In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal (3/12, A19, Hinshaw, Scheffler, Subscription Publication), Stephen P. Hinshaw, PhD, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of California-Berkeley, and Richard M. Scheffler, PhD, a professor of health economics and public policy at the University of California-Berkeley, call for physicians in countries around the world to use medications for AD/HD more cautiously. The pair recommend that physicians first need to diagnose AD/HD using medical association guidelines, taking into account a patient’s full medical and behavioral history, before deciding to prescribe medications. While acknowledging the value of stimulant medicines in certain cases, Hinshaw and Scheffler assert that medication should not always be the primary or sole treatment for AD/HD.

Related Links:

— “How Attention-Deficit Disorder Went Global,” Stephen P. Hinshaw, , March 11, 2014.

The New York Times (3/12, A16, Schwarz, Subscription Publication) reports that according to a report to be released today by Express Scripts, the biggest prescription medicine manager in the US, “the number of young American adults taking medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [AD/HD] nearly doubled from 2008 to 2012.” The report also reveals that nearly “one in 10 adolescent boys were taking medications for the disorder.” According to some experts, “the report provided the clearest evidence to date that the disorder is being diagnosed and treated with medication in children far beyond reasonable rates, and that steeply rising diagnoses among adults might portend similar problems.”

Related Links:

— “Report Says Medication Use Is Rising for Adults With Attention Disorder,” Alan Schwarz, New York Times, March 14, 2014.

The Baltimore Sun (3/10, Walker) reports that Maryland legislators are considering a bill that would “make it easier to medicate mental hospital patients against their will, while examining the idea of court-ordered therapy for mentally ill people who aren’t hospitalized.” The proposal has drawn the ire of some patient advocates. One of the bill’s sponsors notes the tension between “necessary treatment and having high respect for people’s individual rights.”

Related Links:

— “Legislation pushes involuntary mental health treatment,” Andrea K. Walker, Baltimore Sun, March 10, 2014.

HealthDay (3/11, Reinberg) reports that according to the results of a three-year study published in the March/April issue of the journal Annals of Family Medicine, “only about 20 percent of people who experience ‘senior moments’ of forgetfulness, memory lapses and poor judgment will go on to development serious brain-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.” After collecting “data on more than 350 people aged 75 and older who had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment but didn’t have dementia,” researchers found that “42 percent returned to normal mental function, 36 percent retained their mild impairment and only 22 percent developed dementia.”

Related Links:

— “‘Senior Moments’ Don’t Seem to Lead to Dementia for Most,” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, March 10, 2014.

The Los Angeles Times (3/11, Kaplan) “Science Now” blog reports that according to a review published online March 10 in JAMA Pediatrics, “victims of bullying were more than twice as likely as other kids to contemplate suicide and about 2.5 times as likely to try to kill themselves.” The review “identified 34 reliable studies that addressed the issues of peer victimization and suicidal ideation,” studies which “included data on 284,375 people ages 9 to 21” from countries around the world.

Related Links:

— “Teens taunted by bullies are more likely to consider, attempt suicide,” Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, March 10, 2014.