Medscape (3/8, Anderson) reports, “Atrial fibrillation (AF) is significantly associated with cognitive impairment and dementia, independent of history of clinical stroke,” according to a review published in the March 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. “In a combined analysis of the 14 studies that investigated the association between AF and dementia or cognitive impairment, nine of which were prospective, AF was significantly associated with the risk for cognitive impairment (relative risk [RR], 1.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19 – 1.64).”

Related Links:

— “Cognitive Impairment Associated With Atrial Fibrillation: A Meta-analysis, “Shadi Kalantarian, Annals of Internal Medicine, March 5, 2013.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek (3/7, Tullis) reports, “According to a study published today in PLoS One, college football players who sustain hits to the head may experience long-term brain damage even if they aren’t concussed.” Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that of 67 college football players who didn’t experience concussion, “the 40 players who absorbed the hardest hits had elevated levels of an antibody linked to brain damage,” and their brain scans, when analyzed in a double-blind process, had “abnormalities that were predicted by the presence of the antibody.” The study “suggests that the risks may be far more widespread than previously acknowledged.”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer (3/7, Mangels) reports, “The research also suggests – though without ironclad proof – that repeated ‘sub-concussive’ blows may trigger the body’s immune system to inadvertently attack the brain,” and if that response persists, “it may play a role in the mental decline and dementia that plague some football players years after they’ve left the game.”

HealthDay (3/7, Gordon) reports the researchers “found that blows to the head that don’t cause concussions may cause a break in the protective blood-brain barrier, allowing substances to leak from the brain into the body,” and that, as those substances “aren’t normally found in the body, the immune system sees them as foreign and attacks them.” Still, study co-author Dr. Jeffrey Bazarian, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, noted “that the researchers only know for sure that there’s an immune response,” not “whether it’s a damaging response or even a protective one at this point.

Related Links:

— “New Research Points to Brain Injuries in College Football, “Paul Tullis, Bloomberg Businessweek, March 6, 2013.

Politico (3/6, Gibson) reports that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), along with Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), “introduced NRA-endorsed legislation Wednesday that would bar more people from buying guns due to mental illness.” The measure “would add people who plead not guilty by reason of insanity to the electronic background check system that determines if someone can purchase a gun. It adds a list of additional disqualifiers.”

Related Links:

— “Lindsey Graham gun bill targets mentally ill, “Ginger Gibson, Politico, March 6, 2013.

The Military Times (3/6, Maze) reported, “More than 31,000 discharges for service members diagnosed with personality or adjustment disorders would be reviewed to see if those troops actually suffered from post-traumatic stress, under” HR 975, “legislation introduced Tuesday by Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn.” The measure, called the “Servicemembers Mental Health Review Act of 2013, would require a review of discharges for personality and adjustment disorders for anyone separated from Sept. 11, 2001, through Dec. 31, 2014, when unfitness for duty was the cause.” Service members “discharged would be allowed to present evidence to the review board, including from at least one licensed psychologist and one licensed psychiatrist who have either never worked for the Defense Department or have not worked for DoD since at least Dec. 31, 2001.”

Related Links:

— “Bill would review discharges for possible PTSD, “Rick Maze, Military Times, March 6, 2013.

Politico (3/6, Cheney) reports that yesterday at a Politico Pro Deep Dive event, mental-health expert C. Edward Coffey, CEO of behavioral health services for the Henry Ford Health System, said that “it would take a ‘total redesign’ of the country’s health care delivery system to prevent suicide and combat mental illness.” Meanwhile, James Scully, MD, CEO of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), “argued that the problem is so severe that it calls for a ‘presidential commission.'”

Psychiatric News (3/6) reports, “The push to improve America’s mental health policy is facing plenty of obstacles on Capitol Hill, despite the recent clamor about the need for new mental health legislation in the wake of gun-law debates, members of a panel organized by Politico newspaper agreed in a public discussion (3/6)” on Tuesday. In addition to Dr. Scully and Dr. Coffey, “the panel consisted of… Philip Wang, MD, deputy director of the National Institute of Mental Health; and two members of Congress,” psychiatrist “Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.),” also a physician. Dr. Scully emphasized that “despite a well-documented need, access to high-quality, integrated care is lacking for many Americans.”

Related Links:

— “Experts see ‘fragmented’ mental health system, “Kyle Cheney, Politico, March 5, 2013.

The CBS Evening News (3/5, story 8, 3:15, Pelley) reported, “With a shortage of mental facilities jails have become the new asylums.” CBS correspondent John Miller explained, “The Department of Justice says up to 64% of inmates at local jails have some mental health problem. Using that DOJ statistic, the two largest jails in the United States, Cook County and LA County, would become two of the largest mental institutions in the country de facto.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (3/6, Mauriello) points out that witnesses at the forum “complained of long wait times for mental health services, social stigmas, lack of school counselors and the need for more mental health training for primary care physicians who often first see psychiatrically ill patients.

CQ (3/6, Subscription Publication) reports, parents can face significant barriers trying to get help for their adult children with mental illness. Sometimes commitment laws and HIPPA privacy restrictions make things more difficult for family trying to get treatment for their relatives with psychiatric illness.

The NBC News (3/5) “Vitals” blog reported that three parents who testified at the forum complained that doctors’ interpretations of HIPAA privacy laws prevented them from helping their children. Doctors, they said, feared sharing information with the parents for fear of violating privacy rules. And, they complained, too often they had no one to call but police when their children became violent.”

Related Links:

— “Congress addresses mental illness in wake of rampage, “Tracie Mauriello, Post-Gazette Washington Bureau, March 6, 2013.

Politico (3/4, Cunningham) reported, “No one keeps tabs on precisely how many of the 552,000 mental health professionals in the US – according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – won’t accept private health insurance.” However, “patient advocacy groups and provider organizations say many don’t want to accept low pay rates – and the insurance paperwork.” According to a survey conducted in 2005 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “of 5.7 million adults who didn’t get mental health care when they needed it, nearly half blamed cost or insurance issues.”

Related Links:

— “Loophole for mental health care, “Paige Winfield Cunningham, Politico, March 4, 2013.

HealthDay (3/5, Marcus) reports, “A new study that looked at speech delays in children with autism spectrum disorders [ASDs] found that 70 percent of children who were not stringing words together into even the simplest of phrases by age four went on to do so by age eight, and in some cases, even achieved fluent speech.” The study involving 500 youngsters with ASDs was published online March 4 in the journal Pediatrics. Notably, “strong predictors of a child’s ability to go on to develop phrase or fluent speech skills included his or her non-verbal IQ and being less impaired socially,” the study found.

Related Links:

— “Most Kids With Autism Overcome Language Delays, Study Finds, “Mary Brophy Marcus, HealthDay, March 4, 2013.

HealthDay (3/5, Salamon) reports, “Anxiety is far more common in the days after childbirth than depression, with nearly one in five new mothers reporting acute mental stress surrounding delivery and the transition to a larger family,” according to a study published online March 4 in the journal Pediatrics.

MedPage Today (3/5) reports that data from 1,123 new mothers revealed that “during the initial maternity hospital stay, 17.1% of women who were breastfeeding screened positive for acute postpartum state anxiety, while 5.5% screened positive for depression (P<0.0001)." New mothers "with anxiety had greater personal healthcare use in the first two postpartum weeks and breastfed for a shorter amount of time, the researchers reported." The Department of Health and Human Services, among others, helped support the study. Related Links:

— “Anxiety May Be More Common Than Depression After Pregnancy, “Maureen Salamon, HealthDay, March 4, 2013.