The AP (4/19) reports that “several new initiatives” are “transforming the nation’s suicide-prevention community as more survivors find the courage to speak out and more experts make efforts to learn from them.” According to the AP, “There’s a new survivors task force, an array of blogs, some riveting YouTube clips, all with the common goal of stripping away anonymity, stigma and shame.” Jane Pearson, a suicide prevention expert with the National Institute of Mental Health, stated: “There are still clear consequences for talking about your mental health history. It’s getting better, but there are still challenges as to what that means for your life.”

Related Links:

— “More survivors of suicide attempts speak out, “David Crary , Associated Press, April 19, 2013.

The Boston Globe (4/19, Kotz) “Daily Dose” blog reports that in Boston, “sleeping difficulties have been one of the most common health complaints since the attack, according to local hospital physicians.” The blog adds, “Sleep specialists say that insomnia and nightmares are normal within the first several days after such a traumatic event, and many people may be making problems worse by self-medicating with alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine.”

Psychological Aftershocks Of Bombings May Last For Weeks. In continuing coverage, the AP (4/19, Neergaard) reports that “psychological aftershocks are the often invisible wounds of disaster. Most affected are the injured and those closest to the blasts. But even people with no physical injuries and…who weren’t nearby can feel the emotional impact for weeks as they struggle to regain a sense of security.” Only a few people may go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, however, and those who are at higher “risk for lingering psychological effects are people who’ve previously been exposed to trauma, whether it’s on the battlefield or from a car crash or a hurricane.”

Related Links:

— “Sleep problems plaguing many in Boston after marathon bombing, “Deborah Kotz, The Boston Globe, April 18, 2013.

The Time (4/16, Sifferlin) “Healthland” blog reports that “an analysis published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that there are few effective options for treating the condition” known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). “The researchers reviewed 32 randomized controlled trials, in which patients were randomly assigned to either an intervention such as drugs to control cognitive decline, herbal remedies, physical activity or mental exercises including crossword puzzles; or left to continue living their lives without any changes. By comparing the various methods of treating cognitive decline, the scientists hoped to come up with some ranking of how effective the various interventions were.”

HealthDay (4/16, Preidt) reports that the review found that “mental exercise can help prevent thinking and memory decline in seniors, but evidence for the benefits of supplements and exercise is weak.” Notably, “estrogen was associated with an increase in mental decline and dementia.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Exercise May Help Keep Seniors Sharp, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 15, 2013.

In wake of Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, many US parents are wondering what to tell their children. USA Today (4/17, Weise) reports that turning off the television set is “the most important advice for parents from child mental health experts.” The piece adds, “‘Young children especially don’t realize that the images that get shown again and again on TV are of the same event,’ says Robert Hilt, a child psychiatrist at Seattle Children’s Hospital.” In other words, “parents should control the images and messages their children receive.”

HealthDay (4/17, Esposito) reports, “By now, children have already seen and heard a lot about the Boston tragedy, noted Dr. Rachel Yehuda, a psychiatrist and post-traumatic stress disorder expert at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.” Dr. Yehuda said, “The parent’s job is to make the child feel very safe and encourage the child to ask any questions that they have.” Nevertheless, “Yehuda said, parents should ‘resist completely minimizing the anxiety, because we do live in a world where it is important to prepare ourselves and our children for adversity.'”

Related Links:

— “How to talk to kids about the Boston bombing, “Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, April 17, 2013.

HealthDay (4/16, Goodman) reports, “Regular exercise slows disability and prevents falls in patients with Alzheimer’s disease without increasing overall costs,” according to a study published online April 15 in JAMA Internal Medicine. “For the study…researchers chose more than 200 patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease who were living at home with a caregiver and showing signs of physical decline. The patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: home exercise, group exercise at a day care center, or a control group that got usual care through the Finnish national health care system.”

MedPage Today (4/16, Smith) reports that in the “randomized, controlled trial, supervised exercise, whether at home or at a day care center, slowed physical deterioration.” In addition, “the costs for patients in the exercise programs were similar or lower than those associated with a control program of usual community care,” the study found. An accompanying commentary “concluded that the study suggests the ‘good news’ of a benefit from exercise may apply even to people ‘well into the process of decline.'”

Small Study: Exercise May Help Stave Off Problems In Memory, Thinking. On its “Morning Edition” program and in its “Shots” blog, NPR (4/15, Neighmond) reported that exercise may help “stave off problems in memory and thinking.” Neuroscientist Art Kramer, director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the University of Illinois, performed “a study in which he scanned the brains of 120 older adults, half of whom started a program of moderate aerobic exercise – just 45 minutes, three days a week, mostly walking. After a year, the MRI scans showed that for the aerobic group, the volume of their brains actually increased,” whereas people in “the control group lost about 1.5 percent of their brain volume.” The study results appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Related Links:

— “Exercise May Help People With Alzheimer’s Avoid Nursing Homes, “Brenda Goodman, HealthDay, April 15, 2013.