The Washington Post (10/12, Johnson) reports researchers on Thursday released “the most detailed and complex portrait yet of the human brain in a dazzling catalog of more than 3,000 types of brain cells that collectively give rise to emotion, thought, memory and disease.” The findings, developed under the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies initiative and published in 21 studies in Science and other journals, “are starting to open up the black box of the brain by providing an initial parts list for the most complex organ scientists have ever studied.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (10/12, Bankhead) reports, “Adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) had a significantly higher prevalence of anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) across all severities of the skin disorder,” investigators concluded in findings from “a large retrospective analysis” published online in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. The study “identified 625,083 adults with AD, who were matched to 2,678,888 adults without AD.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (10/12, Bascom) reports, “Alcohol and tobacco use were both notably associated with suicide attempts among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to” findings presented at the Osteopathic Medical Education Conference. Data derived “from the CDC’s Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey showed that 37.1% of high school students had poor mental health and 9.3% attempted suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Related Links:

— “Study findings ’emphasize the relationship’ between substance use and teen suicide,”Emma Bascom, Healio, October 12, 2023

Healio (10/12, Cooper) reports, “A study of more than 110,000 patients receiving psychotherapy found improved continuity of care and significantly fewer days between appointments after the switch to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to findings published online Oct. 11 in the journal Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association. The study revealed that “improvements in patient engagement were observed across all demographic subgroups and major mental health conditions,” thereby supporting “further use of virtual psychotherapy.”

Related Links:

— “Virtual psychotherapy improved patient engagement, cut time between visits during pandemic,”Justin Cooper, Healio, October 12, 2023

Healio (10/11, Monostra) reports, “The majority of adults with diabetes say their diabetes team has never discussed the topic of mental health with them, even though most self-reported feelings of emotional distress, according to” the findings of a survey study published online in the journal Diabetic Medicine. The 478-survey response study also revealed that “of a group of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, 69% had self-reported anxiety and 65% self-reported depression.”

Related Links:

— “Most adults with diabetes report emotional distress, but do not discuss it with care team,”Michael Monostra, Healio, October 11, 2023

CNN (10/11, Musa) reports, “The number of drug overdose deaths in the” US “is still increasing every month, according to new data” from the CDC, “but the pace appears to be slowing.” According to “new estimates from the” CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, “more than 112,000 people died from a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending in May, an increase of more than 2,700 from the previous year.” Meanwhile, “there were 112,024 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in May, compared with 109,261 in the 12-month period ending in May 2022, a 2.5% increase.”

Related Links:

— “US overdose deaths continue their rise, data shows, with ‘devastating impact’ on population,”Amanda Musa, CNN, October 11, 2023

The New York Times (10/11, Ives) reports California has banned “the use of ‘excited delirium’ as a cause of death, rejecting a term that prominent medical associations have said is rooted in racism and is often used to justify the deaths of people in police custody.” The American Psychiatric Association is among major medical groups that “have dismissed the term as pseudoscience.”

Related Links:

— “California Bans ‘Excited Delirium’ as a Cause of Death,”Mike Ives, The New York Times, October 11, 2023

HealthDay (10/11, Murez) reports, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about risks of using compounded versions of the drug ketamine, often taken for psychiatric disorders.” Such drugs “are not evaluated by the FDA for safety and effectiveness. They’re also not regulated like approved drugs, so they present a greater risk.” Compounded ketamine products are increasingly being used “for mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, PTSD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to the FDA.” However, in a statement, the FDA said, “Despite increased interest in the use of compounded ketamine, we are not aware of evidence to suggest that it is safer, is more effective, or works faster than medications that are FDA-approved for the treatment of certain psychiatric disorders.”

Related Links:

— “FDA Warns of Dangers of Compounded Ketamine for Psychiatric Use,”Cara Murez, HealthDay, October 11, 2023

ABC News (10/10, Cahan) reports, “In the face of widespread staffing shortages amid the ballooning demand, 988 centers all over the country are being forced to make…tough decisions for frequent callers, sources informed ABC News.” The article adds, “According to Vibrant Emotional Health, the national organization administering the new 988 hotline, crisis centers across the country are using callers’ names, numbers or even ‘the sound of their voice’ to potentially limit services.” However, “leading mental health professionals disagree that such an approach is likely to help patients.” Mark Olfson, a psychiatrist and former chairman of the scientific advisory committee for the American Psychiatric Association, said, “I am aware of no evidence that restricting crisis mental health services leads to positive outcomes.”

Related Links:

— “Amid nationwide mental health crisis, suicide prevention hotlines struggle with repeat callers,”Eli Cahan, ABC News, October 10, 2023

The AP (10/10, Nguyen) reports, “More Californians with untreated mental illness and addiction issues could be detained against their will and forced into treatment under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom” (D), “a move to help overhaul the state’s mental health system and address its growing homelessness crisis.” This “new law, which reforms the state’s conservatorship system, expands the definition of ‘gravely disabled’ to include people who are unable to provide themselves basic needs such as food and shelter due to an untreated mental illness or unhealthy drugs and alcohol use.” The law will go into “effect in 2024, but counties can postpone implementation until 2026.”

Related Links:

— “New California law aims to force people with mental illness or addiction to get help,”Trân Nguyễn, AP, October 10, 2023