MedPage Today (9/3, Monaco ) reports, “Two new studies published in JAMA Internal Medicine do not support a previously reported association between GLP-1 receptor agonists and a signal for suicidal ideation.” In one “analysis of nearly 300,000 new users of a GLP-1 agonist or SGLT2 inhibitor in Sweden and Denmark, primarily for diabetes, rates of suicide death over 2.5 years were not significantly different between groups, reaching 0.23 and 0.18 events per 1,000 person-years, respectively.” In the second study, researchers “pooled data from several of the STEP trials that supported semaglutide’s (Wegovy) weight-loss indication.” The “analysis showed that in STEP 1, 2, and 3, depression scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were lower at study end for patients on a 2.4-mg dose of semaglutide versus placebo recipients.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (9/3) reports “cannabis use disorder and frequent cannabis use are linked to greater absenteeism at work, a study” found. Study “participants who used cannabis in the past month had a mean 1.47 days of missed work because of illness or injury, compared with 0.95 days for those who never used cannabis.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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— “Cannabis Use Linked to Absenteeism at Work, Psychiatric News, September 3, 2024

The New York Times (9/1, Silver-Greenberg , Thomas) reported “Acadia Healthcare is one of America’s largest chains of psychiatric hospitals,” and “since the pandemic exacerbated a national mental health crisis, the company’s revenue has soared.” However, “a New York Times investigation found that some of that success was built on a disturbing practice: Acadia has lured patients into its facilities and held them against their will, even when detaining them was not medically necessary.” According to records, “in at least 12 of the 19 states where Acadia operates psychiatric hospitals, dozens of patients, employees and police officers have alerted the authorities that the company was detaining people in ways that violated the law.” In a number of “cases, judges have intervened to force Acadia to release patients.”

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— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (8/30) reported, “A systematic analysis of brain imaging data from nearly 500 individuals suggests that a prevailing neurological hypothesis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – theorizing that people with ASD have poorer neural connections in certain brain regions relative to those without ASD – may not be accurate.” The researchers said, “It is important to note that we do not conclude that amygdala [connectivity] is generally typical in autism. Instead, we conclude that the evidence for atypical [connectivity] of the amygdala in autism is weak at best, and unreliable.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

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— “Study Uncovers No Strong Evidence That Autism Is Linked With Poor Amygdala Connectivity, Psychiatric News, August 30, 2024

Pharmacy Times (8/29, Halpern) reports, “Essential trials supporting the approvals of FDA breakthrough therapy-designated drugs often used surrogate markers as primary end points – even when not approved through the accelerated approval pathway – and often lacked post-marketing studies to confirm a drug’s clinical benefit, according to the results of a study.” These discoveries “could lead to uncertainties and confusion for both clinicians and patients surrounding the use of breakthrough therapy-designated drugs and suggest that the requiring of post-marketing studies – regardless of approval pathway – could heighten certainty that key stakeholders have in the expected clinical benefit.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Frequent Use of Surrogate Markers Could Create Uncertainty for Breakthrough-Designated Drugs,”Luke Halpern, Pharmacy Times , August 29, 2024

Psychiatric News (8/29) reports, “Researchers have identified and characterized a set of neurons that specifically regulate the pain-relieving effects of opioids and not their euphoric effects, according to a study.” After employing “multiple neuroscience and computational techniques to track and manipulate neuronal activity in mice that had received shots of morphine,” investigators observed “that pain relief could be controlled by an ensemble of neurons located in a region of the brainstem called the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM).” The findings were published in Science.

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— “Researchers Identify Neurons That Regulate Opioid Analgesia Independent of Euphoria, Psychiatric News, August 29, 2024

CNN (8/29, Hassan ) reports, “The use of cannabis and hallucinogens ‘stayed at historically high levels’ among both younger and middle-age adults in the US in 2023, according to the latest survey…conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan since 1975 and funded by the National Institutes of Health.” Researchers observed that “about 2 in 5 adults (42%) ages 19 to 30 reported using cannabis in the previous year, with about 10% of that group saying they used cannabis nearly every day.” Additionally, “more women ages 19 to 30 reported cannabis use than men in the same age group” for the first time.

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— “Cannabis and hallucinogen use remain at ‘historically high levels’ among young and middle-age adults, survey finds,”Carma Hassan, CNN, August 29, 2024

Reuters (8/28, Aboulenein, Niasse) reports, “More than 1 million people in the U.S. will save over $1,000 a year beginning in 2025, when an annual $2,000 cap on prescription drug out-of-pocket costs kicks in, the leading lobbying group for older Americans said on Wednesday.” As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the cap’s prescription drug component, called Part D, “provides coverage for around 56 million people.”

The Hill (8/28, O’Connell-Domenech ) reports, “Between 3 and 4 million Medicare Part D enrollees are expected to benefit from the out-of-pocket cap every year between 2025 and 2029,” while “about 40% of Medicare drug plan enrollees – or roughly 1.4 million people – are expected to reach the new out-of-pocket cap between 2025 and 2029.” The report was published by AARP.

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— “Biden cap on drug costs will save US seniors over $1,000 a year, study finds,”Ahmed Aboulenein and Amina Niasse, Reuters, August 28, 2024

HealthDay (8/28, Mundell ) reports, “Diabetes can age the brain by up to four years, a new study based on MRI scans shows.” However, researchers also observed that “healthy lifestyle changes could help prevent that neurological aging.” The findings were published in Diabetes Care.

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— “Diabetes Can Age Your Brain, But Lifestyle Change Can Reverse That, HealthDay, August 28, 2024

Psychiatric News (8/28) reports, “Mindfulness-based interventions at schools can help students improve their thinking, resilience, emotional regulation and awareness, and overall mental health, according to a literature review.” In order “to be included in the analysis, the intervention had to have mindfulness as its primary focus and include at least two components (for instance, a combination of breathing awareness and awareness of bodily sensations).” The findings were published in Psychiatric Services.

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— “School-Based Mindfulness Interventions Show Positive Mental Health Benefits for Students, Psychiatric News, August 28, 2024