According to Kaiser Health News (8/4, Houghton), the US “criminal justice system has long been a revolving door for defendants with a mental illness.” What’s more, “the national nonprofit Treatment Advocacy Center, which advocates to make treatment for a severe mental illness more accessible, found that as of 2017, 21 states made little-to-no effort to create programs that treat those defendants,” a failure that “leaves individuals without stability, and some go on to hurt themselves or others.”

Related Links:

— “When Mental Illness Leads to Dropped Charges, Patients Often Go Without Stabilizing Care “Katheryn Houghton, Kaiser Health News, August 4, 2022

HealthDay (8/3, Murphy) reports a study “finds that elementary school kids who get less than nine hours of sleep each night show significant differences in some brain regions responsible for memory, intelligence and well-being compared to those who get the advised nine to 12 hours’ sleep.” According to the findings published online in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, “these differences were associated with more severe mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and impulsive behavior, in those who got too little sleep,” as well as “difficulties with memory, problem solving and decision.

Related Links:

— “Too Little Sleep May Harm Young Kids’ Brains “Sydney Murphy, HealthDay, August 3, 2022

Psychiatric News (8/3) reports, “The number of individuals prescribed buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic increased steadily after the federal government instituted policies that allowed for greater use of telehealth,” investigators concluded after using “data from the Veterans Health Administration…to compare trends in buprenorphine treatment before and after the COVID-19 policy changes were implemented in March 2020.” The study team “compared the number of patients receiving buprenorphine from March 2019 to February 2020 (before policy changes) with those receiving buprenorphine from March 2020 to February 2021 (after policy changes).” The findings were published online July 28 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Rapid Shift to Telehealth During Pandemic Helped Patients With OUD Access Buprenorphine, Psychiatric News, August 3, 2022

MedPage Today (8/3, DePeau-Wilson) reports, “Environmental risk factors may play a larger role than genetic factors in the development of psychotic experiences in adolescents,” investigators concluded. The study revealed that “among over 11,000 twin pairs, the relative contribution of genetic influences to cognitive disorganization was 47% in those with no exposure to environmental risk factors – such as bullying, dependent life events, cannabis use, tobacco use, or low birth weight – compared with 32% in those with these exposures.” The findings were published online Aug. 3 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The AP (8/2, Neergaard) reports research indicates that “even a simple exercise routine just might help older Americans with mild memory problems.” For the study, investigators “recruited about 300 sedentary older adults with…mild cognitive impairment or MCI.” Half of the participants “were assigned aerobic exercises and the rest stretching-and-balance moves that only modestly raised their heart rate.” The study revealed that after one “year, cognitive testing showed overall neither group had worsened,” and brain scans did not “show the shrinkage that accompanies worsening memory problems.”

Medscape (8/2, Brooks, Subscription Publication) also covers the study, mentioning that “the topline results were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.”

Related Links:

— “Even simple exercise may help aging brain, study hints “Lauran Neergaard, AP, August 2, 2022

The New York Times (8/2, Jacobs, Chiarito) reports that in June, the FDA “said that it would move toward slashing nicotine levels in cigarettes in an effort to reduce the health effects of an addiction that claims 480,000 lives a year.” The FDA “set next May as its timetable for introducing a fully developed proposal.” However, “many experts hope regulators will champion an immediate 95 percent reduction in nicotine levels – the amount federally funded studies have determined is most effective for helping smokers kick the habit.”

Related Links:

— “Breaking Nicotine’s Powerful Draw ” Andrew Jacobs, The New York Times, August 2, 2022

Psychiatric News (8/2) reports, “Switching stable” patients with schizophrenia “to a different antipsychotic as a maintenance strategy (for example, to reduce side effects) does not increase the risk of relapse,” investigators concluded in a 98-study systematic review and network meta-analysis, the findings of which were published in the August issue of The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Switching Antipsychotics During Maintenance Treatment May Not Increase Relapse Risk, Psychiatric News , August 2, 2022

HealthDay (8/2, Thompson) reports, “More young children may struggle with eating disorders than previously thought, a…study reveals.” The article adds, “Data on nearly 12,000 U.S. children between the ages of 9 and 10 that was collected as part of a federally funded study found that 5% had engaged in binge eating,” and “another 2.5% had taken measures to avoid gaining weight.” Also, the researchers “found that boys are just as at risk for disordered eating as girls, based on the results” published online in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Eating Disorders Can Begin as Early as Age 9 “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, August 2, 2022

Psychiatric News (8/1) reports, “Smoking throughout pregnancy appears to have lasting effects on the brain development of the offspring,” investigators concluded in a study that “focused on the MRI data from 2,704 children (average age, 10 years) and the information on tobacco use during pregnancy provided by children’s parents.” The study revealed that “continued exposure to maternal tobacco use in utero was associated with lower brain volume.” The findings were published online Aug. 1 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Smoking Throughout Pregnancy May Have Long-Term Effects on Offspring’s Brain Development, Psychiatric News , August 1, 2022

Healio (8/1, Herpen) reports that “cognitive reserve acted as a protective factor that preserved executive function in older adults with benefits mitigated by depression level, according to” researchers who “sought to examine the relationship between cognitive reserve, depression and executive function in older adults over a 10-year period.” The findings of the “longitudinal study” were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

Related Links:

— “Cognitive reserve protects executive function in older adults “Robert Herpen, Healio , August 1, 2022