The Los Angeles Times (5/12, Netburn) “Science Now” blog reports that a new study published Monday in the Annals of Family Medicine found that 54 percent of people “who said they restricted their drug use to Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday admitted to using drugs on other days of the week as well, when questioned again in six months.” The study looked at 483 patients at Boston Medical Center who had admitting to using drugs in the past month when they came for regular medical care. According to Prof. Judith Bernstein, the study’s lead author, the message of the study for physicians is that “drug use is not static, so drug use is something you might want to monitor on a regular basis.”

Related Links:

— “Weekend-only drug use frequently slips into weekday drug use, study says,” Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, May 11, 2015.

In The Hill (5/8) “Contributors” blog, Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas, wrote, “Fewer than half of Alzheimer’s patients are told they have the disease in the early stages, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2015 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report.” But, “despite the fear this disease generates,” Chapman argued that “it is crucial for patients and caregivers to be informed of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis at the earliest possible time so they can make the most of the cognitive strengths that remain and prepare for the future.” Chapman also urged passage of the Health Outcomes, Planning and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer’s Act, which would provide “comprehensive care planning services for Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.”

Related Links:

— “Instilling hope in fight against Alzheimer’s,” Sandra Bond Chapman,, The Hill, May 8, 2015.

In a New York Times (5/10, BU7, Goldfarb, Subscription Publication) op-ed, management consultant Robert Goldfarb said that there is an underlying and unfair bias when employers are interviewing veterans of an Afghanistan or Iraq deployment because of concerns the person may have PTSD and “could possibly pose a threat to customers and other employees.” Goldfarb pointed out that even though many companies actively recruit veterans, some employers are “apprehensive about possible mental and behavioral issues” that younger veterans might have. Goldfarb wrote that a recent VA study indicates that veterans from 18 to 34 are in a “vulnerable population” because their unemployment rate since 2005 has been “20 percent higher than that of nonveterans of the same age.”

Related Links:

— “Veterans Battle for Jobs on the Home Front,” Robert W. Goldfarb, New York Times, May 9, 2015.

In the Washington Post (5/8) “The Volokh Conspiracy” blog, psychiatrist Sally Satel, MD, and psychology Scott O. Lilienfeld, PhD, write that attorneys for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted last month on multiple charges for the role he played in the Boston Marathon bombings, plan to call as a witness a neuroscientist “to show that Tsarnaev, who was 19 when he committed the crime, possessed an ‘immature teen brain,’” thereby “citing a well-established neuroscientific finding that the killer’s brain, like all teenage brains, was still in a formative stage.” In 2005, in a “landmark” case before the US Supreme Court, Roper v. Simmons, “in a joint amicus brief, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and other organizations explained that the adolescent reward system is more sensitive than that of an adult.” Drs. Satel and Lilienfeld observe, “Numerous studies reveal that claiming ‘my client’s brain made him do it’ weakens ascriptions of responsibility in a way that ‘his lousy childhood made him do it’ does not.”

Related Links:

— “The ‘immature teen brain’ defense and the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial,”Dr. Sally Satel, The Washington Post, May 7, 2015.

Medscape (5/8, Lowry) reports that a report released by the Child Mind Institute in New York City reveals that “more than 17 million” US youngsters “have or have had a diagnosable mental illness, yet most are not treated.” However, “the Child Mind Institute’s Children’s Mental Health Report also highlights the effective treatments that are available, the importance of early intervention, and the costs of not recognizing and addressing childhood mental illness.” Medscape points out that the “Child Mind Institute has no affiliation with the pharmaceutical industry.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The Hill (5/8, Ferris) reports that HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell “said Thursday that the nation is coming closer to eliminating the ‘shame and secrecy’ around mental illnesses, in part because of ObamaCare.” Burwell said that new coverage rules under the ACA are providing 60 million people with access to behavioral health services, including free preventive services such as screenings for alcohol abuse and depression. These benefits are especially important for young people, the HHS chief said in a speech marking Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. “When we think about mental illnesses, we often focus on getting adults the help they need,” Burwell said, adding, “But many conditions surface long before those affected reach adulthood.”

Related Links:

— “HHS chief touts legacy of ObamaCare on mental health,”Sarah Ferris, The Hill, May 7, 2015.

The Los Angeles Times (5/7, Healy) “Science Now” blog reports that research published in Neurology suggests that “healthful eating is among the best ways to protect your aging brain against slippage.” However, “a diet that skimps on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fish and includes lots of fried foods, red meat and alcohol is highly likely to pave a road to cognitive ruin.”

CNN (5/7, Ansari) reports that investigators “monitored the eating habits of 27,860 men and women across 40 countries.” Study “participants were tested for their thinking and memory skills, at the start of the study, then again after two and five years.” The data indicated “that participants with the healthiest diets were 24% less likely to experience cognitive decline compared to those with the least healthy diets.”

Related Links:

— “Healthful eating is smart way to sustain brain power, study finds,”Melissa Healey, Los Angeles Times, May 6, 2015.

The AP (5/7, Stobbe) reports that a research letter published May 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that bisexual and gay children “are more likely to be bullied as they’re growing up – even at an early age.” Researchers found that “many of the nearly 4,300 students surveyed said they were bullied, especially at younger ages,” but 13 percent of the 630 bisexual and gay youngsters reported being bullied “on a weekly basis,” compared to just eight percent of the other children.

Related Links:

— “Study: Gay, Bisexual Kids Bullied More, Even at Early Age,”Mike Stobbe, AP, May 6, 2015.

BBC News (5/7, Bloch) reports on the stress experienced by pilots in the wake of the Germanwings crash, featuring a 36-year veteran pilot named John who said he “just found it impossible to go to work. I felt very close to tears, as I had done on various occasions at the end of shifts, without really understanding what was happening.” John describes the difficult days that involve early mornings, long days, and often multiple flights each day. However, Andrew Vincent, the director of Nova Vida Recovery in Portugal, said pilots are often unwilling to divulge their experiences with “depression or stress” because “of the fear of losing the job.”

Related Links:

— “Airline pilots ‘buckling under unacceptable pressures’,”Sarah Bloch, BBC News, May 7, 2015.

Reuters (5/5, Doyle) reports that the majority of concussions suffered by high school and college football student-athletes occur during football practices, not at the games themselves, according to a study published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

HealthDay (5/5, Reinberg) reports that after studying “data on more than 20,000 young football players across the” US, researchers found that “more than 57 percent of concussed high school and college players were injured at practice, not games.” The NPR (5/5, Shute) “Shots” blog also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Most football concussions happen at practice,” Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, May 4, 2015.