Janssen launches online mental health video series

Janssen Research & Development has launched the first of five videos on key mental topics.

The Healthy Minds series focuses on progress made in brain research and treatment, and offers insights for people living with mental illness, as well as those closest to them.
    
The series is hosted by Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist Vicki Mabrey, and features Dr Husseini Manji, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, and global therapeutic area head for neuroscience at J&J's Janssen Research & Development unit.

In the videos Manji shares his expertise on brain health and disorders that affect the brain. He also discusses the prevalence, projected burden, societal impact and new trends in research and treatment for Alzheimer's disease, major depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Globally, some 450 million people suffer from a mental or neurological disorder, yet nearly 60 per cent with a known disorder never consult a doctor about their mental health. Lack of awareness and stigma are frequently to blame for this hesitance.

Seema Kumar, J&J's vice president, enterprise innovation, public affairs and global health communication, said: "Brain disorders can be devastating for patients, families and society, and despite progress in research and new treatments, the biological nature of these illnesses and how to manage them often are not fully understood.

"The Healthy Minds video series will help to expand education about brain disorders, and in turn, fight the stigma frequently related to them."

The videos in the series will be released on a monthly basis throughout the remainder of 2014 and will cover bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

The Janssen Healthy Minds programme launched in 2011 to encourage collaboration among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and public-sector organisations to accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic solutions for neurologic and brain diseases.