Congress passed Friday a landmark health bill that will give insured employees equal medical benefits for mental illnesses. President Bush signed the bill, together with the $700 billion financial bailout act, into law on the same day.

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 will not require health plan providers to give mental health coverage to insured individuals but if they do so, they'll have to shoulder the treatment of psychological and addictive disorders like any other diseases

One in five elderly Canadians suffer from a form of mental ailments ranging from depression to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. But only few are getting the proper medical help, according to a study.

Researchers said in the article which will come out this week in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry that some of the mental illness such as depression has become an accepted part of aging. But reality is majority of 4.3 million Canadians considered as senior citizens live an active life at home and in the community. Some are even international travelers

Canada's largest publicly listed pharmaceutical company Biovail Corp. acquired U.S. privately held Prestwick Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $100 million, a move that would allow the Canadian drug maker to change its focus to central nervous system medication.

Prestwick holds the Canadian and U.S. rights to Xenazine, a drug used to treat chorea, an illness related to Huntington's disease, a rare genetic disorder that could lead to memory loss, uncontrolled movements and death. The drug is approved by the Food and Drugs Administration

Children with older fathers are more likely to develop bipolar disorder, a mental illness that fluctuates between intense depression and mania, Swedish and British researchers said in a study.

Previous studies have linked increasing paternal age with schizophrenia and autism, but not bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression. Children born to fathers ages 30 to 34 were 11 percent more likely to be diagnosed as adults with the condition than those born to men 20 to 24. The diagnosis was 37 percent more likely in offspring of fathers 55 and older, the examination of Swedish health records found

Women who undergo severe stress during pregnancy risk giving birth to children who develop schizophrenia, a complex brain disorder, a study suggests.

Study leader Dr. Dolores Malaspina, from the New York University School of Medicine, and colleagues looked at birth data for 88,829 people born in Jerusalem from 1964 to 1976 and cross-referenced the information with Israel's national psychiatry registry