Actress and author Kristen Johnson writes a first-person essay on addiction in the New York Times (7/21, Johnston, Subscription Publication) and laments how little is done about it in the US. Johnson, who also founded SLAM, NYC to create a “recovery high school” in New York City, describes a culture that views addicts largely as part of a running reality show of celebrities instead of “an epidemic that now claims more lives per year than car accidents” and “kills more people per year than guns.” She adds, “Yet there is zero government financing for research” and “no swanky benefits to raise funds.” She also laments that “a minuscule percentage of those who suffer can afford to get help,” while addicts are imprisoned rather than treated. She says addiction deserves “some respect.”

Related Links:

— “Turning Addiction Into a Sideshow, “Kristen Johnston, The New York Times, July 19, 2013.

USA Today (7/20, Weintraub) reported that, being that there are currently no treatments to stop or cure Alzheimer’s, “researchers believe prevention may be key to avoiding its memory and quality of life [QoL] challenges. Taking preventive measures against dementia involves common sense, healthy activities – exercising regularly, eating well, sleeping enough – as well as keeping your brain active and challenged.” The article went on to summarize research on Alzheimer’s recently presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

Related Links:

— “Keys to preventing Alzheimer’s disease, “Karen Weintraub, USA Today, July 20, 2013.

The Washington Post (7/22, Schulte) reports that a new report from the nonprofit research center Child Trends shows that while children under the age of 6 “are resilient, war can take a steep and potentially long-lasting toll during their critical early years, when the brain is growing rapidly and children are developing a sense of trust in the world.” The report notes that children “can exhibit the same anxiety, depression, stress and aggression that some older children and adults experience” after “multiple deployments, long separations, and often tense and awkward reunions with parents returning from war, particularly when the parent has been physically or mentally traumatized.”

Related Links:

— “Strain on military families affects young children, report says, “Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post, July 21, 2013.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune (6/21, Griffin) reports, “Only about 30 percent of African-Americans who have been diagnosed with a mental illness seek counseling, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and only one in three who need psychiatric care receive it.” Researchers have found issues of poverty, community violence, and unemployment could put African Americans at higher risk for mental illness, but a history of mistrust for the medical establishment, as well fears of being stigmatized can keep many from getting treatment.

Related Links:

— “For African-Americans, many hurdles in seeking mental health care, “Ashley Griffin, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 20, 2013.

Medwire (6/21, Piper) reports that treatment adherence directly improves the quality of life for schizophrenia patients, according to the results of a study published online June 11 in the journal European Psychiatry. Using the Quality of Life Scale, the researchers at the University of Manchester, UK, assessed the “363 patients who had had schizophrenia for a median of 12 years” and found that over the course of one year, the compliant patients’ “scores improved by an average 9.18 points.” The study team also noted improvements on the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia, among the patients who followed their treatment regimens, with “average decreases of 2.79 for positive symptoms, 3.03 for negative symptoms, and 2.56 for depressive symptoms.”

Related Links:

— “Treatment adherence predicts QoL in schizophrenia, “Lucy Piper, Medwire, June 21, 2013.