Psychiatric News (2/8) reports, “On February 2, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued a final rule that permanently allows patients to begin treatment with buprenorphine via telehealth.” The new “rule also allows for increased flexibility related to methadone take-home doses, reducing the number of times patients must visit clinics.” APA had advocated for both provisions “to be included in the final rule, arguing that they would improve access to care while reducing stigma and disruptions to patients’ daily lives.” The new “rule goes into effect on April 2, with a compliance deadline of October 2.”

Related Links:

— “Federal Government Makes Telehealth Buprenorphine Prescribing Permanent, Psychiatric News, February 8, 2024

Healio (2/7, Welsh) reports, “Maternity leave duration has a strong positive association with breastfeeding duration for new mothers with disparities observed among different racial/ethnic groups, according to findings published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.” In the systematic review of 23 studies, “all non-review studies found a positive association between increased maternity leave and breastfeeding duration, and 95.2% of studies found a statistically significant relationship between the two variables.”

Related Links:

— “Parents with shorter maternity leave quit breastfeeding sooner,”Erin T. Welsh, Healio, February 7, 2024

Healio (2/7, Weldon) reports, “Around 20% of U.S. child passenger deaths in auto accidents from 1982 through 2020 involved an alcohol-impaired driver – typically the child’s own driver, according to a study” published in Pediatrics. Researchers found that “of the 7,944 child passengers who died in motor vehicle crashes from 2011 to 2020, 22% died in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver with a BAC of 0.08 g/dL or greater. In this subgroup, 64% died while riding in the same vehicle as an impaired driver. Additionally, 69% of impaired drivers survived the crash that killed their child passenger.”

Related Links:

— “1 in 5 child deaths in auto accidents involves alcohol-impaired driver,”Rose Weldon, Healio, February 7, 2024

Psychiatric News (2/7) reports, “Community-dwelling children with schizotypal personality disorder may benefit from dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, according to” research. Investigators found that “in the omega-3 only and omega-3 plus CBT groups, total schizotypy was reduced by 28.0% and 21.3%, respectively, by the end of treatment, and by 25.7% and 36.6%, respectively, at 3 months after treatment.” Meanwhile, “children in both groups showed greater improvement than children in the control group at 3 and 6 months, with the greatest improvements seen in children who reported higher omega-3 intake.” The findings on 290 children were published in Schizophrenia Bulletin.

Related Links:

— “Children With Schizotypal Personality Disorder May Benefit From Dietary Supplementation With Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Research Suggests, Psychiatric News, February 7, 2024

NBC News (2/6, Lovelace ) reports, “More than a year after the Food and Drug Administration announced a nationwide shortage of Adderall, doctors and patients say they are still struggling to get their hands on ADHD medications.” And “despite repeated promises from drugmakers that the supply crunches would be resolved soon, shortages persist and frustration is growing.” High demand, “coupled with drugmakers’ claim that they’re being restricted in how much they can make, has fueled a nationwide shortage, experts say.”

Related Links:

— “‘I’m fed up’: Frustrations grow as ADHD drug shortage continues,”Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, February 6, 2024

Psychiatric News (2/6) reports, “Black adults who have been exposed to gun violence at any point in their lives may have a higher risk of suicidal ideation, planning a suicide, or attempting a suicide, a study…has found.” More than 3,000 Black adults in the US were surveyed. Investigators found that “overall, 56% of participants reported being exposed to at least one type of gun violence, and 12% reported being exposed to at least three types of gun violence.” The researchers found that “participants who were exposed to one or two types of gun violence had 1.69 times the odds of reporting lifetime suicidal ideation, whereas those who were exposed to three or more types of gun violence had 2.27 times the odds of reporting lifetime suicidal ideation.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Exposure to Gun Violence Increases Risk of Suicidality in Black Adults, Psychiatric News, February 6, 2024

HCP Live (2/6, Derman) reports, “Lurasidone is linked to improving social functioning in patients with schizophrenia, a new study found.” The researchers “leveraged data from a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group 6-week JEWEL study which started in May 2016 and ended in November 2018, as well as a subsequent 12-week open-label extension study to evaluate longer-term changes.” The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Lurasidone Linked to Improving Social Functioning for Schizophrenia,”Chelsie Derman, HCP Live, February 6, 2024

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.”

Related Links:

— 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.”

Related Links:

— “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.

Related Links:

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