Mental Health

Liza Long's son, 13, struggles with rage and violent outbursts. After the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., Long wrote a blog post advocating for better care for mentally ill youth.

A Mother And Son Live, And Cope, With Mental Illness

11:08am August 02, 2013

by NPR Staff

When she learned about last year's Newtown school shootings, Liza Long immediately thought of her own son. He has been diagnosed with multiple disorders and struggles with violent outbursts. The pair hope their story will help others better understand the needs of mentally ill young people.

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Homer Bell's family: sister Laura Bell (from left), sister Regina Bell, mother Rosalind Scott and stepfather Jack Wilcox.

How A Family Copes With Schizophrenia And Suicide

7:21pm July 24, 2013

by Jeff Cohen

Serious mental illness can take a toll — not only on the person experiencing the symptoms but on family members, too. The Bell family still struggles with the loss of Homer, their son and brother, who recently killed himself after living with schizophrenia for 30 years.

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Health & Safety

Studies Show Evidence Of Falling Dementia Rates Abroad

5:58pm July 21, 2013

by NPR Staff

The research gives a glimmer of hope about the health of aging populations. But both studies were conducted in Western Europe and may not reflect trends in the American population.

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Anne Jones, 62, and Robin Jones, 73, at their home in Menlo Park, Calif. He took a test that revealed proteins typical of Alzheimer's disease.

Finding Simple Tests For Brain Disorders Turns Out To Be Complex

1:17pm July 08, 2013

by Amy Standen

There are tests for heart attacks and diabetes, but few for brain disorders. Researchers are trying to change that, but are finding the hunt for biomarkers for mental illness to be a tough slog. Tests on the market, like ones for Alzheimer's, are not conclusive.

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The Greenes say they take it a day at a time and relish the many long-term memories they've shared for nearly 60 years.

Despite Alzheimer's, Couple Holds Tight To Old Memories

3:44pm June 29, 2013

by Ina Jaffe

Pansy Greene, 73, is still in the early stages of Alzheimer's. She and her husband, Winston, describe their "journey," a term they use to refer to much more than Pansy's struggle with the disease.

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At A Texas Base, Battling Army's Top Threat: Suicide

6:42pm June 20, 2013

by Quil Lawrence

Suicide killed more U.S. troops last year than combat in Afghanistan, a trend that's likely to continue this year. The causes and remedies are complicated, but Fort Bliss in Texas has bucked the trend. Suicides have declined there, after implementation of an interactive suicide prevention program.

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Health & Safety

Conn. Law May Discourage Mental Illness Sufferers From Help

1:52pm June 18, 2013

by Craig LeMoult

After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, states have taken steps to limit gun access for people with mental illness. In Connecticut, a new law requires psychiatric hospitals to report anyone who is voluntarily admitted, so the state can revoke any gun licenses they may hold. Some in the mental health community say it could prevent people from seeking psychiatric help.

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The Human Voice May Not Spark Pleasure In Children With Autism

11:31am June 18, 2013

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists and parents have long been baffled by the fact that children with autism often don't pay attention to human voices. Researchers say that may be because speech doesn't activate a reward system in the brain for those children the way it does for typical children.

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Decoding 'the Most Complex Object in the Universe'

4:13pm June 14, 2013

The human brain contains some 100 billion neurons, which together form a network of Internet-like complexity. Christof Koch, chief scientific officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, calls the brain "the most complex object in the known universe," and he's mapping its connections in hopes of discovering the origins of consciousness.

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Bad Diagnosis For New Psychiatry 'Bible'

7:22pm June 04, 2013

The new edition of the DSM, the so-called "Bible" of psychiatry, is out. But many psychiatrists and psychologists say the manual's approach is outdated, boxing mental illness into discrete categories like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, when very little is known about the underlying causes of disease.

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