MedPage Today (7/22, Fiore) reports that Agent Orange exposure coupled with having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appears to be tied to “a significantly increased risk of dementia (hazard ratio 1.67, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.18),” according to research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after evaluating “VA electronic medical record data on 46,737 Vietnam veterans over age 55 who had at least one baseline visit and one follow-up visit, and who did not have dementia at baseline.”

Related Links:

— “Agent Orange Plus PTSD Equals Extra Dementia Risk,” Kristina Fiore , Medpage Today, July 21, 2015.

The CBS Evening News (7/21, story 8, 2:05, Rose) reported, “Scientists are trying to unlock the mysteries of Alzheimer’s Disease, including why it affects so many more women than men.” Now, a new study suggests that “older women with mild memory problems worsen about twice as rapidly as men.”

The Wall Street Journal (7/21, A3, Wang, Subscription Publication) reports that the study was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference and is to be published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. The findings were derived from a long-term nationwide study of 398 patients called the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, which is partly funded by the National Institute on Aging.

The New York Times (7/22, A16, Carey, Subscription Publication) reports that after “controlling for factors that influence memory and mental acuity, like age, education and genetic predisposition, the research team found that women’s scores slipped by an average of about two points a year, compared with one point for men.” In addition, researchers examined “a standard measure of life quality, rating how well people functioned socially: at home, at work and with family.” They found that “that, too, slipped faster for women than for men, at about the same rate.”

Related Links:

— “Women With Memory Impairment Deteriorate Faster Than Men, Alzheimer’s Study Shows,” Shirley S. Wang, Wall Street Journal, July 21, 2015.

The AP (7/18, Elliott, Riccardi) reported, “Experts say prisons are ill-equipped to treat the growing number of inmates with mental illnesses.” Unfortunately, “the incarceration of mentally ill inmates in jails and prisons has been a persistent national problem since the widespread closure of mental hospitals in the 1970s.” No “local community care system to handle the newly released” people with mental illnesses ever “materialized, and now they often end up behind bars.” While “the Constitution entitles them to basic medical treatment, said Dr. Renee Binder, president of the American Psychiatric Association…it’s often hard to meet that standard.” The AP added, “The APA and other groups are pushing for more programs to keep the mentally ill out of prison initially – be those special courts or local treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Holmes will join many other mentally ill inmates in prison,” Dan Elliot and Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press, July 17, 2015.

HealthDay (7/18, Preidt) reported that “talk therapy may help treat insomnia in people with physical or mental health problems.” Investigators looked at data from 37 studies that included approximately 2,200 individuals. Investigators found that “cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia reduced insomnia symptoms and sleep disturbances.” The data also indicated that “cognitive behavioral therapy was also associated with positive effects on co-existing psychiatric and medical conditions, but it showed the strongest benefit with psychiatric disorders.” The findings were published online in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Talk Therapy May Help Ease Insomnia, Even With Other Health Woes,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 17, 2015.

In an op-ed in the New York Times (7/18, SR5, Subscription Publication), Richard A. Friedman, MD, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, asserted, “Given the critically important value – and popularity – of therapy, psychotherapy research deserves a much larger share of research dollars than it currently receives.” Dr. Friedman pointed out that this year, “10 percent of the overall National Institute of Mental Health research funding has been allocated to clinical trials research, of which slightly more than half — a mere 5.4 percent of the whole research allotment — goes to psychotherapy clinical trials research.”

Related Links:

— “Psychiatry’s Identity Crisis,” Richard A. Friedman, New York Times, July 17, 2015.