PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

UK Government plans for mentally ill prisoners are unrealistic, research suggests

2011-06-08
(Press-News.org) Government plans to divert more mentally ill people out of the criminal justice system and into mental health services are unlikely to be achieved, according to new research from Queen Mary, University of London. In a study published in the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, researchers estimate that there are over 8,000 prisoners with schizophrenia and other psychoses in prisons in England and Wales. If transferred to hospital, treatment for these patients would have to be in conditions of security. However, the sheer number of mentally ill prisoners would overwhelm the medium secure beds available. High security hospitals, which have been reduced in size in recent years, would be necessary to accommodate those who are at greatest risk to the public. The study, which included all 131 prisons in England and Wales, found that only 1 in 10 psychotic prisoners are currently receiving treatment for their illnesses in prison and less than a third had ever been treated in a psychiatric hospital. Over a third said they had never received any psychiatric treatment, which meant it was very unlikely they would receive treatment and follow-up after their release. Although suffering from severe mental illness, their criminal histories were no less extensive than other prisoners and they appeared to be at somewhat greater risk of future offending and violence. In December 2007, the government commissioned Lord Bradley to look into diverting people with mental health problems and learning disabilities away from the criminal justice system. Professor Jeremy Coid who led the study said: "Psychiatric and prison mental health services are failing severely mentally ill prisoners. "Our research suggests that the recommendations of the Bradley Report to divert more mentally ill persons out of the criminal justice system and into mental health services is unlikely to be achieved."

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Coffee drinking improves hepatitis C treatment response

2011-06-08
Advanced hepatitis C patients with chronic liver disease may benefit from drinking coffee during treatment, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Patients who received peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment and who drank three or more cups of coffee per day were two times more likely to respond to treatment than non-drinkers. "Coffee intake has been associated with a lower level of liver enzymes, reduced progression of chronic liver disease and reduced incidence of liver cancer," ...

Experts prove link between phosphate intake and heart disease

2011-06-08
Lowering phosphate intake in humans can reduce heart disease, according to research by experts at the University of Sheffield. This is the first time the connection between a high phosphate diet and atherosclerosis - the cause of heart disease - has been proven. The findings have been published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (2 June 2011). The research, which was funded by the Sheffield Kidney Association and the National Institute for Health Research, has shown that cholesterol deposits in the wall of arteries are increased following a higher ...

Women warriors show resilience similar to men

2011-06-08
WASHINGTON – Women service members who experience combat are apparently as resilient as the men they serve alongside, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. Men and women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008 experienced very similar levels of combat-related stress and post-deployment mental health impacts during the first year following return from deployment, researchers reported in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, published by APA. "Contrary to popular belief, women who go to war respond to combat trauma much like ...

Mammary gland development of blueberry-fed lab animals studied

2011-06-08
This release is available in Spanish. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded studies of mammary gland development in laboratory rats fed blueberries or other foods of interest may aid breast cancer research. In an early study that has paved the way to follow-up experiments, Rosalia C. M. Simmen of the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center (ACNC) in Little Rock, Ark., has determined that several indicators of rat mammary gland health were improved in the offspring (pups) of mothers (dams) that had been fed 5 percent blueberry powder in their rations during pregnancy ...

Bacteria on old-growth trees may help forests grow

2011-06-08
A new study by Dr. Zoë Lindo, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Biology at McGill University, and Jonathan Whiteley, a doctoral student in the same department, shows that large, ancient trees may be very important in helping forests grow. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining the large old-growth trees in the coastal temperate rainforests that stretch from Southern Alaska to Northern California. Lindo's findings suggest that it is the interactions between old trees, mosses and cyanobacteria, which contribute to nutrient dynamics in a way that ...

Overweight more harmful to the liver than alcohol in middle-aged men

2011-06-08
Overweight carries a greatly increased risk of cirrhosis of the liver in men, reveals a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy. "Given the increasing problem of overweight in Sweden, there is reason to fear that more people will develop cirrhosis of the liver," says Jerzy Kaczynski, docent at the Sahlgrenska Academy and doctor at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. A group of researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy has studied the link between overweight and the risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver in middle-aged men. Published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, ...

Using magnets to help prevent heart attacks

2011-06-08
If a person's blood becomes too thick it can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of heart attacks. But a Temple University physicist has discovered that he can thin the human blood by subjecting it to a magnetic field. Rongjia Tao, professor and chair of physics at Temple University, has pioneered the use of electric or magnetic fields to decrease the viscosity of oil in engines and pipelines. Now, he is using the same magnetic fields to thin human blood in the circulation system. Because red blood cells contain iron, Tao has been able to reduce a person's blood ...

Carbon release and global warming now and in the ancient past

Carbon release and global warming now and in the ancient past
2011-06-08
The present rate of greenhouse carbon dioxide emissions through fossil fuel burning is higher than that associated with an ancient episode of severe global warming, according to new research. The findings are published online this week by the journal Nature Geoscience. Around 55.9 million years ago, the Earth experienced a period of intense global warming known as the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which lasted for around 170,000 years. During its main phase, average annual temperatures rose by around 5°C. Scientists believe that the warming may have been ...

Innovative device for quantum simulations

2011-06-08
A team of researchers from Columbia Engineering, the Italian National Research Council, Princeton University, University of Missouri, and University of Nijmegen (Netherlands) has developed an artificial semiconductor structure that has superimposed a pattern created by advanced fabrication methods that are precise at the nanometer scale. The pattern is similar to the honeycomb lattice that occurs in graphene. The device, called "artificial graphene" (AG), simulates quantum behavior of strongly interacting electrons. The research team sees the AG-device as a first step towards ...

Dolphins use double sonar

2011-06-08
Dolphins and porpoises use echolocation for hunting and orientation. By sending out high-frequency sound, known as ultrasound, dolphins can use the echoes to determine what type of object the sound beam has hit. Researchers from Sweden and the US have now discovered that dolphins can generate two sound beam projections simultaneously. "The beam projections have different frequencies and can be sent in different directions. The advantage is probably that the dolphin can locate the object more precisely", says Josefin Starkhammar, a newly examined doctor in Electrical ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

iRECODE: A new computational method that brings clarity to single-cell analysis

New NUS-MOH study: Singapore’s healthcare sector carbon emissions 18% lower than expected, a milestone in the city-state’s net zero journey

QUT scientists create material to turn waste heat into clean power

Major new report sets out how to tackle the ‘profound and lasting impact’ of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health

Cosmic crime scene: White dwarf found devouring Pluto-like icy world

Major report tackles Covid’s cardiovascular crisis head-on

A third of licensed GPs in England not working in NHS general practice

ChatGPT “thought on the fly” when put through Ancient Greek maths puzzle

Engineers uncover why tiny particles form clusters in turbulent air

GLP-1RA drugs dramatically reduce death and cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients

Psoriasis linked to increased risk of vision-threatening eye disease, study finds

Reprogramming obesity: New drug from Italian biotech aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity

Type 2 diabetes may accelerate development of multiple chronic diseases, particularly in the early stages, UK Biobank study suggests

Resistance training may improve nerve health, slow aging process, study shows

Common and inexpensive medicine halves the risk of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer

SwRI-built instruments to monitor, provide advanced warning of space weather events

Breakthrough advances sodium-based battery design

New targeted radiation therapy shows near-complete response in rare sarcoma patients

Does physical frailty contribute to dementia?

Soccer headers and brain health: Study finds changes within folds of the brain

Decoding plants’ language of light

UNC Greensboro study finds ticks carrying Lyme disease moving into western NC

New implant restores blood pressure balance after spinal cord injury

New York City's medical specialist advantage may be an illusion, new NYU Tandon research shows

Could a local anesthetic that doesn’t impair motor function be within reach?

1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5

In the wild, chimpanzees likely ingest the equivalent of several alcoholic drinks every day

Warming of 2°C intensifies Arctic carbon sink but weakens Alpine sink, study finds

Bronze and Iron Age cultures in the Middle East were committed to wine production

Indian adolescents are mostly starting their periods at an earlier age than 25 years ago

[Press-News.org] UK Government plans for mentally ill prisoners are unrealistic, research suggests