On its “Morning Edition” program and in its “Shots” blog, NPR (1/5, Hamilton) reported on “growing evidence that a lack of sleep can leave the brain vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease.” Brain scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University are “about to launch a study of people that should clarify the link between sleep problems and Alzheimer’s disease in humans.” Evidence in mice suggests that in “animals that don’t get enough solid shut-eye,” toxins related to Alzheimer’s “can build up and damage the brain.”

Related Links:

— “Lack Of Deep Sleep May Set The Stage For Alzheimer’s,” Jon Hamilton, National Public Radio, January 4, 2016.

On its front page, the Wall Street Journal (1/1, A1, Walker, Subscription Publication) reported that US prescription medication spending rose 12.2% last year, about five times faster than the growth rate in 2013, according to data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. CMS also announced that in 2014, out-of-pocket costs for prescription medicines rose by 2.7%. The rise in medication prices has led some middle-class patients to either forgo treatment, deplete savings, or take on new debt.

Related Links:

— “Patients Struggle With High Drug Prices,” Joseph Walker, Wall Street Journal, December 31, 2015.

The Washington Post (1/1, Ingraham) “Wonkblog” reported that in 2015, “at least 265 children under the age of 18 picked up a firearm and accidentally shot themselves or someone else with it.” This figure was compiled by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group. Many of the shootings appear to happen when children find “an unsecured gun” in the home. Access to firearms may also result in suicides in young people. A study published 2004 in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that child access prevention laws “prevented 333 teen suicides between 1989 and 2001.”

Related Links:

— “At least 265 people were accidentally shot by kids this year,” Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post, December 31, 2015.

The Washington Times (1/1, Shastry) reported that the “death toll estimate” of 22 veteran suicides every day, a figure derived from a “2012 Department of Veterans Affairs study,” is “fueling efforts by the Obama administration and lawmakers on Capitol Hill to address the plight of struggling veterans.” Some psychiatrists, however, believe that “22 might be a conservative number.” Meanwhile, the VA is working with the CDC to compile “a national death index to get a real head count of all veteran deaths since 1979, including suicides.” This would provide a clearer picture than current data which are “based on partial information from state data and extrapolations.”

Related Links:

— “Veteran suicide estimate of 22 per day sparks debate, spurs lawmakers to action,” Anjali Shastry, Washington Times, December 31, 2015.

According to the New York Times (12/31, Bakalar) “Well” blog, a review published online Dec. 22 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology suggests that psychotherapy may be “effective in easing the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome…even after therapy has ended.” After examining “data from 41 clinical trials that included 1,183 people assigned to psychotherapy and 1,107 controls,” investigators found that one year “after the end of treatment, 75 percent of the treatment group had greater symptom relief than the average member of the control group, although the benefits were modest.”

Related Links:

— “Psychotherapy May Have Lasting Benefits for Irritable Bowel Syndrome,” Nikolas Bakalar, New York Times, December 30, 2015.