According to a recent study, Dundee’s strong and distinctive accent could help it’s elderly citizens from developing dementia. Researchers from Abertay University are in the midst of a study looking at whether people who switch between the Dundonian dialect and standard English have less chance of developing mental deterioration in later life. The experts are read more »

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of mental health charity Mind has joined a group which aims to advise and challenge the independent review which was set up to look into fairness and accuracy of the Work Capacity Assessment (WCA). This process will allow those suffering from a mental health problem to have representation and a voice. read more »

During the past decade many studies have been conducted in an endeavour to find out whether education can lower the risk of dementia and have consistently proved this to be true BBC News have reported that a team made up of Finnish and UK researchers have found that those who stay in education for longer read more »

A recent study conducted by the UK Drug Policy Commission has found certain services unable to effectively cope with specific areas of society. The study found the services had ”little relevance” to minority groups such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups as well as disabled servicemen and those from mixed ethnic backgrounds. All of read more »

A simple blood test could detect Alzheimer’s 10 years in advance. At the start of this month experts revealed that a very simple and inexpensive blood test could be the key to the early detection of Alzheimer’s and can spot it up to around 10 years before symptoms start to develop. This is a huge read more »

Researchers have recently conducted a study which demonstrates how those suffering with depression experience a ”greying” effect which could both cause and maintain symptoms, reports the Independent. The study, conducted by Ludger Tebartz van Elst and colleagues measured electrical responses to gauge the activity of the retina in groups of depressed and non-depressed individuals. At read more »

Two recent polls have stated that GP’s are anxious over their increased responsibility to commission services, especially when concerning mental health care, reports the Guardian. As part of the governments NHS shakeup the responsibility of commissioning services and handling budgets will shift from primary care trusts to GP’s. Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health read more »

A controlled study involving 20 post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)sufferers has found that the use of the drug ecstasy can improve the effects of psychotherapy, reports BBC News. The trial saw the participants offered two eight hour psychotherapy sessions scheduled a few weeks apart, with 12 of the group given a dose of ecstasy and read more »

According to recent research being called big-headed is actually not so much of a bad thing, as a new study suggests those with larger heads are better protected in the fight against dementia. Scientists from the Technical University of Munich in Germany found that individuals suffering with Alzheimer’s faired better in memory and thinking skill read more »

On Monday (12 July) the Government unveiled new proposals to revamp the structure of the NHS. The plans included a number of changes to mental health care and Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind has commented on some of the key changes, below are some of his comments: “Transferring powers for commissioning read more »