ABC News (6/3, Nissen) reported, “Amid the promising new data and enthusiasm of ketamine therapy, many of these clinics are now closing their doors due to financial concerns – leaving some patients unsure of their treatment options.” Physicians “who run ketamine clinics say that cash-only ketamine clinics face unique economic challenges.” While “patients pay cash, it may not always be enough to cover the extensive staffing and facility costs required to deliver high-quality care.”

Related Links:

— “Closures of ketamine clinics leave some patients scrambling for treatment,” Dr. Nicholas Nissen, ABC News, June 3, 2023

CNN (6/1, McPhillips) reports, “Millions of adults in the United States are not taking their medications as prescribed because of costs, according to a new report from the” CDC. CNN adds, “Most adults between the ages of 18 and 64 took at least one prescription medication in 2021.” However, “more than 8% of them – about 9.2 million people – said they tried to save money by skipping doses, taking less than prescribed or delaying a prescription fill, according to the CDC data.”

Related Links:

— “Drug costs lead millions in the US to not take medications as prescribed, according to CDC ” Deidre McPhillips, CNN, June 1, 2023

The New York Times (6/1, Ghorayshi) reports, “Studies of L.G.B.T.Q. people show they have high rates of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, factors that greatly increase the risk of suicide.” However, “because most death investigators do not collect data on sexuality or gender identity, no one knows how many gay and transgender people die by suicide each year in the” US. This “information vacuum makes it difficult to tailor suicide prevention efforts to meet the needs of the people most at risk, and to measure how well the programs work, researchers said.”

Related Links:

— “No One Knows How Many L.G.B.T.Q. Americans Die by Suicide “Azeen Ghorayshi, The New York Times, June 1, 2023

The Washington Post (5/31, Reynolds) reports, “Exercise can sharpen your thinking and keep your brain healthy as you age – even if you don’t start exercising until later in life,” investigators concluded in a study involving functional magnetic resonance imaging that “recruited 33 volunteers in their 70s and 80s, about half of whom were experiencing mild cognitive impairment, a loss of thinking skills that often precedes Alzheimer’s disease.” The study revealed that “previously sedentary 70- and 80-year-olds who started exercising, including some who had already experienced some cognitive decline, showed improvement in their brain function after workouts.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports.

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (5/31) reports, “Individuals who experience a myocardial infarction (heart attack) appear to have a faster cognitive decline over time than those who do not experience a myocardial infarction,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from six U.S. prospective cohort studies conducted from 1971 to 2019” that encompassed some 30,465 adults. The findings were published online May 30 in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Heart Attack Linked to Faster Cognitive Decline Over Time, Study Suggests, Psychiatric News, May 31, 2023

MedPage Today (5/31, George) reports, “An index of gliosis was linked with persistent neurocognitive symptoms after mild or moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection, a small case-control study showed.” Data show that when “compared with healthy controls, PET measures of translocator protein total distribution volume, a marker of gliosis,” were “elevated in people with ongoing cognitive and depressive symptoms after COVID-19.” The findings were published online May 31 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (5/31, Walter) reports, “Patients with both systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are more likely to also have an issue with several substances including alcohol, tobacco, opioids, and cannabis,” investigators concluded in a study that “identified 743 patients with SLE and 37,623 patients with MDD.” In this particular “group, there were 317 patients with SLE that had comorbid MDD.” The findings were presented during the 2023 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Substance Use Disorder Rates Higher in Patients With Comorbid SLE, Major Depressive Disorder “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, May 31, 2023

MedPage Today (5/31, Short) reports, “People who quit smoking for at least 15 weeks may see improvements in their mental health,” investigators concluded in the findings of an 8,411-patient, “secondary analysis of the EAGLES trial.” Research revealed that “in adults with and without a psychiatric history, those who quit smoking for that duration saw reductions in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale…scores at six months compared with active smokers.” The findings were published online May 31 in JAMA Network Open.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (5/30, Herpen) reports, “Adults with binge-eating disorder who were given acute naltrexone/bupropion performed better with similar maintenance treatment compared with placebo,” investigators concluded in a 66-adult study that in which participants were “randomized 1:1 to receive either naltrexone/bupropion (n = 32) or placebo (n = 34) for 16 weeks.” The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Naltrexone/bupropion maintenance therapy for binge-eating disorder superior to placebo “Robert Herpen, Healio, May 30, 2023

The New York Times (5/26, A1, Weiland) reported, “Hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans have lost Medicaid coverage in recent weeks as part of a sprawling unwinding of a pandemic-era policy that prohibited states from removing people from the program.” Early data indicate “many people lost coverage for procedural reasons, such as when Medicaid recipients did not return paperwork to verify their eligibility or could not be located. The large number of terminations on procedural grounds suggests that many people may be losing their coverage even though they are still qualified for it.” In addition, “many of those who have been dropped have been children.”

Related Links:

— “Hundreds of Thousands Have Lost Medicaid Coverage Since Pandemic Protections Expired “Noah Weiland, The New York Times, May 26, 2023