MedPage Today (2/2, Firth ) reports that as a “part of a broader overdose prevention strategy, the Biden administration announced changes to decades-old federal rules, which aim to simplify and expand access to addiction treatment in order to save more lives.” Specifically, a new rule issued by HHS “makes permanent pandemic-era flexibilities that allow eligible patients with an opioid use disorder (OUD) to receive take-home methadone doses.” In a statement, Bobby Mukkamala, MD, chair of the AMA’s Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force, called the rule a “step in the right direction in the fight against the worsening overdose epidemic.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (2/2) reported, “Playing a musical instrument and/or singing in a group may improve brain health later in life,” research shows. Published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, the study“found that playing a musical instrument, singing, and overall musical ability was associated with significantly better performance in working memory and executive function.”

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— “Playing Music, Singing Linked to Better Brain Health Later in Life, Study Shows, Psychiatric News, February 2, 2024

HCPlive (2/2, Derman) reported that a “new study found antidepressants in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) class did not increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke or other serious bleeding events in most ischemic stroke survivors.” Lead investigator Kent P. Simmonds, DO, PhD., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said, “Our results should reassure clinicians that for most stroke survivors, it is safe to prescribe SSRI and/or SNRI antidepressants early after stroke to treat post-stroke depression and anxiety, which may help optimize their patients’ recovery.” The study was published in Stroke and presented at the International Stroke Conference.

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— “Masturbation abstinence is popular online. Doctors and therapists are worried,”Lisa Hagen, NPR , February 2, 2024

HCPlive (2/2, Derman) reported that a “new study found antidepressants in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) class did not increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke or other serious bleeding events in most ischemic stroke survivors.” Lead investigator Kent P. Simmonds, DO, PhD., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said, “Our results should reassure clinicians that for most stroke survivors, it is safe to prescribe SSRI and/or SNRI antidepressants early after stroke to treat post-stroke depression and anxiety, which may help optimize their patients’ recovery.” The study was published in Stroke and presented at the International Stroke Conference.

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— “Antidepressants from SSRI or SNRI Classes Were Safe for Most Stroke Survivors,”Chelsie Derman, HCPlive, February 2, 2024

MedPage Today (2/4, Megli) reports, “For-profit ketamine clinics have proliferated over the past few years, offering infusions for a wide array of mental health issues, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and anxiety.” While “the off-label use of ketamine hydrochloride, a Schedule III drug approved by the FDA as an anesthetic in 1970, was considered radical just a decade ago, now between 500 and 750 ketamine clinics have cropped up across the nation.” Although “it’s legal for doctors to prescribe ketamine, the FDA hasn’t approved it for mental health treatment, which means that individual practitioners must develop their own treatment protocols.” This results in “wide variability” among healthcare professionals, “with some favoring gradual, low-dosage treatments while others advocate larger amounts that can induce hallucinations, as the drug is psychedelic at certain doses.” Iter Investments managing principal Dustin Robinson said, “Ketamine is the wild West.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

mHealth Intelligence (2/2, Vaidya ) reported that a new “study by nonprofit research organization RAND Corp. assessed telehealth availability, wait times, and service features for various mental health conditions and facility-, client-, and county-level characteristics associated with telehealth availability.” To perform the study, “RAND researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a secret shopper survey of mental health treatment facilities throughout the United States, except Hawaii.” The researchers found that “telehealth availability varied widely at the state level. Less than half of mental health treatment facilities in Mississippi and South Carolina were offering telehealth services versus all mental health treatment facilities contacted in Delaware, Maine, New Mexico, and Oregon.” The findings were published in JAMA Health Forum.

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— “Telehealth Availability at Mental Health Facilities Varies Across States,”Anuja Vaidya, mHealth Intelligence, February 2, 2024

HealthDay (2/1, Thompson ) reports, “Coupons for e-cigarettes appear to be a powerful way to get people hooked on vaping, a new study shows.” Investigators found that “people who receive coupons for e-cigarettes are 50% more likely to begin vaping, and less likely to quit once they’ve started.” The research was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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— “E-Coupons Are Luring Folks to Taking Up Vaping,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, January 1, 2024

HealthDay (2/1, Thompson ) reports that research finds “drug overdoses resulting in cardiac arrest occur most often among young adults.” The study showed that “people tend to have OD-related cardiac arrests at an average age of 39, compared to an average age of 64 for those suffering cardiac arrests not related to opioids.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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— “Cardiac Arrests Linked to Drug ODs Are Killing the Healthy Young,”Dennis Thompson
, HealthDay, January 1, 2024

MedPage Today (2/1, George ) reports, “Pronounced cognitive slowing distinguished people with long COVID from others, a cross-sectional study showed.” Investigators found that, “on a 30-second task measuring simple reaction time, moderate-to-severe cognitive slowing was evident among long COVID patients compared with age-matched healthy individuals who had previous symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and recovered.” The findings were published in eClinicalMedicine.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

STAT (2/1, Facher, Subscription Publication) reports, “The federal government is unveiling new regulations meant to modernize methadone treatment, the first major update to patient care standards at methadone clinics in more than 20 years.” The new regulations “are aimed at increasing access to methadone.” Starting in April, “patients and clinicians at methadone clinics will enjoy far greater flexibility.” Amid criticisms “that methadone doses are too low to stave off withdrawal, clinic” physicians “will have flexibility to prescribe methadone in larger doses to new patients.” Furthermore, clinics will “be permitted to prescribe patients ‘take-home’ medication, meaning they would be required to show up at the clinic less often.”

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— “Methadone treatment gets first major update in over 20 years,”Lev Facher, STAT, January 1, 2024