HealthDay (9/14) reports, “Although depression affects about one-third of all stroke victims, male stroke survivors are more likely to become depressed than females, a small new study suggests.” Investigators followed “36 people who had a first stroke within the previous” three years. The researchers found that “uncertainty about health was strongly associated with greater depression for both men and women,” with the association being “stronger for the men.”

Related Links:

— “Men More Prone to Depression After Stroke: Study, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, September 13, 2012.

HealthDay (9/13, Dallas) reports, “People who take medication for anxiety, depression or insomnia may be at greater risk of having a car accident than drivers not taking psychotropic” medications, according to a study published Sept. 13 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. After comparing medication “use in nearly 5,200 people involved in major car accidents with that of more than 31,000 similar people with no record of serious accidents,” the researchers concluded that physicians “should think about advising patients not to drive while taking these medications.”

Related Links:

— “Psych, Sleep Meds May Affect Driving, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, September 12, 2012.

MedWire (9/13, Cowen) reports, “Higher levels of perceived stigma are associated with poorer functioning in patients with bipolar disorder (BD),” according to a study published in the Oct. Issue of the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. After studying “60 outpatients (73% women) with BD who were aged an average of 48 years,” researchers “also found that increased depressive symptoms, older age at diagnosis, and older age at onset of treatment were significantly associated with poorer functioning in patients with the mood disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Stigma impacts functioning in bipolar disorder, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, September 13, 2012.

The New York Times (9/12, Reynolds) “Well” blog reports that “a growing and very appealing body of science has established that exercise spurs the creation of new brain cells, a process known as neurogenesis.” According to a study published last month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “male sex hormones surge in the brain after exercise and could be helping to remodel the mind. The research was conducted on young, healthy and exclusively male rats – but scientists believe it applies to female rats, too, as well as other mammals, including humans.”

Related Links:

— “How Testosterone May Alter the Brain After Exercise, “Gretchen Reynolds, The New York Times, September 12, 2012.

MedWire (9/12, Cowen) reports, “The occurrence of hallucinations and delusions is associated with poorer mental health outcomes in the nonclinical general population,” according to a study published online Sept. 4 in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. After examining “data on 225,842 individuals (55.6% women), aged 18-65 years (mean age 37.3 years) from 52 countries, who answered questions about psychotic symptoms as part of the World Health Organization’s World Health Survey,” researchers “also found that people who experience both hallucinations and delusions have poorer mental health outcomes than those who experience either of these symptoms in isolation.”

Related Links:

— “Hallucinations, delusions linked to poorer outcomes in general population, “Mark Cowen, MedWire, September 12, 2012.