Reuters (9/25, Joelving) reports that in new draft recommendations released Monday, the US Preventive Services Task Force said that healthcare professionals should inquire into their patient’s drinking habits. The guidelines were released along with a review of past analyses that suggested counseling could help curb excessive drinking in individuals who are not full-blown alcoholics. Reuters quotes Dr. Daniel Jonas a lead researcher in the review as saying, “The really good interventions incorporate self-help materials, they incorporate an action plan made by the doctor and the patient — they’re not just a prescription.” The review was published online Sept. 25 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

CQ (9/25, Norman, Subscription Publication) reports that in its recommendations, the USPSTF urges that primary care practitioners screen all adults for alcohol misuse. According to the article, “the recommendation covers young adults over 18 and pregnant women but not teens ages 12 to 17, task force officials said.” It notes that “there’s insufficient evidence about whether it’s effective to do screening in that younger age group, said the task force, an independent panel of experts that reviews scientific evidence on health issues.” The task force “said alcohol misuse is a major public health problem and can play a role in many conditions, including liver disease, high blood pressure, certain cancers and depression,” CQ reports.

The New York Times (9/25, A14, Tavernise, Subscription Publication) reports that “after reviewing recent research, the panel concluded that primary care doctors and nurses could help patients cut down on drinking by offering a brief counseling session or a series of sessions.” The Times describes that “doctors would determine whether counseling was needed by asking a simple set of questions about alcohol use during the patient’s primary care visit.” Additionally, the article notes that “the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism considers more than 14 drinks a week excessive for men and more than seven drinks a week excessive for women.”

Related Links:

— “Screen all adults for alcohol misuse: task force, “Frederik Joelving, Reuters, September 24, 2012.

MedWire (9/25) reports that “the prevalence of attempted suicide is high among inpatients with bipolar disorder (BD), with nearly half of patients having attempted to take their own lives at least once,” according to a study published online Sept. 21 in the journal Bipolar Disorders. “In a study of 206 BD patients (54% women), aged a mean of 42 years, who were admitted to hospital with mania, a mixed episode, or depression between 2002 and 2009, the team found that 45.1% had a lifetime history of suicide attempts.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide attempts common in bipolar disorder inpatients, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, September 25, 2012.

On the front of its Personal Journal section, the Wall Street Journal (9/25, D1, Beck, Subscription Publication) reported that according to experts, autism appears to have both genetic and environmental causes. For example, a study of 192 pairs of twins with an autism spectrum disorder revealed that even when one identical twin has autism, the other twin has a 70% chance of also having autism. Among fraternal twins, the likelihood of the second twin being diagnosed with an ASD is about 35%. Both the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange and the Autism Sequencing Consortium are working with DNA samples to identify genes related to autism. Other factors that may contribute to autism are advanced paternal age, being born prematurely, and poor maternal nutrition during pregnancy.

Related Links:

— “Progress in Identifying the Genetic Roots of Autism, “Melinda Beck, The Wall Street Journal, September 24, 2012.

American Medical News (9/24, Moyer) reported, “An updated national suicide prevention strategy (pdf) calls on physicians to screen patients at increased risk of taking their own lives and to educate family members about ways to support such individuals.” People at risk for suicide “include those with an illness that impairs their physical functions or causes chronic pain, members of the Armed Forces and veterans.” These “recommendations are part of the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention issued Sept. 10 by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of the Surgeon General and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide prevention strategy calls for screening those most at risk, “Christine S. Moyer, American Medical News, September 21, 2012.

The Los Angeles Times (9/23, Roan) reported that healthcare experts and scientists “are pushing for broad recognition of addiction as a disease and more medical approaches to therapy,” rather than a reliance on self-help programs and “medication-free” treatments. The government also “has announced the creation of new resources to help guide patients, families and doctors toward science-based addiction treatment.” Gil Kerlikowske, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and President Obama’s top advisor on drug policy, has sought to reframe addiction, noting it “is not a moral failing on the part of the individual. It’s a chronic disease of the brain that can be treated.” At the National Institute on Drug Abuse, chief Nora Volkow, MD, said there is more emphasis on vaccines for cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and nicotine, that will block the brain’s response to those drugs. The Times provides much more detail on developments in the field.

Related Links:

— “Treatment for addicts is starting to change, “Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times, September 22, 2012.

In the first of a series of reports called “The Last Battle”, the Fayetteville (NC) Observer (9/23, Barnes) noted, “The rising suicide rate and the increasing number of service members and veterans dealing with post-combat stress or substance abuse show that the military’s mental health programs are not getting the job done.” Veterans Affairs, meanwhile, has a claims backlog that in part stems from the many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are filing for VA benefits. In order to help decrease the backlog, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta “met in May to reaffirm their commitment to a fully operational health records system that would allow the VA and DOD to share medical records of soldiers and veterans electronically.” Some lawmakers, however, feel that project is not coming along quickly enough.

In a related story, the Fayetteville (NC) Observer (9/24, Ramsey) says VA “has promised to eliminate its entire backlog — more than 820,000 claims nationwide — by 2015.” The agency “has hired more than 3,000 claims processors and bought a $300 million computer system. But the wait times in North Carolina — and in the other areas across the country that process the most claims — are getting worse.” Patrick Bellon, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, thinks VA should change its claims system so that follows the IRS model, in that VA would grant claims and then do audits of the claims granted. As it is now, says Bellon, vets are waiting for money from VA and “while they’re waiting for the money, their financial situations are deteriorating.”

Panetta Says VA And DoD Are Devoting More Funding To PTSD Research. As part of its “The Last Battle” series of reports, theFayetteville (NC) Observer (9/23) interviewed Panetta, who said, “We just had another $100 million in joint funding by DoD and VA to try to develop some consortia to look at diagnosis and treatment” of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in service members and veterans. Panetta added, “We’ve really been pushing on trying to open up access to quality mental and behavioral health care, trying to expand access, so we’ve got some 9,000 new psychiatrists and psychologists, social workers and nurses.” The Observer, however, took note of VA’s “huge” claims backlog. In response, Panetta said preventing suicides by service members and veterans requires a “fundamental and deep commitment on the part of everybody to address this issue.”

VA Mental Healthcare System Urged To Partner With Private Sector. In a Wall Street Journal (9/24, Subscription Publication) op-ed, attorney Robert M. Morgenthau criticizes the care that 63-year-old Vietnam veteran Peter Wielunski got from Veterans Affairs before committing suicide in May. Morgenthau praises VA for trying to improve its mental healthcare system by increasing the system’s budget and by hiring more mental healthcare employees. He argues, however, that VA can only properly care for suicidal veterans by partnering with private-sector hospitals and universities.

Related Links:

— “The Last Battle: Is the Army doing enough to help soldiers suffering from mental health problems?, “Greg Barnes, Fayobserver, September 23, 2012.

On its front page, the New York Times (9/21, A1, Borden, Subscription Publication) reports that despite the National Football League’s rules and restrictions on uniforms and accessories, the league leaves it up to players to decide what kind of helmet to wear. “Even as head injuries have become a major concern, the NFL has neither mandated nor officially recommended the helmet models that have tested as the top performers in protecting against collisions believed to be linked to concussions.” Players choose helmets based on comfort, habit, or appearance. “As a consequence, despite lawsuits related to head injuries and the sport’s ever-increasing speed and violence, some players are using helmets that appear to place them at greater risk.”

Related Links:

— “Despite Risks, N.F.L. Leaves Helmet Choices in Players’ Hands, “Sam Borden, The New York Times, September 20, 2012.

Bloomberg News (9/21, Ostrow) reports, “Patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, and their caregivers say the illness leaves them feeling isolated and apart from family, friends and life’s typical connections,” according to the World Alzheimer Report 2010 (pdf), released yesterday by Alzheimer’s Disease International, an organization based in London, UK. “About a quarter of people with dementia hide or conceal their diagnosis because of the stigma surrounding the disease and 40 percent say they are excluded from everyday life,” the report found. Currently, approximately “36 million people worldwide are living with dementia and the numbers will more than triple to 115 million by 2050, according to the report.”

Loneliness May Put Seniors At Risk For Health Problems. The Houston Chronicle (9/21, Morgan) reports, “According to the Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 30 percent of senior citizens live alone, the majority being women. Loneliness” may increase the risk for certain health problems in seniors. For some seniors, “Meals on Wheels delivers nutrition and socialization, said Janice Sparks, manager of the Aging and Disability Resource Center in Houston, a branch of the Harris County Area Agency on Aging.” And, “keeping in mind eating is often a social activity, the agency also offers a ‘congregate nutrition program,’ which is a network of congregate and home-delivered meal providers throughout Harris County.”

Related Links:

— “Alzheimer’s Leaves Patients, Caregivers Feeling Isolated, “Nicole Ostrow, Bloomberg, September 20, 2012.

The New York Times (9/21, Parker-Pope) “Well” blog notes that although previously rejected, the “notion that food can be addictive” is beginning to gain ground among experts. This spring, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius “said that for some, obesity is ‘an addiction like smoking'”; and National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow, MD, “gave a lecture…making the case that food and drug addictions have much in common.” Additionally, researchers at Princeton University and the University of Florida “have found that sugar-binging rats show signs of opiate-like withdrawal when their sugar is taken away”; and scientists in Italy and California “reported that the digestive systems of rats on a fatty liquid diet began producing endocannabinoids, chemicals similar to those produced by marijuana use.”

Related Links:

— “Craving an Ice-Cream Fix,”Tara Parker Pope, The New York Times, September 20, 2012.

The Huffington Post (9/21, Wood) reports, “After more than a decade of war, the US military cannot precisely diagnose concussion-related brain injuries resulting from the bomb blasts that are the most common cause of combat casualties.” Earlier this week, however, Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department “announced a new $100 million research effort to find better ways to diagnose and treat” mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a “form of combat trauma with many of the same symptoms as mTBI.”

The Warner Robins (GA) Patriot (9/21, Rector) says Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department have “announced…that more than $100 million will be invested in research to improve diagnosis and treatment” of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a Pentagon statement, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson said the research will “bring together leading scientists and researchers devoted to the health and welfare of our nation’s service members and veterans.”

Related Links:

— “Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment, Diagnosis Continues To Elude Military Doctors, “David Wood, Huffington Post, September 20, 2012.