Reuters (5/10) reports that when compared to members of the general population, former NFL players appear not to be at an increased risk for suicide, research suggests. CDC researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining the suicide rate for some 3,500 retired NFL members. The study was published online May 6 in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Ex-NFL players not at greater risk of suicide than general population: study,” Joseph Ax, Reuters, May 10, 2016.

Reuters (5/10, Rapaport) reports that medication and psychotherapy may help adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) deal with their symptoms better and improve scholastically, the findings of a 17-study review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest. Nevertheless, the authors of the review concluded that the treatment needs of teens differ markedly from those of children who are younger. For example, certain extended-release forms of stimulant medications may be better options for teens.

Related Links:

— “Teens with ADHD have special treatment needs,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, May 10, 2016.

HealthDay (5/10, Norton) reports that in the study, participants were randomized “to either 12 weeks of meditation and other yoga practices, or 12 weeks of memory enhancement training – which taught strategies for improving forgetfulness.” While “both groups did a little better on tests of verbal memory,” participants in the “meditation group showed a bigger change, on average, in tests of visual-spatial memory – which is needed for navigating while walking or driving, or trying to recall a location.” In addition, participants in the meditation group “showed fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety.”

Related Links:

— “Meditation May Sharpen Memory,” Amy Norton, HealthDay, May 10, 2016.

US News & World Report (5/9, Leonard) reports that on Monday, the Obama Administration announced a challenge called “A Bill You Can Understand,” which seeks to provide simpler medical bills. HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell made the announcement during the Health Datapalooza conference. The article says, “An overarching goal of the contest is to come up with a better bill design that will help patients understand what they owe, what their health insurance plan covers and whether the bills they receive are accurate and complete.”

Related Links:

— “Obama Administration: Design a Better Medical Bill,” Kimberly Leonard, US News & World Report, May , 2016.

The San Diego Union-Tribune (5/9, Fikes) reports that a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that insurers and patients “could safely save many billions of dollars annually by swapping out a more expensive drug for a less expensive generic in the same class of drugs.” The researchers suggest going “beyond the common practice of substituting a generic drug for a brand-name drug with the identical active ingredient” because “in many instances, a generic with a different chemical makeup, prescribed for the same disease, could work just as well.”

STAT (5/9, Silverman) reports that consumers paid “nearly one-third of those additional costs” from prescribing brand-name drugs over generics “through out-of-pocket payments.” Researchers found that “most of the extra spending was for widely prescribed medicines, including drugs used to treat high cholesterol; schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; depression; acid reflux; and high blood pressure.”

Related Links:

— “,” Bradley J. Fikes, San Diego Union-Tribune, May 9, 2016.