McClatchy (1/23, Wise, Subscription Publication) reports in continuing coverage that a measure aimed at reducing veteran suicides is “on the verge of final passage” now that its leading critic, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has left the Senate. Coburn blocked the measure in December “citing cost concerns,” but supporters “say extra funds aren’t necessary to consolidate and improve the Department of Veterans Affairs’ suicide prevention programs,” and they “expect the bill to get another shot at final passage in the Senate in the coming days.”

Related Links:

— “Bill to prevent vets’ suicides raises questions about funding,” Lindsay Wise, McClatchy, January 23, 2015.

The New York Times (1/22, A14, Carey, Subscription Publication) reports that research (1/22) published online Jan. 21 in Nature suggests that “the surge of emotion that makes memories of embarrassment, triumph and disappointment so vivid can also reach back in time, strengthening recall of seemingly mundane things that happened just beforehand and that, in retrospect, are relevant.”

NBC News (1/22, Fox) reports on its website that “the findings…suggest there could be a good way to improve peoples’ memories – perhaps people who are beginning to forget things, like early Alzheimer’s patients, says” Lila Davachi, “who oversaw the experiments.”

Fox News (1/22) reports on its website that the investigators “agreed that the study’s results prove the memory system is highly adaptive and more complex than previously thought.”

Related Links:

— “How the Brain Stores Trivial Memories, Just in Case,” Benedict Carey, New York Times, January 21, 2015.

The Congressional Quarterly (1/22, O’Brien, Subscription Publication) reports that yesterday, by a vote of 15 to 0, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved HR 203, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, a measure that “would require annual third-party evaluations of Veterans Affairs Department mental health and suicide-prevention programs and promote collaboration between the VA and non-profit mental health organizations to stem the epidemic of veteran suicides.” The proposed legislation, which is “named for Clay Hunt, a Marine veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and committed suicide in 2011 at age 28,” would also “create a pilot program to repay the loans of some psychiatrists who agree to serve in the Veterans Health Administration.”

Related Links:

— Congressional Quarterly (requires login and subscription)

The Philadelphia Inquirer (1/21, Burling) reports that in a paper published in the Jan. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, bioethicists from the University of Pennsylvania make the argument “for the return of the mental asylum.” In the article, called “Improving Long-term Psychiatric Care, Bring Back the Asylum,” the bioethicists argue that the US “has too few inpatient beds for people with serious mental illnesses.” For that reason, some people with severe mental illnesses “are winding up homeless or in prison, nursing homes, and hospital emergency departments.” The authors of the paper use the “original meaning” of the word asylum, that is, “a place of safety, sanctuary, and healing, or at least dignified healing for people who are very sick.”

Related Links:

— “Penn ethicists call for a return of the mental asylum
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/mental-health/20150121_Penn_ethicists_call_for_a_return_of_the_insane_asylum.html#lxwcHSF1eu1q0pSR.99,” Stacey Burling, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 21, 2015.

The Portland (ME) Press Herald (1/18, Lawlor) reported that “a program started at Maine Medical Center…has become a national model for early detection and treatment of mental illness.” Called the Portland Identification and Early Referral (PIER) program, the program “has gained a foothold in several states – including California – and as it expands it has attracted national media attention.”

The program detects the earliest symptoms of serious mental illnesses and treats them before problems become severe. In Maine alone, “symptoms turning into a ‘full-blown psychotic diagnosis’ fell 26 percent in the Portland area over a six-year period in the 2000s, but rose 8 percent in other parts of the state, where the PIER program was not in place, according to a study published in October in Psychiatric Services scholarly journal,” a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Maine treatment for mental illness serves as national model,” Joe Lawlor, Portland Press Herald, January 18, 2015.

The Hill (1/20, Ferris) reports a study by the National Institutes of Health has found that a “‘substantial percentage’ of people who drink alcohol regularly also take medications that could pose dangerous health risks.” The study says approximately 42 percent of drinkers reported taking medications while they drink that are “known to interact with alcohol” and “nearly 80 percent of people over the age of 65 reported taking medications while drinking.” Dr. George Koob, who director of “NIH’s program on alcohol abuse” states that that “Combining alcohol with medications often carries the potential for serious health risks.”

Related Links:

— “4 in 10 drinkers mix with medication, NIH study finds,” Sarah Ferris, The Hill, January 19, 2015.

TIME (1/18, Frizell) reported that research published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research suggests that “sleep-deprived teenagers are more likely than their peers to develop drinking problems later in life.”

The Los Angeles Times (1/18, Morin) “Science Now” blog reports that investigators analyzed “data contained in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a survey of 6,504 students in grades 7 through 12.” The researchers found that “during the first two years of the survey, adolescents who had sleep difficulties once a week, every day or almost every day in the last 12 months were about 47% more likely to have alcohol-related interpersonal problems, 47% more likely to engage in binge drinking and 80% more likely to engage in regretted sexual activities.”

Related Links:

— “Study: Teens Who Get Less Sleep More Vulnerable to Drinking Problems,” Sam Frizell, Time, January 17, 2015.

USA Today (1/15, Zoroya) reports Johns Hopkins scientists “studying the brains of young veterans who died long after war shed light on a growing theory” that the “damage caused by bomb blasts” is “unique enough to be its own disease.” The study “reveal brain lesions different than those that occur in sports, car crashes or drug overdoses.” Co-author Vassilis Koliatsos, said, “We saw a pattern that we had not seen before.”

Related Links:

— “Bomb-induced brain injury may be its own disease,” Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, January 15, 2015.

The Washington Times (1/16, Klimas) reports veterans groups “warned Thursday that the Choice Card program…is not a long-term fix for the VA’s poor services” and “told lawmakers to boost the department’s budget” to allow the hiring of additional staff and acquiring of “a new scheduling system to prevent another waiting list scandal.” Four “of the top veterans service organizations” released a report indicating that the VA needs an additional $2 billion in 2015 to meet demand. Carl Blake, of Paralyzed Veterans of America, said, “We don’t believe sufficient resources have been devoted to the VA health care system.”

Related Links:

— “Veterans advocates push for more funding for VA,” Jacqueline Klimas, Washington Times, January 15, 2015.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1/16, Twedt) reports that the US Supreme Court next week “will hear oral arguments on an Idaho case that could carry implications for” healthcare entities that serve Medicaid beneficiaries. The case centers on whether healthcare entities have a right to sue a state for not adequately reimbursing them. The article explains that five nonprofit health entities filed a lawsuit in 2009 against the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare after the state froze Medicaid payment rates in 2006. In 2011, “a US district judge ordered the state to increase its reimbursement rates, a ruling upheld on appeal last April.”

Related Links:

— “Supreme Court to weigh hospitals’ right to higher Medicaid reimbursement,” Steve Twedt, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 16, 2015.