HealthDay (12/16, Dotinga) reports that a study published online Dec. 15 in Radiology “finds brain ‘scarring’ in many members of the US military who suffered” blast-related “concussions during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” For the study, “834 service people who suffered traumatic brain injuries (mostly concussions) from 2009 to 2014 underwent MRI brain scans, as did 42 adults without head injuries.” Investigators “said they saw signs of brain scarring in 52 percent of injured patients, small areas of bleeding in seven percent and signs of pituitary gland abnormalities in 29 percent.”

Related Links:

— “Scans Show Many Injured U.S. Vets May Have Brain ‘Scarring’,” Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, December 15, 2015.

The Wall Street Journal (12/16, A9, Mickle, Subscription Publication) reports that new results from the Monitoring the Future study from the University of Michigan and backed by the National Institutes of Health showed that daily cigarette smoking among high school students has dropped more than 50 percent over the last five years. Notably, the results showed that e-cigarette and marijuana use are now outpacing cigarette smoking for the first time.

USA Today (12/16, Maycan) reports that cigarette smoking “among teens hit an all-time low, but their fascination with e-cigarettes remains strong.” In the last month, 16 percent of 10th graders “said they used an e-cigarette and 7% said they used a tobacco cigarette,” while 17 percent of seniors reported e-cigarette use and 14 percent reported smoking a cigarette.

The New York Times (12/16, Schwarz, Subscription Publication) reports that “many students appear to be transitioning to e-cigarettes, which are unregulated and can contain nicotine and other harmful products,” according to Dr. Nora D. Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which issued the report. In addition, for the first time, “the percentage of high school seniors who said they smoked marijuana daily (which remained steady at 6 percent) exceeded those who smoked traditional cigarettes daily (5.5 percent, a large drop from last year’s 6.7).”

Related Links:

— “Cigarette Smoking Down Among High School Students, Study Finds,” Tripp Mickle, Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2015.

In an editorial, the New York Times (12/16, A34, Subscription Publication) takes issue with the argument from opponents of expanded gun-control legislation that “instead of limiting access to guns, the country should focus on mental health problems,” arguing that “mental illness is not a factor in most violent acts.” The Times asserts that “blaming mental health problems for gun violence in America gives the public the false impression that most people with mental illness are dangerous.” While “effectively diagnosing and treating mental illness is a worthy goal in itself,” the Times concludes that addressing mental health “on its own will not solve the country’s gun violence problem.”

Related Links:

— “Don’t Blame Mental Illness for Gun Violence,” New York Times, December 15, 2015.

Kaiser Health News (12/16, Andrews) reports that even though mental health courts “have been in existence since the 1990s,” evidence is “still scanty on the courts’ effectiveness at addressing offenders’ mental health problems or discouraging offenders from relapsing into criminal behavior.” In addition, some experts believe that “offenders who are charged with minor crimes would be better off staying out of the criminal justice system and instead just getting treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Courts Are Popular But Effectiveness Is Still Unproven,” Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News, December 15, 2015.

HealthDay (12/16, Reinberg) reports, “Some commonly used antidepressants may increase certain patients’ risk of developing mania or bipolar disorder,” a study published online Dec. 15 in BMJ Open suggests. The “strongest” association was “for depressed patients prescribed Effexor (venlafaxine) or antidepressants called serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),” researchers found after examining “the medical records of more than 21,000 adults treated for major depression in London between 2006 and 2013.”

Related Links:

— “Certain Antidepressants May Be Linked to Bipolar Disorder: Study,” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, December 15, 2015.

On the front of its Personal Journal section, the Wall Street Journal (12/15, D1, Reddy, Subscription Publication) reports on a study published last month in JAMA Internal Medicine, which found that patients whose doctors spent a lot of time looking at a computer screen during examinations rated their care lower.

Related Links:

— “Is Your Doctor Getting Too Much Screen Time?,” Sumathi Reddi, Wall Street Journal, December 14, 2015.

HealthDay (12/15, Haelle) reports that adolescents who abuse prescription pain medications may be “more likely to have sex or to participate in risky sexual behaviors,” a study published online Dec. 14 in Pediatrics suggests. After reviewing “surveys about risky behaviors completed by more than 29,000 high school students,” researchers found that such “risky behaviors included having sex with multiple partners, using drugs or alcohol before having sex or having sex without the use of a condom.”

Related Links:

— “Abuse of Prescription Painkillers, Stimulants Ups Sexual Risks for Teens,” Tara Haelle, HealthDay, December 14, 2015.

The AP (12/15, Thompson) reports that Rep. Mike Thompson (R-CA), who chairs the House Democrats’ Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, conducted a hearing in Sacramento, CA on Dec. 14 at which “a gun club owner and a gun dealer” testified that “closing loopholes in federal background checks and increasing mental health help would reduce gun violence.” Thompson, who is the “co-author of a House bill requiring nationwide background checks at gun shows and for those who buy guns from individuals online,” was accused by “gun rights proponents…of politicizing the issue.”

Related Links:

— “Mental health care would curb violence, some at hearing say,” Don Thompson, Associated Press, December 14, 2015.

ABC World News (12/14, story 13, 0:25, Muir) reported that new research suggests that “women taking antidepressants in the last six months of pregnancy are 87 percent more likely to have a child later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder [ASD].”

On NBC Nightly News (12/14, story 7, 2:05, Holt), correspondent Anne Thompson explained that according to the study, “the most commonly prescribed antidepressants” called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), “if taken during the second and third trimesters, are” tied to a greater risk for ASD.

USA Today (12/15, Szabo) reports that the study, which was published online Dec. 14 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, reveals that no “increase in autism rates” was seen “in women who took medication for depression in the first three months of pregnancy.”

The Washington Post (12/15, Cha) “To Your Health” blog reports that for the study, investigators analyzed “health records in Quebec from January 1999 and December 2009.” During that time frame, “145,456 full-term singleton infants were born, and 1,054 or 0.72 percent were subsequently diagnosed with autism.”

Related Links:

— “Taking antidepressants during pregnancy linked to increased risk of autism,” Liz Szabo, USA Today, December 14, 2015.

HealthDay (12/12, Dallas) reported that returning “to school could help older people stave off dementia.” The study of 350 older adults without dementia revealed that “taking college courses may boost brain functions, such as memory, decision-making and planning.” The findings were published in the journal Neuropsychology.

Related Links:

— “Seniors Who Head Back to School May Reduce Dementia Risk,” Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, December 11, 2015.