The New York Times (9/1, Rabin) “Well” blog reports that a study conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Health found no evidence that omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidant supplements “stave off cognitive decline in older people.” Researchers recruited over 3,500 participants who were “randomly assigned…to take a lutein/zeaxanthin supplement, a supplement of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EHA), both or a placebo.”

Related Links:

— “Supplements Don’t Fight Cognitive Decline, N.I.H. Study Says,” Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, August 31, 2015.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (8/29, Boulton) reported that a study conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison “has added to the mounting evidence that growing up in severe poverty affects the way children’s brains develop, potentially putting them at a lifelong disadvantage.” The study, published recently in JAMA Pediatrics, “found that the parts of the brain tied to academic performance were 8% to 10% smaller for children who grow up in very poor households.” The study drew from 823 MRI scans “of 389 children, ages 4 to 22, from a National Institutes of Health study done to show normal brain development.”

Related Links:

— “Growing up in severe poverty affects brain size, UW-Madison study shows,” Guy Boulton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 29, 2015.

The AP (8/29, Cox) reported that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder are praising neuropsychologist George Lindenfeld’s Bio-Acoustical Utilization Device (BAUD), which is “approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a Class II biofeedback device.”

Related Links:

— “Veterans with PTSD praise audio-therapy results,” Associated Press via Chron, August 29, 2015.

HealthDay (8/29, Preidt) reported, “Women in the US military are no more likely than men to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research. For the study, researchers “included more than 2,300 pairs of women and men who were matched on similarities – including combat experience – and followed for an average of seven years.” Investigators found that by “the end of the study, 6.7 percent of women and 6.1 percent of men had developed PTSD, a difference that is not statistically significant.”

Related Links:

— “Women Soldiers No More Likely to Develop PTSD, Study Finds,” Robert readout, HealthDay, August 28, 2015.

Medscape (8/31, Harrison) reports that “updated findings from the Prolonging Remission in Depressed Elderly (PRIDE) study,” which involves “approximately 240 patients…173 of whom have completed” the first phase, “continue to support the use of right unilateral electrode placement and ultrabrief pulse stimuli as an optimal means of achieving a rapid response, and even remittance, within a week of delivering three courses of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in geriatric patients with major unipolar depression.” The study results were presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)