In a column focused on how to help families whose members are in need of mental health services, Steve Lopez wrote in the Los Angeles Times (12/31, Lopez), “If you have concerns about a loved one, contact your physician or your county mental health department. If you don’t get immediate help, call (800) 950-NAMI (6264) or go to http://www.nami.org, a great resource for information on symptoms and treatments of all mental disorders, as well as a link to the” nearest National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) chapter.

Related Links:

— “A lifeline for parents concerned about a child’s mental health, “Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2012.

In continuing coverage, Reuters (12/29, Begley) reported that many parents with children, teens and young adults with serious mental disorders are experiencing profound difficulties in obtaining help when their offspring are in crisis mode and need immediate mental healthcare. The situation is made even worse by state budget crises, a dwindling number of beds for psychiatric inpatients, and a nationwide shortage of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. In some cases, people needing mental healthcare end up in jails or in emergency departments.

Related Links:

— “U.S. mentally ill and their families face barriers to care, “Sharon Begley, Reuters, December 29, 2012.

HealthDay (12/29, Preidt) reported, “Constant worriers are at increased risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” according to a study recently published online in the journal Psychological Research. After following about 1,000 people for just over a decade, researchers found that “people who had higher levels of neuroticism at the start of the study were more likely to be among the five percent who developed PTSD.”

Related Links:

— “Chronic Worry Linked to Higher Risk of PTSD,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay News, December 28, 2012.

Medscape (12/29, Brauser) reported, “Admissions to substance abuse treatment programs by patients using a combination of benzodiazepines (benzos) and pain relievers have risen drastically over the past decade, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).” That report, “the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Report for December 13, examined national records on annual admissions for substance use treatment.” It indicated “that between the years 2000 and 2010, admissions for those abusing both benzos and narcotic pain relievers increased more than 500% — whereas admissions for all other substances decreased by almost 10%.”

Related Links:

— “Admissions Reporting Benzodiazepine and Narcotic Pain Reliever Abuse at Treatment Entry,SAMHSA, December 13, 2012.

In continuing coverage, MedPage Today (12/28, Petrochko) reports, “Restrictions on gun violence research have stymied scientific efforts to find preventive solutions to mass shootings, such as the one in Newtown, Conn., according to physician researchers” writing online in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “The CDC has been stifled by language attached to a House of Representatives appropriations bill in 1996 that said ‘none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the CDC may be used to advocate or promote gun control,’ according to Frederick Rivara, MD, of Seattle Children’s Hospital in Washington, and Arthur Kellermann, MD, of the RAND Corporation in Washington.” A viewpointpublished online in the Archives of Internal Medicine echoed that JAMA article, saying that “answers to questions about private gun ownership and gun injuries and deaths cannot be found without restoring the ability of the CDC and other government agencies to study, and fund studies on, gun-related injuries.”

Related Links:

— “Gun Research Silenced by Cut in Funds, Docs Say,”Cole Petrochko, MedPage Today, December 27, 2012.