The Mental Health Services Evaluation Department at McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School, announced today that it has released an improved application that allows mental health care providers to measure patient outcomes. An online application, WebScore 2.0, is used by mental health providers to score the BASIS-24 survey (Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale) and report on the progress of patients undergoing psychiatric treatment.

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North Carolina health care insurers must provide the same amount of coverage for certain mental conditions as they do for physical ailments under a state law that took effect on Tuesday, the Winston-Salem Journal reports. The North Carolina General Assembly last year passed the "mental health parity" measure to require that nine common mental health conditions be covered at levels equal to physical conditions.

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People who suffer from severe depression following a heart attack might be more likely to experience cardiac complications while hospitalized, according to a new study.

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New mouse strains engineered to express human genes related to mental disorders are being developed under a recently-launched grant program from NIMH?s Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science. The new models are designed to help scientists understand the molecular workings of variations in genes that may predispose for ? or even help protect against ? illnesses like depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

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Medications that target the protein BAG1, which regulates a process that can trigger symptoms in people who have bipolar disorder, may offer a new way of treating the disease, according to NIMH scientists.

People with bipolar disorder, also called manic depressive illness, experience unusually intense emotional states that occur in distinct periods called mood episodes. An overly joyful or overexcited state is called a manic episode, and an extremely sad or hopeless state is called a depressive episode.

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Stroke survivors and others with neurological injuries and illnesses often have difficulty regaining the ability to perform everyday functions such as walking, talking and even swallowing. In response to these difficulties, Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital has introduced several new therapeutic technologies to its inpatient and outpatient programs.

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Intellx introduces the SafeSexyShapes line of designer-condoms. Remarkably shaped condoms, including the look-alike Dolphin Condom and several more patented shapes ... think phallic and/or fun. What condom designers could only dream of making before. The Dolphin has all the graceful curves of a real dolphin, plus the teasing, pleasing bottlenose.

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More than 2,300 individuals with disabilities currently institutionalized in Georgia?s eight public psychiatric hospitals and mental retardation facilities will have the opportunity to live in their communities with appropriate supports tailored to meet their individualized needs as a result of a settlement agreement between the state of Georgia and the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted on Wednesday two reports from its work related to assessing the levels of formaldehyde in the indoor air of travel trailers used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for emergency housing of Gulf Coast residents. One report, the results of which have been previously reported, assessed indoor formaldehyde levels. The other looked at emissions from specific travel trailer components and construction materials.

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"Health care will become one of the most onerous personal finance issues in coming years unless the system is changed to ensure universal access, cost control and long-term financing," Bloomberg columnist John Wasik writes in the Bloomberg/Boston Globe.

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