The Huffington Post (8/30, Wood) reports that the number of suicides in veterans and active duty military personnel is increasing, “and experts fear it will continue to rise despite aggressive suicide prevention campaigns by the government and private organizations.” Officials with the Department of Defense and the various branches of the service are broadening “suicide-prevention campaigns to include servicemen and women who may be struggling with mental health issues, substance abuse, family dysfunction, financial problems and other issues that can be difficult to manage, but do not necessarily lead to suicide.” US military culture, however, “is resistant to change” when it comes to stigma associated with mental healthcare. And, even though the Department of Veterans Affairs has added some 1,600 additional mental healthcare professionals in recent months, there is still a shortage of clinicians.

Related Links:

— “Military And Veteran Suicides Rise Despite Aggressive Prevention Efforts, “David Wood, The Huffington Post, September 3, 2013.

Politico (9/6, Gavin) reports that “since leaving office in 2011, former Rep. Patrick Kennedy has a new campaign he’s focusing on: mental health.” The former lawmaker “says that his primary hope for Washington lawmakers is to reassess mental injuries endured in combat.” He “said that the federal government should change ‘both its language and its action around these signature wounds to the war’ and treat them the same as other” types of injuries.

Related Links:

— “Patrick Kennedy: ‘Speak up’ for mental illness, “Patrick Gavin, Politico, September 5, 2013.

Reuters (9/5, Harding) reported that, according to a new study conducted by Stanford University, trauma therapy could relieve feelings of depression and distress among mothers whose children are born prematurely. The study targeted 105 mothers whose children were born at 24 to 35 weeks’ gestation and focused on the elements of COPE (Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment) neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), proven in clinical trials to ease parental anxiety. The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Trauma therapy may ease distress for mothers of preemies, “Anne Harding, Reuters, September 5, 2013.

HealthDay (9/6, Thompson) reports that two studies published in JAMA Psychiatry suggest that “cognitive behavioral therapy can be a powerful tool for preventing depression, equaling or exceeding the effectiveness of antidepressants and other types of care.” In the first study, which involved 241 adults, researchers found that “follow-up cognitive therapy can be as effective as antidepressant medications in preventing a relapse for patients at high risk for another bout of depression.” In the other study, which involved 316 teenagers, investigators “found that cognitive behavioral therapy did better than usual forms of care in preventing depression in at-risk teens.”

Related Links:

— “Psychotherapy a Powerful Tool to Fight Depression, Studies Show, “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, September 5, 2013.

Heartwire (9/6, Hughes) reports that two studies presented at the “European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2013 Congress…suggested that statin drugs may be linked to lower rates of dementia in older people.” In one “study of 58,000 elderly patients,” researchers found “that found a dose-related inverse relationship between statin use and new-onset nonvascular dementia.” In the other study, investigators “found a lower incidence of dementia in patients taking statins compared with those not taking statins in a study of 5221 AF patients.”

HealthDay (9/6, Preidt) reports that research published in Epidemiology suggests that “eating a Mediterranean diet may be good for your brain and might reduce the risk of dementia.” Investigators looked at data from 12 studies. The researchers found that “nine studies found that people with higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet had better brain function, lower rates of mental decline and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” although “close adherence to a Mediterranean diet had an inconsistent effect on mild cognitive impairment.”

Related Links:

— “Mediterranean Diet May Be Good for the Brain, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 5, 2013.

MedPage Today (9/6, Walsh) reports that research involving nearly 2,000 individuals published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism suggests that “the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or tricyclic antidepressants among women in midlife didn’t lead to a greater rate of bone loss.” Researchers found that, “among women enrolled in the longitudinal Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, yearly decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine averaged 0.63% in new users of SSRIs compared with 0.68% in those not taking antidepressants (P=0.37).” The study also indicated that “among those taking the tricyclic antidepressants, the annual lumbar spine BMD decrease was 0.40% (P=0.16 compared with nonusers).”

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants Have No Effect on Bone Loss, “Nancy Walsh, MedPage Today, September 5, 2013.

Broad print and online media coverage was given to a small study that found that video games requiring multitasking may help boost cognitive abilities in seniors. The New York Times (9/5, A14, Richtel, Subscription Publication) reports that, according to a research letter published online Sept. 4 in the journal Nature, “scientists have discovered that swerving around cars while simultaneously picking out road signs in a video game can improve the short-term memory and long-term focus of older adults.”

USA Today (9/5, Weintraub) reports that “after 12 hours of playing a road game designed to improve attention and focus, healthy people ages 60 to 79 performed as well as people” five decades younger. What’s more, six months later, “the improvements were still evident” and even “extended beyond the skills learned for the game.”

The AP (9/5, Ritter) reports that in the study, 16 healthy 60- to 85-year-old individuals “showed gains in their ability to multitask, to stay focused on a boring activity and to keep information in mind,” all cognitive powers that “normally decline with age.”

Related Links:

— “, “Matt Richtel, The New York Times, September 4, 2013.

The Military Times (9/4, Kime) reports that yesterday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that “seeking mental health treatment is a ‘choice that embodies moral courage, honor and integrity’ and recommended those who need help call the Military Crisis Line, 800-273-8255, anytime.” Hagel’s announcement comes at the start of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Meanwhile, Jacqueline Garrick, director of the Suicide Prevention Office, “said officials are working to reduce the stigma of seeking behavioral health treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Hagel: Getting mental health help shows ‘courage, honor and integrity’, “Patricia Kime, The Military Times, September 3, 2013.

NBC Nightly News reported, “Tonight we are presenting a special report on a special challenge facing upwards of 15 million American families and that’s Alzheimer’s,” an incurable disease that “an estimated 5.5 million Americans are living with” currently. NBC News correspondent Maria Shriver “visited one innovative program where medical students learn from the people who are actually living with Alzheimer’s.”

On its website, NBC News (9/4, Kernis, Carroll) reports that the Buddy Program, “created in 1998 by Darby Morhardt of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine…pairs medical students with Alzheimer’s patients, or ‘mentors.’” The program aims to help “improve medical student knowledge and familiarity with Alzheimer’s, while heightening sensitivity and empathy towards dementia patients.” This particular program “has been replicated at Boston University, Dartmouth College and Washington University and other medical schools around the country.”

Related Links:

— “Alzheimer’s patients mentor med students in buddy program, “Jay Kernis, NBC News, September 3, 2013.