In The Hill (5/8) “Contributors” blog, Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas, wrote, “Fewer than half of Alzheimer’s patients are told they have the disease in the early stages, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2015 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report.” But, “despite the fear this disease generates,” Chapman argued that “it is crucial for patients and caregivers to be informed of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis at the earliest possible time so they can make the most of the cognitive strengths that remain and prepare for the future.” Chapman also urged passage of the Health Outcomes, Planning and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer’s Act, which would provide “comprehensive care planning services for Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.”

Related Links:

— “Instilling hope in fight against Alzheimer’s,” Sandra Bond Chapman,, The Hill, May 8, 2015.

In a New York Times (5/10, BU7, Goldfarb, Subscription Publication) op-ed, management consultant Robert Goldfarb said that there is an underlying and unfair bias when employers are interviewing veterans of an Afghanistan or Iraq deployment because of concerns the person may have PTSD and “could possibly pose a threat to customers and other employees.” Goldfarb pointed out that even though many companies actively recruit veterans, some employers are “apprehensive about possible mental and behavioral issues” that younger veterans might have. Goldfarb wrote that a recent VA study indicates that veterans from 18 to 34 are in a “vulnerable population” because their unemployment rate since 2005 has been “20 percent higher than that of nonveterans of the same age.”

Related Links:

— “Veterans Battle for Jobs on the Home Front,” Robert W. Goldfarb, New York Times, May 9, 2015.

In the Washington Post (5/8) “The Volokh Conspiracy” blog, psychiatrist Sally Satel, MD, and psychology Scott O. Lilienfeld, PhD, write that attorneys for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted last month on multiple charges for the role he played in the Boston Marathon bombings, plan to call as a witness a neuroscientist “to show that Tsarnaev, who was 19 when he committed the crime, possessed an ‘immature teen brain,’” thereby “citing a well-established neuroscientific finding that the killer’s brain, like all teenage brains, was still in a formative stage.” In 2005, in a “landmark” case before the US Supreme Court, Roper v. Simmons, “in a joint amicus brief, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and other organizations explained that the adolescent reward system is more sensitive than that of an adult.” Drs. Satel and Lilienfeld observe, “Numerous studies reveal that claiming ‘my client’s brain made him do it’ weakens ascriptions of responsibility in a way that ‘his lousy childhood made him do it’ does not.”

Related Links:

— “The ‘immature teen brain’ defense and the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial,”Dr. Sally Satel, The Washington Post, May 7, 2015.

Medscape (5/8, Lowry) reports that a report released by the Child Mind Institute in New York City reveals that “more than 17 million” US youngsters “have or have had a diagnosable mental illness, yet most are not treated.” However, “the Child Mind Institute’s Children’s Mental Health Report also highlights the effective treatments that are available, the importance of early intervention, and the costs of not recognizing and addressing childhood mental illness.” Medscape points out that the “Child Mind Institute has no affiliation with the pharmaceutical industry.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The Hill (5/8, Ferris) reports that HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell “said Thursday that the nation is coming closer to eliminating the ‘shame and secrecy’ around mental illnesses, in part because of ObamaCare.” Burwell said that new coverage rules under the ACA are providing 60 million people with access to behavioral health services, including free preventive services such as screenings for alcohol abuse and depression. These benefits are especially important for young people, the HHS chief said in a speech marking Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. “When we think about mental illnesses, we often focus on getting adults the help they need,” Burwell said, adding, “But many conditions surface long before those affected reach adulthood.”

Related Links:

— “HHS chief touts legacy of ObamaCare on mental health,”Sarah Ferris, The Hill, May 7, 2015.