Category Archives: In The News

Analysis: Specialized Family Treatment Courts Can Save Opioid Victims’ Lives.

The New York Times (9/26, Schonbek, Subscription Publication) reports on an innovative program called Family Treatment Court in Chautauqua County, New York. The program provides personalized treatment programs tailored to each participant’s needs, including caseworkers and a presiding judge who tracks their progress as they complete drug and alcohol treatment, keeps them out of the criminal justice system, and helps keep their children out of the foster care system. There are 370 such centers across the country. The article profiles a recovering young woman, Samantha Coleman, who has completed treatment and was able to keep custody of her two daughters through the program.

Related Links:

— “Courts That Save Opioid Victims’ Family Life,” Amelia Schonbek, New York Times, September 26, 2017.

Postpartum Depression After First Birth More Likely After Subsequent Pregnancies

HealthDay (9/26, Thompson) reports, “Postpartum depression occurs 27 to 46 times more frequently during subsequent pregnancies for mothers who experienced it after their first birth,” researchers found after analyzing “data from Danish national registries on more than 457,000 women who delivered their first child between 1996 and 2013 and had no prior medical history of depression.” According to HealthDay, “postpartum depression generally takes hold of a new mother within days of delivery, although sometimes depression develops during pregnancy, according to the US National Institute of Mental Health.” The findings were published online Sept. 26 in PLOS Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Postpartum Depression Likely to Recur With Future Pregnancies
,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, September 26, 2017.

FDA Cracks Down On Websites Illegally Selling Medications

The Washington Post (9/25, McGinley) reports that the Food and Drug Administration “targeted more than 500 websites it said were illegally selling unapproved versions of prescription medications, including opioids, antibiotics and injectable epinephrine products.” The agency’s crackdown was a part of “a global operation called Pangea X, led by the international police organization Interpol.” The effort “involved police, customs and regulatory officials from 123 countries and resulted in the seizure of millions of doses of dietary supplements, pain reduction [drugs], epilepsy medication, erectile dysfunction [drugs] and antipsychotic medication, Interpol said.” In a statement, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said, “The ease with which consumers can purchase opioid products online is especially concerning to me, given the immense public health crisis of addiction facing our country.”

Reuters (9/25, Clarke) reports that the FDA issued warning letters and seized “nearly 100 website domain names, including buyhydrocodoneonline.com and buyklonopin.com.” Gottlieb “said the agency has tripled its international mail inspectors and doubled its cybercrime and port of entry agents” as “part of a broader plan the FDA is developing to intercept illegal drugs.”

Additional coverage is provided by MedPage Today (9/25, Fiore).

Related Links:

— “FDA targets hundreds of ‘rogue’ websites illegally selling opioids and other prescription drugs,” Laurie McGinley, Washington Post, September 25, 2017.

Depression May Be Common, But Overlooked, In Patients With Cancer

HealthDay (9/25, Preidt) reports that research suggests “depression is common, though often overlooked, in people with cancer.” Investigators “assessed depression in 400 patients treated for cancer between 2013 and 2016.” The study indicated that “depression was found in 40 percent of the patients, and 3 out of 4 of those patients were never diagnosed or treated for it.” The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Related Links:

— “Cancer Patients May Have Undiagnosed Depression,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 25, 2017.

Lack Of Paid Sick Leave May Cause Mental Distress For Ill Workers

HealthDay (9/22, Preidt) reported, “Lack of paid sick leave can cause mental distress for workers when they’re ill because they’re afraid of losing wages or their jobs,” researchers concluded after studying “nearly 18,000 workers, ages 18-64,” 40 percent of which had no paid sick leave. The findings were published online in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Workers Without Paid Sick Leave Suffer Ill Effects,” Robert Preidt, , September 22, 2017.

Asthma Medication Montelukast May Be Associated With Adverse Psychiatric Effects

HealthDay (9/21, Gordon) reports, “The asthma medication Singulair (montelukast) appears linked to neuropsychiatric side effects, such as depression, aggression, nightmares and headaches,” researchers concluded after analyzing data from the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Center Lareb database and the World Health Organization’s VigiBase. The findings were published online Sept. 20 in Pharmacology Research and Perspectives. Medscape(9/20, Hackethal) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Asthma Drug Tied to Nightmares, Depression,” Serena Gordon, HalthDay, September 21, 2017.

Women With History Of PTSD May Have Increased Risk Of Developing SLE

MedPage Today (9/20, Walsh) reports, “Women with a history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have an increased risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE],” researchers found. What’s more, “a history of any trauma exposure, regardless of PTSD-specific symptoms, was associated with a significantly higher risk of incident lupus,” the study of some 50,242 women revealed. The findings were published online in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Related Links:

— “PTSD Tied to New-Onset Lupus in Women,” Nancy Walsh,, MedPage Today, September 20, 2017.

New York City Public Defender Describes Personal Experience Of His Psychotic Break

In an opinion piece in the New York Times (9/20, McDermott, Subscription Publication), attorney Zack McDermott, a 26-year old public defender in New York City, describes his personal experience of his psychotic break while he was working at the Legal Aid Society of New York. He discusses his behaviors, feelings, and support system as he returned to work after embarrassing himself at a happy hour event.

McDermott, who was diagnosed with bipolar I disorder, points out that 40 percent of inmates at Rikers Island suffer from mental illness, and says that “jails have become our de facto mental health facilities.”

Related Links:

— “The ‘Madman’ Is Back in the Building,” Zack Mcdermott, New York Times, September 20, 2017.

FDA Issues Warning On Dangers Of Mixing Opioid Addiction Medications, Other Treatments

The AP (9/20, Johnson) reports the FDA on Wednesday issued a new set of warnings on the dangers of combining prescription treatments for opioid addiction with anti-anxiety medicines and other medications. According to the FDA, mixing the drugs leads to slowed or difficulties with breathing and impaired cognitive function. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb wrote in a statement accompanying the warning, “Careful management of the patient and coordination of care is recommended” over denying opioid addicts the use of treatment with methadone or buprenorphine.

Related Links:

— “FDA WARNS ON MIXING OPIOID ADDICTION TREATMENTS, OTHER MEDS,” LINDA A. JOHNSON, AP, September 20, 2017.

Football Participation Before Age 12 Linked With Future Mood And Behavior Problems

The Washington Post (9/19, Maese) reports that “children who play football before age 12” later experience “mood and behavior problems” at “significantly higher” rates than those who begin playing football when older, according to a new studypublished in Nature’s Translational Psychiatry. Those who began their football participation before turning 12 had twice the rate of “problems with behavior regulation, apathy, and executive functioning” and “were three times more likely…to experience symptoms of depression,” the Post says the study found.

The New York Times (9/19, Belson, Subscription Publication) says the research is likely to contribute “to the debate over when, or even if, children should be allowed to begin playing tackle football.” The Times adds that the study “was based on a sample of 214 former players” averaging 51 years of age, and 68 of the athletes played in the NFL.

USA Today (9/19, Perez) reports that the study’s lead author, postdoctoral fellow Michael Alosco of the Boston University School of Medicine, said in a statement, “This study adds to growing research suggesting that incurring repeated head impacts through tackle football before the age of 12 can lead to a greater risk for short- and long-term neurological consequences.”

The New York Daily News (9/19, Red) says the study concluded, “Youth exposure to football may have long-term neurobehavioral consequences. Additional research studies, especially large cohort longitudinal studies, are needed to better understand the potential long-term clinical implications of youth American football to inform policy and safety decision-making.”

STAT (9/19, Tedeschi) quotes one of the study’s co-authors, Robert Stern, as saying the research has “tons of limitations” and lacks sufficient evidence to prove football was the cause of the athletes’ behavioral problems. Nonetheless, Stern said the research was enough to raise the question, “Does it make sense for my kid to be hitting his head several hundred times per season?”

TIME (9/19, Gregory) says the study’s release comes amid nationwide reports of declining youth football participation due to safety concerns.

Related Links:

— “Study shows playing football before age 12 can lead to mood and behavior issues,” Rick Maese, Washington Post, September 19, 2017.