Robert Farra, PhD

FRIDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) -- Dogs may once again prove to be man's best friend, this time in new canine research findings that might help doctors get a better handle on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in humans.

Brain scans suggest that dogs who suffer from a comparably debilit...Full Article

WEDNESDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- Children taking stimulants to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) don't face a greater risk of becoming drug addicts in adulthood, researchers report.

Whether or not these medications (such as Ritalin or Adderall) increase the odds ...Full Article

WEDNESDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- People who endure chronic migraines or back pain are more likely to attempt suicide, whether or not they also suffer from depression or another psychiatric condition, according to a new study.

"Clinicians who are seeing patients with certain pain cond...Full Article

MONDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- As the American Psychiatric Association unveiled last week the latest edition of what is considered the "bible" of modern psychiatry, the uproar over its many changes continues.

"This is unprecedented, the amount of commentary and debate and criticism," ...Full Article

FRIDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- As the American Psychiatric Association unveils the latest edition of what is considered the "bible" of modern psychiatry this weekend, the uproar over its many changes continues.

"This is unprecedented, the amount of commentary and debate and criticism,...Full Article

WEDNESDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Depression is relatively common in patients who undergo heart bypass surgery, and a new study finds that short-term use of antidepressants may aid patients' recovery.

"Depression among patients requiring or having undergone [bypass] surgery is high and...Full Article

FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- When the latest version of what is considered the "bible" of psychiatry is unveiled in May, experts believe several changes in it will broaden both the definition and diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder -- or ADHD.

But experts also di...Full Article

THURSDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Men obsessed with muscle-building lean toward traditional ideas of masculinity, while men fixated on being thin likely associate with more feminine stereotypes, according to new research.

Guys consumed by the idea that they...Full Article

THURSDAY, March 21 (HealthDay News) -- Children with autism may have a higher-than-average risk of contemplating or attempting suicide, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that mothers of children with autism were much more likely than other moms to say their child had talked about or...Full Article

TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Some doctors may really "feel" a patient's pain -- and also experience relief after they've given the patient treatment, new research suggests.

In the new study, scientists scanned the brains of doctors as they believed they were offering patients pai...Full Article

FRIDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Bisexual women in the United States are more likely to suffer from domestic violence than either lesbian or heterosexual women, a new government report shows.

The data, released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the firs...Full Article

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19 (HealthDay News) -- People with psychiatric disorders have a 30 percent higher death rate from cancer, even though they are no more likely to develop the disease than others. And the underlying reason may be relatively simple: Their cancer is frequently discovered late, often a...Full Article

MONDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The long-awaited revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been approved, bringing with it a series of revisions, additions and subtractions to the tome that is considered the Bible of psychiatry.

The r...Full Article

MONDAY, Nov. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Children exposed to air pollution from traffic and other sources while in the womb and during their first year may be at an increased risk for autism, a new study suggests.

Infants exposed to the highest levels of air pollution were three times more li...Full Article

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Grief can be as unpredictable as playing pinball, and reminders of loss can act like pinball rudders and send mourners into a rebound of grief rather than to an exit of acceptance, an expert suggests.

Comparing grieving to pinball can help people in ...Full Article