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.

The Washington Post (7/20, Kunkle) reports that saliva “may just reveal” whether someone is likely to develop Alzheimer’s. In a study presented yesterday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, researchers suggested that “analyzing certain chemical compounds in saliva could provide a cheap, noninvasive way to learn whether the brain has begun to undergo the changes that culminate in loss of memory and cognitive function.”

Related Links:

— “Saliva seen as possible diagnostic tool for Alzheimer’s disease,” Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, July 19, 2015.

The Wall Street Journal (7/20, Wang, Subscription Publication) reports that yesterday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, researchers presented data from the Biocard study, a long-term study of people at higher risk for Alzheimer’s. As a result of this study, investigators now believe that six biomarkers considered together may predict future Alzheimer’s disease.

The AP (7/20, Neergaard) reports, “Tracking about 350 people starting in middle age,” investigators “found a combination of tests predicted development of mild cognitive impairment within five years.” In addition to presence of the ApoE4 gene, the tests “include a spinal tap to measure toxic levels of Alzheimer’s hallmark amyloid and tau proteins; MRI scans to detect shrinking brain regions; and two standard memory assessments.” As of right now, “the combination isn’t ready for doctors’ offices, but should help” pharmaceutical makers “tell who to enroll in early-stage treatment studies.”

Related Links:

— “Study Shows Promise in Detecting an Individual’s Likelihood of Developing Alzheimer’s,” Shirley S. Wang, , July 19, 2015.

The Houston Chronicle (7/17, Hawryluk) reports that “according to researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School, mental illness was the most common reason for a hospital admission among children age 10 to 14 from 2004 to 2010, while pregnancy topped the list for those age 15 to 17.”

Related Links:

— “Mental health, pregnancy top reasons for teen hospitalizations,” Markian Hawryluk, Houston Chronicle, July 16, 2015.