In “To Your Health,” the Washington Post (5/3, Cha) reports officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now “urging parents of preschoolers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) to try behavior therapy first before trying” medications. In addition, the CDC is “calling on insurers to cover the treatments.” Currently, about 75 percent of children with AD/HD are receiving medication for treatment. CDC principal deputy director Anne Schuchat, MD, MPH, said in a call with reporters yesterday, “Until we know more, the recommendation is to first refer parents of children under six years of age who have AD/HD for training and behavior therapy.”

The CBS News (5/3, Marcus) website reports the CDC made its recommendations in a Vital Signs report released May 3. The recommendations echo those made by the American Academy of Pediatrics. That AAP recommends that “the first line of treatment for the youngest of children with AD/HD should be behavior therapy, even before medications are tried.”

Related Links:

— “CDC warns that Americans may be overmedicating youngest children with ADHD,” Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post, May 3, 2016.

The Los Angeles Times (5/2, Healy) reports in “Science Now” that a study indicated “normal-weight people who ate 25% less than they wanted for” two years appeared to be “happier and less stressed, slept better and had more robust sex drives,” compared to “healthy adults” who ate whatever they wanted during that same time frame. The findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “To feel better, eat less (yes, even if you’re not overweight),” Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2016.

HealthDay (5/2, Preidt) reports, “The more teens see alcohol brands on TV shows, the greater the chances they’ll choose those brands,” the findings of a 2,600-adolescent study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting suggest.

Related Links:

— “Does TV Influence Which Alcohol Teens Favor?,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 2, 2016.

MedPage Today (5/2, Fiore) reports the American Psychiatric Association has issued a new guideline recommending that “physicians…be judicious about their use of antipsychotics to treat agitation or psychosis in patients with dementia,” giving “a level 1B recommendation that these drugs should only be used if a dementia patient’s symptoms are severe, dangerous, or cause them significant distress.” In a statement, APA president Renee Binder, MD, said, “A decision should be made only after thorough assessment and review of potential benefits and harms of antipsychotic treatment as well as other possible treatment options.” The new guideline was published online in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “APA Urges Cautious Use of Antipsychotics in Dementia,” Kristina Fiore , MedPage Today, May 2, 2016.

In a 20,000-word article on its front page, the New York Times (5/1, A1, Kleinfield, Subscription Publication) chronicled the experience of Geri Taylor, 72, since her 2012 diagnosis of “mild cognitive impairment, a common precursor to Alzheimer’s disease.” The Times added that “as she crossed the pitted terrain of Alzheimer’s,” Taylor “would find surprises” both “disturbing” and “uplifting.”

Related Links:

— “,” N. R. Kleinfield, New York Times, May 1, 2016.