HealthDay (2/19, Preidt) reported that antidepressant Celexa (citalopram hydrobromide) “shows promise in easing the agitation people with Alzheimer’s disease often suffer,” potentially offering “a safer alternative to antipsychotic drugs,” according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The new study, headed by Constantine Lyketsos, director of the Johns Hopkins Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center in Baltimore, involved 186 Alzheimer’s patients “with agitation symptoms such as emotional distress, aggression, irritability, and excessive movement.”

MedPage Today (2/19, Smith) reported some safety concerns with the study noting the medicine “was associated with an increase in QT interval prolongation and a slight worsening of cognition,” citing the Feb. 19 issue of JAMA. Anton Porsteinsson, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York, pointed out that when treating agitated Alzheimer’s patients clinicians should be “judicious,” and probably prescribe a dosage below 20 mg a day. In an accompanying editorial, Gary Small, MD, of the University of California Los Angeles, “argued that research is needed to determine the duration of adverse effects and benefits beyond the studied 9 weeks, dose ranges that influence mortality risk as well as QT prolongation, and predictors of response,” according to MedPage.

The news was also covered by Medscape (2/19) and the Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle (2/18).

Related Links:

— “Antidepressant Celexa May Help Ease Alzheimer’s-Linked Agitation,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, February 18, 2014.

Kaiser Health News (2/18, Andrews) reports that some health insurance policies refuse to provide coverage for suicide-related injuries, despite allegations that such rescissions are forbidden by Federal law. Kaiser quotes Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health policy at The George Washington University: “Suicide is a common exclusion. Insurers are all over the place on this, and state law varies tremendously.”

Related Links:

— “Some Plans Refuse To Cover Medical Costs Related To Suicide Despite Federal Rules, ” Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News, February 18, 2014.

USA Today (2/18, Hellmich) reports that research presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting suggests that individuals “who feel consistently lonely have a 14% higher risk of premature death than those who don’t.” Investigators found that “the impact of loneliness on early death is almost as strong as the impact of being poor, which increased the chances of dying early by 19%.”

AFP (2/18, Santini) reports that the study, which was “carried out on a group of 20,000 people revealed adverse health effects of feeling alone, including sleep problems, high blood pressure, impaired immune cells and depression.” FOX News (2/17) also covers the story on its website.

Related Links:

— “Feeling lonely? It may increase risk of early death, ” Nanci Hellmich, USA Today, February 17, 2014.

The Boston Globe (2/18, Bender) reports that the Department of Defense “is exploring a novel way to extend troops’ attention spans and sharpen their reaction times: stimulate the brain with low levels of electricity.” Electricity has been used to treat some psychiatric conditions before, notably major depression, in techniques “embraced by the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Psychiatric Association, and the US Surgeon General. “ So far, early research shows that non-invasive brain stimulation in healthy sleep-deprived volunteers appears to improve “both alertness and acuity.”

Related Links:

— “Pentagon considers using electricity to stimulate troops’ brains, ” Bryan Bender, Boston Globe, February 18, 2014.

USA Today (2/17, Healy) reported, “Intervening early to stop bullying is important because the health effects – including anxiety, depression and impaired self-worth – can persist even after bullying stops,” according to a study published online Feb. 17 in the journal Pediatrics.

On its website, NBC News (2/16, Goldbach) reported that after following 4,297 youngsters “in Los Angeles, Birmingham and Houston at three points: fifth, seventh, and 10th grades,” researchers found that the kids “who were being bullied had high levels of depressive symptoms, low self-worth and more problems with basic physical activity.”

Related Links:

— “Harm can continue even after bullying stops, ” Michelle Healy, USA Today, February 17, 2014.