The New York Times (9/18, Belluck, Subscription Publication) reports on $45 million in Federal grants “to test an Alzheimer’s drug on healthy people at greatest risk for the most common form of the disease,” in addition to a number of prevention studies granted funding. National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis S. Collins said, “The worst thing we could do would be to just hunker down and hold off tackling very important problems. … Obviously, this is high-risk research, but goodness, the stakes are so high that we felt we had to go forward even in the face of the most difficult budget environment that anyone can remember in the N.I.H.” According to Laurie Ryan, program director for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials at the NIH’s National Institute on Aging, the plan is to approach Alzheimer’s using similar strategies used to treat chronic diseases; by looking “at people at risk, just like we do with people who have” chronic disease, researchers can see if early intervention can prevent or delay Alzheimer’s.

Related Links:

— “Test of Alzheimer’s Drug Gets Large Federal Grant, “Pam Belluck, The New York Times, September 18, 2013.

HealthDay (9/18, Preidt) reports that, according to the results of a report released Tuesday by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the “street drugs called ‘bath salts’ were linked to nearly 23,000 emergency department visits in the United States in 2011.” SAMHSA chief medical officer Elinore McCance-Katz, MD, stated in a news release, “Bath salts drugs can cause heart problems, high blood pressure, seizures, addiction, suicidal thoughts, psychosis and, in some cases, death,” particularly in combination with the “use of other drugs.”

Related Links:

— “‘Bath Salts’ Drugs Led to 23,000 ER Visits in One Year: U.S. Report, “Robert Preidt, , September 17, 2013.

Medscape (9/18, Brooks) reports that, according to a study published online Sept. 12 in the American Journal of Public Health, “social isolation is a risk factor for premature death that rivals more traditional mortality risk factors of smoking and” hypertension. Researchers arrived at that conclusion after analyzing “data on 16,849 adults participating in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) and the National Death Index,” then using “the Social Network Index (SNI) to measure social isolation.”

In a piece mentioning that alleged Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis was reporting auditory hallucinations, NBC News (9/18, Aleccia) reports on its website that “such hallucinations are the hallmark of psychiatric disorders; about 75 percent of those diagnosed with schizophrenia experience voices.” However, “many people with no disorder also report hearing voices – and they’re often neutral, even innocuous, said” Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, president of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Lieberman also went on to say that as further details come out about Alexis, “he was concerned that the shooting renews worries for people with mental illness and once again raises questions about how society treats disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Not a diagnosis: Voices in head more common than thought, “JoNel Aleccia, NBC News, September 17, 2013.

AFP (9/18) reports that research published in the BMJ suggests that the 2008 financial crisis led to an increase in suicides among men. Investigators looked at suicide data from 54 countries prior to and after the 2008 crisis. The researchers found that “among European men, there was an 11.7 percent rise in suicides” among those aged 15 to 24. The data indicated that “in the Americas, the biggest increase was among men aged 45-64, which saw a” 5.2 percent increase.

BBC News (9/18) reports that while it’s “possible other factors may” have led to the increase, “mental health charities say their own experience would back up the researchers’ theory.”

Related Links:

— “Male suicides rose after 2008 financial crash: study,AFP, September 18, 2013.

HealthDay (9/14, Preidt) reported that research published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology suggests that “teens who text about bad behaviors such as drug use or fighting are more likely to actually engage in those behaviors.” Researchers examined the text messages of more than 170 ninth-graders. Their behaviors were rated by their teachers, parents, and fellow students. The investigators “found a strong link between antisocial text messages and higher ratings of antisocial and aggressive behavior at the end of the school year.”

Related Links:

— “Teens’ Antisocial Texts May Foretell Bad Behavior, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 13, 2013.

Reuters (9/13, Seaman) reports that, according to a review published online Sept. 11 in The Cochrane Library, exercise may help modestly alleviate depressive symptoms. Researchers arrived at that conclusion after examining data from 35 studies.

MedPage Today (9/13, Bankhead) reports that “when compared with no treatment or control interventions, exercise was associated with a treatment effect of -0.62.” While the effect is modest, the study authors “recommended research aimed at identifying specific types of exercise that offer the greatest clinical benefit, as well as the number and duration of exercise sessions associated with the greatest benefit.”

Related Links:

— “Exercise may help alleviate depression: review, “Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, September 12, 2013.

Medwire (9/12, McDermid) reports that, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in the Journal of Affective Disorders, “the presence of residual depressive symptoms may result in patients with bipolar disorder [BD] being nonadherent to their medication.” The 582-patient study revealed that “residual depressive symptoms and drug side effects were the only two factors to remain associated with total Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) score after adjusting for multiple confounders and correcting for multiple testing.”

Related Links:

— “Depression highlighted as nonadherence risk in bipolar patients, “Eleanor McDermid, Medwire News, September 12, 2013.

Medscape (9/12, Cassels) reports that, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, “negative working conditions, including low job satisfaction, little control, and a lack of appreciation by employers, are responsible for a sizeable proportion of depression in middle-aged adults.” Researchers arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “the relationship between a large number of working conditions and depressive symptoms on the basis of four waves of data collection during a period of 15 years in 1889 US workers aged 25 years and older.”

HealthDay (9/12, Preidt) reports that, according to a study published online Sept. 11 in JAMA Psychiatry, “irritability and anger in people with major depression are associated with greater severity of depression and other problems.” After examining data on some 500 people followed for as long as three decades as part of a National Institute of Mental Health depression study, researchers also found that anger and irritability were tied to “poorer impulse control, higher rates of lifetime substance abuse and anxiety disorder, more antisocial personality disorders, reduced life satisfaction and a higher rate of bipolar disorder in relatives.”

Related Links:

— “Depression May Be Worse When Accompanied by Anger, Irritability, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 11, 2013.