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Press Release

Contact:

Kristen Simone
516-829-8299, ext. 241
or
Dale Carlson
(863) 763-8498

For immediate release

NARSAD Announces Palm Beach Symposium
on Latest Research on Childhood
and Adolescent Mental Health
Free March 10th event will feature discussions by leading researchers
in autism, pediatric anxiety, childhood depression and eating disorders

(Great Neck, NY- ) — On Saturday, March 10th, residents of the Palm Beach area will have a chance to learn about recent developments in research on childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders from four of the most distinguished investigators in the fields.

The scientists will be featured speakers at Palm Beach's fourth annual "Sunshine from Darkness" Mental Health Research Symposium, sponsored by NARSAD: The Mental Health Research Association.

The symposium, to be held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, is free and open to the general public. Registration is from 8:30 to 9 am on March 10th, and will be followed by the program, which begins at 9 am and concludes at 12:30 pm. Because of space limitations, members of the public interested in attending are asked to RSVP by calling: 800-257-0944.

The symposium will be moderated by Thomas Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Insel is renowned for having initiated some of the first treatment trials for obsessive-compulsive disorder using the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class of medications.

Symposium topics and presenters will include:

Autism: Fred Volkmar, M.D., Yale University

Dr. Volkmar is director of the Child Study Center at the Yale University School of Medicine, where he heads the university's autism research and autism clinic. He is also chief of child psychiatry at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He will describe his laboratory's efforts to clarify how social information is processed in autism. These studies underscore both how difficult processing is for children with autism and the importance of early detection and intervention.

Eating Disorders: B. Timothy Walsh, M.D., Columbia University

Although the origins of eating disorders remain unclear, their development appears to involve genetic, individual, familial and environmental risk factors. In his presentation, Dr. Walsh will summarize recent research on the biological and psychological abnormalities that contribute to their onset and persistence. As the Ruane Professor of Pediatric Psychopharmacology at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, Dr. Walsh established the Eating Disorders Research Unit at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and is considered a leading authority on these disorders.

Childhood Depression: Maria Kovacs, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Kovacs, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, is one of the country's leading investigators into the genetic, psychophysiological and environmental risk factors associated with childhood depression. She will discuss her research on the skills and responses that are involved in regulating distress and unhappiness (dysphoria) and that result from a combination of innate physiology and learning history, patterns traceable to infancy.

Pediatric Anxiety: Daniel S. Pine, M.D., National Institute of Mental Health

Dr. Pine is chief of the Development and Affective Neuroscience Section at NIMH, as well as chief of the Development and Neuroscience Branch and of the Child and Adolescent Research in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program. He will talk about the network of brain regions engaged in the processing of dangerous stimuli. He will suggest that differences in the responses of different organisms to danger are shaped during development, and involve interactions between genes and the environment. Dr. Pine maintains that problems with anxiety during childhood are good predictors of adult mental disorders, particularly mood and anxiety disorders.

The symposium is part of a weekend of special activities in Palm Beach sponsored by NARSAD, a national nonprofit organization that raises funds for scientific research on mental illnesses. On Friday, March 9th, NARSAD will hold its annual "Sunshine from Darkness" fundraising gala, with what promises to be a memorable evening of dinner and dancing at the Mar-a-Lago Club. Honored at this year's event will be legendary talk show host Larry King, for his contribution in bringing awareness and understanding about depression and bipolar disorder to his CNN television show, "Larry King Live".

NARSAD is the largest donor-supported organization in the world devoted to funding scientific research on psychiatric illnesses Since 1987, when it began giving grants as the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, NARSAD has awarded $199.3 million in research grants to 2,284 scientists in the U.S. and 25 other countries. These research grants are being used for the study of depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, ADD/ADHD, autism, eating disorders, substance abuse and other childhood and adult disorders and related conditions.

For additional information on the work of NARSAD, the research it supports and various psychiatric disorders, visit the organization�s website at www.narsad.org. For additional information about the Palm Beach symposium and gala, please call (561) 835-3501 or email palmbeach@narsad.org.

Media Contact

Kristen Simone
516-829-0091, ext. 236

Upcoming NARSAD Events

October 17, 2008
21st Annual Gala
New York

October 17, 2008
20th Annual Mental Health Symposium
New York

November 8 & 9, 2008
California NARSAD Silver Ribbon Symposium & Gala