On its front page, the New York Times (12/26, A1, Creswell, Subscription Publication) reported that an experiment in Raleigh, NC, in which paramedics take people with severe mental illnesses directly to a psychiatric facility and not to the emergency department (ED) “is being closely watched by other cities desperate to find a way to help” those with mental illnesses get the help they need without overcrowding EDs. Across the US in the year 2010, more than 6.4 million ED visits, “or about five percent of total visits, involved patients whose primary diagnosis was a mental health condition or substance abuse.” What’s more, “spending by general hospitals to care for these patients is expected to nearly double to $38.5 billion in 2014, from $20.3 billion in 2003,” according to one estimate by the Federal government.

Related Links:

— “E.R. Costs for Mentally Ill Soar, and Hospitals Seek Better Way, “Julie Creswell, The New York Times, December 25, 2013.

On its “All Things Considered” program and in its “Shots” blog, NPR (12/24, Hamilton) reported on “growing evidence that pot can affect brain circuits involved in” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to Andrew Holmes, a researcher at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, experiments using animals indicate that “tetrahydrocannabinol [THC], the chemical that gives marijuana its feel-good qualities, acts on a system in the brain that is ‘critical for fear and anxiety modulation.’” However, Holmes “and other brain scientists caution that marijuana has serious drawbacks as a potential treatment for PTSD.” The effects of THC are not lasting, and marijuana has side effects including impairment of motor skills and short-term memory loss.

Related Links:

— “Could Pot Help Veterans With PTSD? Brain Scientists Say Maybe, “Jon Hamilton, NPR, December 24, 2013.

USA Today (12/27, Weintraub) reports, “Having a serious concussion could be a risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s decades later – though not everyone with head trauma will lose their memory,” according to a study published Dec. 26 in the journal Neurology.

The Los Angeles Times (12/27, Mohan) reports that “elderly people who have both mild cognitive impairment [MCI] and a history of serious concussion showed higher amounts of the protein deposits associated with Alzheimer’s disease.” For the study, researchers “enlisted 589 elderly residents of surrounding Olmsted County, beginning in 2004, and administered a battery of cognitive and memory tests, along with brain scans that reveal both structure and metabolic function.”

Related Links:

— “Alzheimer’s risk tied to concussions in some, “Karen Weintraub, USA Today, December 27, 2013.

The Washington Post (12/24, Searing) reports that according to a study published Dec. 17 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, “at least for men, taking multivitamins doesn’t seem to benefit the brain.” The 12-year study, which involved some 5,947 aged 65 and older who were randomized either to a multivitamin or placebo, revealed “no difference…in the average cognitive ability or rate of cognitive decline between men who were taking a multivitamin and those who were not.”

Related Links:

— “Study asks: Do multivitamins help stave off cognitive problems in older men?, “Linda Searing, , December 23, 2013.

In print and in the New York Times (12/23, D3) “Well” blog, psychiatrist Richard A. Friedman, MD, of the Weill Cornell Medical College, observes, “Of all the major illnesses, mental or physical, depression has been one of the toughest to subdue.” Now, “at a time when federal research funds are shrinking and major drug companies have all but shuttered their brain research programs, enlightened philanthropists and entrepreneurs are helping to open a promising new pathway for neuroscience research: collaboration among researchers willing and able to take thoughtful risks and solve big problems.” Dr. Friedman also quotes Huda Akil, psychiatry professor at the University of Michigan, who points out that the strength behind the Hope for Depression Research Foundation is the fact that scientists there “‘can think about big ideas and take risks without worrying about what grant reviewers’ – like the National Institute of Mental Health, the major source of federal funding for psychiatric research – ‘might think.’”

Related Links:

— “A New Focus on Depression, “Richard A. Friedman, The New York Times, December 23, 2013.