The Los Angeles Times (5/12, Healy) “Science Now” blog reports that “after sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury, nearly nine in 10 teens who have ongoing concussion symptoms also have academic problems related to headaches, fatigue and difficulty concentrating,” according to a study (5/6) published online May 11 in the journal Pediatrics. In addition, “more than three-quarters of those who have yet to recover fully after four weeks report a decline in such academic skills as note-taking, studying and completing homework assignments.”

CNN (5/12, LaMotte) reports that the study also revealed that “across grades of schooling, high school students reported having the most learning problems, significantly more than middle or elementary school children.” The study authors “say their findings suggest that school systems and medical professionals should be working together to support students who are still in the recovery phase.”

Focusing on the study methodology, HealthDay (5/12, Haelle) reports that investigators “surveyed 239 student-parent pairs plus another 110 parents about any concerns they had regarding school work after students experienced a concussion.” The students, who ranged in age from five to 18, “were evaluated within a month of having had a concussion with several thinking, memory and concentration tests.”

Related Links:

— “After concussions, kids face persistent difficulties with school,” Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, May 11, 2015.

The New York Times (5/12, A13, Williams, Subscription Publication) reports that a report by Human Rights Watch to be released today shows that inmates with mental illnesses incarcerated “across the United States are subjected to routine physical abuse by guards, including being doused with chemical sprays, shocked with electronic stun guns and strapped for hours to chairs or beds.” The report contends that the mistreatment “has led to deaths, though the number of casualties is unclear in part because jails and prisons classify them in various ways.” The report also found that “jails and prisons are not uniformly required to report the use of force by guards.” The Times points out that a Justice Department study “found that 75 percent of women and 50 percent of men in state penitentiaries, and 75 percent of women and 63 percent of men in local jails, will suffer from a mental health problem requiring services in any given year.”

Related Links:

— “Mentally Ill Inmates Are Routinely Physically Abused, Study Says,” Timothy Williams, New York Times, May 12, 2015.

The Los Angeles Times (5/12, Netburn) “Science Now” blog reports that a new study published Monday in the Annals of Family Medicine found that 54 percent of people “who said they restricted their drug use to Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday admitted to using drugs on other days of the week as well, when questioned again in six months.” The study looked at 483 patients at Boston Medical Center who had admitting to using drugs in the past month when they came for regular medical care. According to Prof. Judith Bernstein, the study’s lead author, the message of the study for physicians is that “drug use is not static, so drug use is something you might want to monitor on a regular basis.”

Related Links:

— “Weekend-only drug use frequently slips into weekday drug use, study says,” Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, May 11, 2015.

In The Hill (5/8) “Contributors” blog, Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas, wrote, “Fewer than half of Alzheimer’s patients are told they have the disease in the early stages, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2015 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report.” But, “despite the fear this disease generates,” Chapman argued that “it is crucial for patients and caregivers to be informed of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis at the earliest possible time so they can make the most of the cognitive strengths that remain and prepare for the future.” Chapman also urged passage of the Health Outcomes, Planning and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer’s Act, which would provide “comprehensive care planning services for Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.”

Related Links:

— “Instilling hope in fight against Alzheimer’s,” Sandra Bond Chapman,, The Hill, May 8, 2015.

In a New York Times (5/10, BU7, Goldfarb, Subscription Publication) op-ed, management consultant Robert Goldfarb said that there is an underlying and unfair bias when employers are interviewing veterans of an Afghanistan or Iraq deployment because of concerns the person may have PTSD and “could possibly pose a threat to customers and other employees.” Goldfarb pointed out that even though many companies actively recruit veterans, some employers are “apprehensive about possible mental and behavioral issues” that younger veterans might have. Goldfarb wrote that a recent VA study indicates that veterans from 18 to 34 are in a “vulnerable population” because their unemployment rate since 2005 has been “20 percent higher than that of nonveterans of the same age.”

Related Links:

— “Veterans Battle for Jobs on the Home Front,” Robert W. Goldfarb, New York Times, May 9, 2015.

In the Washington Post (5/8) “The Volokh Conspiracy” blog, psychiatrist Sally Satel, MD, and psychology Scott O. Lilienfeld, PhD, write that attorneys for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted last month on multiple charges for the role he played in the Boston Marathon bombings, plan to call as a witness a neuroscientist “to show that Tsarnaev, who was 19 when he committed the crime, possessed an ‘immature teen brain,’” thereby “citing a well-established neuroscientific finding that the killer’s brain, like all teenage brains, was still in a formative stage.” In 2005, in a “landmark” case before the US Supreme Court, Roper v. Simmons, “in a joint amicus brief, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and other organizations explained that the adolescent reward system is more sensitive than that of an adult.” Drs. Satel and Lilienfeld observe, “Numerous studies reveal that claiming ‘my client’s brain made him do it’ weakens ascriptions of responsibility in a way that ‘his lousy childhood made him do it’ does not.”

Related Links:

— “The ‘immature teen brain’ defense and the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial,”Dr. Sally Satel, The Washington Post, May 7, 2015.

Medscape (5/8, Lowry) reports that a report released by the Child Mind Institute in New York City reveals that “more than 17 million” US youngsters “have or have had a diagnosable mental illness, yet most are not treated.” However, “the Child Mind Institute’s Children’s Mental Health Report also highlights the effective treatments that are available, the importance of early intervention, and the costs of not recognizing and addressing childhood mental illness.” Medscape points out that the “Child Mind Institute has no affiliation with the pharmaceutical industry.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The Hill (5/8, Ferris) reports that HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell “said Thursday that the nation is coming closer to eliminating the ‘shame and secrecy’ around mental illnesses, in part because of ObamaCare.” Burwell said that new coverage rules under the ACA are providing 60 million people with access to behavioral health services, including free preventive services such as screenings for alcohol abuse and depression. These benefits are especially important for young people, the HHS chief said in a speech marking Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. “When we think about mental illnesses, we often focus on getting adults the help they need,” Burwell said, adding, “But many conditions surface long before those affected reach adulthood.”

Related Links:

— “HHS chief touts legacy of ObamaCare on mental health,”Sarah Ferris, The Hill, May 7, 2015.

The Los Angeles Times (5/7, Healy) “Science Now” blog reports that research published in Neurology suggests that “healthful eating is among the best ways to protect your aging brain against slippage.” However, “a diet that skimps on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fish and includes lots of fried foods, red meat and alcohol is highly likely to pave a road to cognitive ruin.”

CNN (5/7, Ansari) reports that investigators “monitored the eating habits of 27,860 men and women across 40 countries.” Study “participants were tested for their thinking and memory skills, at the start of the study, then again after two and five years.” The data indicated “that participants with the healthiest diets were 24% less likely to experience cognitive decline compared to those with the least healthy diets.”

Related Links:

— “Healthful eating is smart way to sustain brain power, study finds,”Melissa Healey, Los Angeles Times, May 6, 2015.

The AP (5/7, Stobbe) reports that a research letter published May 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that bisexual and gay children “are more likely to be bullied as they’re growing up – even at an early age.” Researchers found that “many of the nearly 4,300 students surveyed said they were bullied, especially at younger ages,” but 13 percent of the 630 bisexual and gay youngsters reported being bullied “on a weekly basis,” compared to just eight percent of the other children.

Related Links:

— “Study: Gay, Bisexual Kids Bullied More, Even at Early Age,”Mike Stobbe, AP, May 6, 2015.