a team of over 60 scientists and clinical researchers and 140 post-graduate students. This team is devoted to making better sense of the causes of mental disorders – whether genetic, environmental, cultural or social – as well as developing diagnostic tools, treatments and prevention methods.

Information

Florence Meney
Media Relation
Communications and public affairs
Phone: 514-761-6131, ext. 2769
Cell.: 514-835-3236
florence_dot_meney_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca