HealthDay (2/18, Preidt) reports that research published in Molecular Psychiatry suggests that “long-term use of methamphetamine causes more brain damage in teens than adults.” Investigators “conducted MRI brain scans of 51 teen and 54 adult chronic methamphetamine abusers.” They also scanned the brains of 60 teenagers and 60 adults who did not use methamphetamine. The researchers found that the “teen methamphetamine users had greater and more widespread changes in their brains” than the adult methamphetamine users, with the changes being particularly “evident in the frontal cortex.”

Related Links:

— “Methamphetamine May be More Harmful to Teen Brains,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, February 17, 2015.

HealthDay (2/17, Preidt) reported that research published in Health Psychology suggests that for individuals “age 70 or older who struggle with a chronic illness, loneliness is often a complicating factor.” Investigators “looked at 121 older adults, mostly in their 70s.” The researchers “found that feelings of loneliness rose after the onset of chronic health problems – even among those who had been with the same partner for 50 years or more.”

Related Links:

— “Chronic Illness, Loneliness May Go Hand-in-Hand for Some Elderly,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, February 16, 2015.

The Washington Post (2/18, Ingraham) “Wonkblog” reports that a study published online Feb. 16 in The Lancet Psychiatry suggests that “frequent use of high-potency weed may be linked to an increased risk of having a psychotic episode.” The study also indicates that “milder strains of marijuana, even when used heavily, don’t appear to carry any increased risk of psychosis.” Researchers arrived at this conclusion after comparing data on “410 South London patients sent to the hospital for a first-episode psychotic incident” and “370 control individuals living in the same area.”

The Fox News (2/17) website reports that individuals “who used the potent pot every day had a fivefold increased risk of developing psychosis,” but “the use of hash, a milder form of marijuana, wasn’t linked to a heightened risk of psychosis.” Fox News explained that “hash has a higher concentration of cannabidiol (CBD) than more potent forms, which have a higher percentage of marijuana’s psychotropic ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).” The effects of THC are believed to be “offset” by CBD.

Related Links:

— “Potent weed is worse for you than the mild stuff — and it’s hard to find anything else these days,” Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post, February 17, 2015.

Medscape (2/17, Davenport) reports that a study published online Feb. 3 in the journal Diabetes Care suggests that youngsters “with type 1 diabetes have an increased risk for psychiatric disorders, particularly early on after diagnosis, that appears to be associated with having the disease, rather than a common etiology.” For the study, researchers “included 17,122 children with type 1 diabetes and 18,847 of their healthy siblings and followed them to their 18th birthday.” Investigators found an “increased risk…for mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance misuse, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, behavioral disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability, at respective hazard ratios of 2.0, 1.6, 2.2, 2.6, 1.5, 2.2, 1.7, and 1.8.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (2/15, Kuznar) reported that research suggests that “exercise may curb depression in adults with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions.” The “finding comes from a systematic review with meta-analysis” published online in Arthritis Research and Therapy.

Related Links:

— “Exercise Helps Battle Depression in Rheumatic Diseases,” Wayne Kuznar, MedPage Today, February 14, 2015.