In the New York Times (1/8) “Well” blog, psychiatrist Richard A. Friedman, MD, wrote, “Because some patients” with depression “respond better to psychotherapy than medication — and vice versa — or prefer one type of treatment over another, we need to learn much more about how various types of psychotherapy compare with medications clinically as well as at the level of the brain.”

At the moment, however, “we don’t have a clue, in part because of the current research funding priorities from the National Institutes of Mental Health, which strongly favor brain science over psychosocial treatments.” Nevertheless, “we owe it to our patients to try to answer” such “important questions.”

Related Links:

— “To Treat Depression, Drugs or Therapy?,” Richard A. Friedman, M.D., New York Times, January 8, 2015.

Reuters (1/10, Moloney) reports on the state of mental healthcare in Haiti five years after a devastating earthquake that killed 200,000. As it was before the Jan. 12, 2010 quake, the country still has no mental health system. There are only 10 psychiatrists in the impoverished Caribbean nation to serve a population of some 10 million, and most people with serious mental illnesses are not receiving any mental healthcare whatsoever. Because so many Haitians believe that mental illness is a form of demonic possession, they turn to voodoo priests for treatment.

Related Links:

— “Voodoo priests, doctors on frontline of Haiti’s mental healthcare,” Anastasia Moloney, Reuters, January 9, 2015.

The Baltimore Sun (1/10, Mirabella) reported that IBM’s Watson computer system is being used by US Department of Veterans Affairs physicians “to help…treat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.” Recently, the VA “launched a two-year pilot program to study new ways of searching electronic medical records and medical literature.” The pilot program, “which will rely on simulations but use actual patient records, is intended to evaluate how the IBM technology can speed up clinical decisions.”

Related Links:

— “IBM’s cognitive computer Watson could use skills to help treat veterans with PTSD,” Lorraine Mirabella, The Baltimore Sun, January 12, 2015.

The Hill (1/9, Matishak) reported that legislation to help prevent suicides among veterans “will likely reach the House floor next week, far sooner than lawmakers had predicted.” The bill, which is titled the “Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act,” sailed through the House Veterans Affairs Committee after being blocked by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) at the end of the previous Congressional session.

Related Links:

— “Veteran suicide bill gets fast lane to House floor,” Martin Matishak The Hill, January 9, 2015.

The Los Angeles Times (1/9, Kaplan) “Science Now” blog reports, “Electronic cigarettes should be subject to the same taxes, marketing restrictions and limitations on public use as traditional tobacco products, according to new guidance” issued in a joint policy statement from the American Society for Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Cancer Research. The groups “acknowledged that e-cigarettes may improve public health by taking market share away from combustible tobacco products and helping smokers quit.”

However, “until the benefits are proved, the statement said, regulators shouldn’t distinguish between the two kinds of products.” The blog points out that CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden “and other health experts say they fear that e-cigarettes will entice more kids and teens to try smoking.”

Forbes (1/9) contributor Robert Glatter, MD, writes that ASCO President Peter Paul Yu, MD, said, “We are concerned that e-cigarettes may encourage nonsmokers, particularly children, to start smoking and develop nicotine addiction. While e-cigarettes may reduce smoking rates and attendant adverse health risks, we will not know for sure until these products are researched and regulated.” Dr. Yu added, “The FDA has signaled its willingness to regulate e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems, and we urge the agency to follow through on this intention.” The policy statement was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Related Links:

— “Cancer groups urge health officials to be tougher on e-cigarettes,” Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, January 8, 2015.