USA Today (6/25, Weintraub) reports that according to a study published online June 25 in the journal Neurology, older veterans who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) appear to have an increased risk for dementia, compared to veterans who have never sustained a TBI.

HealthDay (6/26, Fischer) reports that after evaluating 190,000 veterans, average age 68, 1,229 of which had been diagnosed with a TBI, researchers found that veterans with TBIs “were 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia sooner than those who never had a brain injury.” Notably, “the risk for developing dementia was higher in veterans with a brain injury who also experienced depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or cerebrovascular disease, compared to those who had either a brain injury or any one of those conditions.”

Related Links:

— “Brain injury in veterans tied to higher Alzheimer’s risk,” Karen Weintraub, USA Today, June 26, 2014.

HealthDay (6/25) reports that a British study has found that adults with Asperger syndrome are “much more likely to think about and attempt suicide than those in the general population.” Researchers surveyed “374 British adults with Asperger syndrome.” The results indicated that “66 percent reported having suicidal thoughts and 35 percent had planned or attempted suicide.”

Related Links:

— “Adults With Asperger Syndrome May Have Higher Suicide Risk,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 24, 2014.

The Houston Chronicle (6/20) wrote in an editorial that some veterans claim marijuana helps alleviate their post-traumatic stress disorder, but points out that “a vet who is suffering from PTSD and who uses marijuana to self-medicate is committing a crime.” The National Institute on Drug Abuse has agreed “after years of resistance…to a study at the University of Arizona College of Medicine to assess marijuana’s potential for treating” PTSD in veterans. The Chronicle agrees “that more scientific research is needed as to the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids.”

Related Links:

— “Worth exploring: If cannabis works, we owe our veterans access to this PTSD treatment option.,” Houston Chronicle, June 21, 2014.

The New York Times (6/22, Carey, Subscription Publication) reports that the US mental health system is under scrutiny in the wake of several shootings and violent incidents committed by young males, particularly from “questions of how best to help them and how to pay for it.”

Even for families with premium health insurance, services and treatments for violent sons are not always covered. Because of this, “many affluent families” are taking their complaints to court in order to force school districts, for instance, to spend more money on special education services and therapeutic schools for troubled youths.

Related Links:

— “Seeing Sons’ Violent Potential, but Finding Little Help or Hope,” Benedict Carey, New York Times, June 21, 2014.

HealthDay (6/21, Preidt) reported that according to a study published online June 18 in the BMJ, medications “used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) do not increase the risk of suicide attempts or suicide, and may actually provide a protective effect.”

Researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining data on “the nearly 38,000 people in Sweden diagnosed with AD/HD between 1960 and 1996” and tracking “their rates of suicidal behaviors between 2006 through 2009, at times when they were taking AD/HD drugs or not taking the medications.”

Related Links:

— “No Sign That ADHD Meds Raise Suicide Risk: Study,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 20, 2014.