The Washington Post (1/15, Nutt) reports in “Health & Science” that mental health advocates “are divided over whether” gun control “proposals to ease the sharing of information with the FBI’s background-check system breach patient rights.” Two proposals in particular are causing concerns. The first “involves a new rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that makes it clear that health agencies and medical facilities can report the names of certain people without violating privacy laws.” The second is a White House push “to get the Social Security Administration to share with the FBI the names of mentally ill beneficiaries who do not manage their own affairs.” Some advocates claim such measures would “unfairly target” people with mental illnesses.

Related Links:

— “Are the mentally ill being unfairly targeted by the FBI’s gun list?,” Amy Ellis Nutt, Washington Post, January 14, 2016.

HealthDay (1/14, Preidt) reports, “Men with high levels of uric acid in their blood may be less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease,” a study published online Jan. 13 in Neurology suggests. After comparing “400 people in ongoing studies who developed Parkinson’s disease and more than 1,200 people in the same studies” who did not, researchers found that men with the highest urate levels “were nearly 40 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those with the lowest levels.”

Related Links:

— “High Uric-Acid Levels, Lower Risk of Parkinson’s?,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, January 13, 2016.

Reuters (1/14, Rapaport) reports that a meta-analysis revealed the use of the antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat) early in pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of giving birth to babies with congenital malformations. The findings were published online in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Related Links:

— “Paroxetine in early pregnancy once again linked to birth defects,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, January 13, 2016.

In a nearly 1,700-word article, National Journal (1/14, Askarinam, Subscription Publication) reports that about “forty percent of youth who needed mental health care between 2011-12 didn’t receive the necessary treatment, according to the Children’s Defense Fund’s 2014 State of America’s Children report.” That percentage is even higher among minorities and children “living in poverty.” Now, a new US Federal education law called the Every Student Succeeds Act may change that situation. The law “includes funding for schools to invest in the mental and behavioral health of their students,” authorizing “grants to the tune of $1.6 billion.”

Related Links:

— “Schools in Poor Areas Have More Students with Mental Health Needs,” Leah Askarinam, National Journal, January 13, 2016.

The New York Times (1/13, A11, Tavernise, Subscription Publication) reports that a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 12 to 5 to recommend approval of “a new way of treating opioid addicts, using a slender rod implanted into the arm that delivers medicine for months at a time.” The device, “about the size of a small matchstick,” administers daily doses of buprenorphine for periods of six months.

USA Today (1/13, Szabo) reports that the device “has been shown to ease withdrawal symptoms, decrease cravings and cut the risk of relapse.”

Related Links:

— “Implant for Opioid Addicts Urged for Federal Approval,” Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times, January12 , 2016.