(January 16, 2009 - Insidermedicine) From Sweden - According to research in The Lancet, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share a genetic cause. Researchers compared patient discharge data for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with a register of over 2 million families and found that the disorders share genetic roots. For example, having a parent with schizophrenia raised the risk of a person developing the condition by nearly 10 times, and the risk of developing bipolar disorder by over 5 times.

From Texas - According to research in the American Journal of Psychiatry, short-term placebo for adolescent depression does not result in long-term harm. In a study of over 400 adolescent patients, researchers found that those who took a placebo for 12 weeks before starting active treatment saw no difference in response rate after 36 weeks compared to those on active treatment from the start. The authors warn that delaying treatment in non-research settings is not ethical or clinically appropriate

And finally, from Atlanta - According to the CDC, sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in the U.S. In 2007 there was a record-setting 1.1 million cases of chlamydia reported. In addition, the number of reported cases of syphilis rose modestly, while cases of gonorrhea stayed the same. While this increase is most likely due to better screening, researchers suspect that, including unreported cases, as many as 2.8 million Americans get chlamydia each year.

For Insidermedicine in 60, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.