The Washington Post (1/23, Johnson ) reports that for some patients with a variant of Alzheimer’s disease “called posterior cortical atrophy, the disease begins with problems affecting vision rather than memory. The unusual early symptoms mean that thousands of people may go years before receiving the correct diagnosis, experts said.” However, “that may change with the first large-scale international study of the condition, published Monday in the journal Lancet Neurology.”

The researchers “found that, on average, the syndrome begins affecting patients at age 59 – about five to six years earlier than most patients with the more common form of Alzheimer’s.” They “say that the variant may account for as many as 10 percent of all Alzheimer’s cases; that would put the number of Americans with the condition close to 700,000.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

CNN (1/3, Dillinger) reports the FDA “is evaluating reports of side effects such as hair loss and suicidal thoughts in people taking” weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy. The agency “is ‘evaluating the need for regulatory action’ after its FDA Adverse Event Reporting System or FAERS received reports of alopecia, or hair loss; aspiration, or accidentally breathing in things like food or liquid; and suicidal ideation in people using these medications.”

The article notes that “some research has linked GLP-1 agonists to serious digestive problems such as stomach paralysis, pancreatitis and bowel obstructions, although the risks of these events appear to be rare.”

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— “FDA looking into reports of hair loss, suicidal thoughts in people using popular drugs for diabetes and weight loss,” Katherine Dillinger, CNN, January 4, 2024

CNN (1/3, McPhillips ) reports, “People who have more interrupted sleep in their 30s and 40s are more than twice as likely to have memory and thinking problems a decade later, according to a…study.” Investigators found that “overall, people experiencing more sleep fragmentation, or with greater share of their sleeping hours spent moving, were more likely to receive poor cognitive scores on all of the tests more than a decade later.”

The study indicated that “of the 175 people with the most disrupted sleep, 44 had poor cognitive performance 10 years later, compared with 10 of the 176 people with the least disrupted sleep.” The findingswere published in Neurology.

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— “Sleep disruptions in 30s and 40s linked to cognitive decline a decade later, study finds,” Deidre McPhillips, CNN, January 4, 2024

Kaiser Health News (1/3, Peace , Prator) reports that media coverage of a national Adderall shortage “has focused primarily on the harms to people with ADHD,” however “for those with sleep disorders … the effects may be even more consequential.” That’s because “basic tasks – like driving – become dangerous or impossible without medication,” while “job and school performances are threatened by the onset of sudden sleep and sometimes even paralysis.”

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— “Patients with narcolepsy face a dual nightmare of medication shortages and stigma,” Lauren Peace and Jack Prator, Kaiser Health News, January 3, 2024

MedPage Today (1/3, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Unsupervised, at-home use of transcranial direct current stimulation was no better than a sham control for treating a major depressive episode, a randomized trial showed.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (1/2, Belluck) reports, “Tens of thousands of women who are not pregnant are ordering abortion pills just in case they might need them someday, especially in states where access is threatened, according to a study published on Tuesday.” The practice, which is known as advance provision, “has increased significantly since the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn the national right to abortion.” The findingswere published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The AP (1/2, Ungar) reports that researchers looked at requests for mifepristone and misoprostol “from people who weren’t pregnant and sought them through Aid Access, a European online telemedicine service that prescribes them for future and immediate use.” Notably, “requests were highest right after news leaked in May 2022 that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade – but before the formal announcement that June.”

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— “US women are stocking up on abortion pills, especially when there is news about restrictions,” Laura Ungar, Associated Press, January 2, 2024

Healio (1/2, Welsh) says, “Maternal cannabis use was associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including small for gestational age, preterm birth, stillbirth and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, linked to placental function, researchers reported.” The findingswere reported in JAMA.

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— “Maternal cannabis use linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes related to placental function,” , Healio, January 2, 2024

NPR (1/2, Dembosky) reports that 100,000 young adults or adolescents have a psychotic episode every year in the US, but “on average, it takes people a year and a half to get into meaningful treatment, if they ever do at all. About 80 to 90% of affected young people inch through the country’s fragmented mental health care system, many struggling to find a clinician with adequate training in psychosis.”

Additionally, “only 10 to 20% … find space in one of the holistic treatment programs recommended by the National Institute of Mental Health,” because “these programs rarely have enough slots available … and because health insurance companies typically refuse to cover the full cost of these programs.”

The article notes that “multiple agencies, including the National Institute of Mental Health, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the American Psychiatric Association, all recommend full-scope early psychosis care for treatment of a first psychotic episode.”

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— “It keeps people with schizophrenia in school and on the job. Why won’t insurance pay?,” April Dembosky, NPR, January 2, 2024

HealthDay (1/2, Mundell) reports, “Reduced income, unemployment and mental health issues are more common among people who live with a loved one diagnosed with depression, new research shows.” Investigators found that “folks living with a depressed person had, on average, $4,720 less in total annual income, than people who didn’t.” Additionally, “folks living with a person who was depressed…were more likely to be unemployed,” and had “lower scores on tests aimed at assessing mental and physical health.”

The findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. In a news release from the American Psychiatric Association, study lead author Paul Greenberg said, “These findings indicate that the impact of depressive symptoms may extend beyond the affected individuals, imposing a burden on other adults in their households.”

Related Links:

— “Living With a Depressed Loved One Can Take Mental, Financial Toll,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, January 2, 2024

HCP Live (1/2, Derman) reports, “Young adults and adolescents are the age groups most likely to discontinue ADHD medication within 5 years, according to a new study.” Meanwhile, “children had the lowest rates.” The findings were published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Young Adults, Adolescents Discontinue ADHD Medication More Than Children,” Chelsie Derman, HCPLive, January 2, 2024