USA Today (12/8, Lopez) reported, “As more kids are diagnosed with bipolar disorder [BD] at earlier ages, parents wonder whether psychiatric drugs such as Depakote [valproic acid, divalproex] and lithium are really the answer — and how they might affect their child’s growth and development.” Just “last week after 10 years of debate, psychiatrists approved updates to their diagnostic manual of mental illnesses, including the addition of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, describing children who have outbursts three or more times a week. The new term aims to address concerns about overdiagnosis and overmedication of bipolar disorder in children, and gives psychiatrists a way to differentiate between bipolar and other explosive outbursts.”

Related Links:

— “Parents struggle with decision to medicate bipolar kids, “Korina Lopez, USA Today, December 8, 2012.

The New York Times (12/7, A17, Dao, Subscription Publication) reports that today, “the Department of Veterans Affairs will propose new regulations…that will make it easier for thousands of veterans to receive health care and compensation for certain illnesses that have been linked to traumatic brain injury [TBI].” The proposed “regulations, which will be published on Monday in the Federal Register, list Parkinsonism, unprovoked seizures, certain dementias, depression and hormone deficiency diseases related to the hypothalamus, pituitary or adrenal glands as eligible for the expanded benefits.” The Times points out, “The proposal, which must undergo a 60-day public comment period, could open the door to tens of thousands of veterans filing claims with the Veterans Benefits Administration, which is already struggling to process a huge inventory of such claims.”

Related Links:

— “Rules Eased for Veterans’ Brain Injury Benefits, “James Dao, The New York Times, December 7, 2012.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/6, Brubaker) reports, “Lourdes Health System is opening a 21-bed unit to treat active-duty military women with post-traumatic stress disorder and other behavioral illnesses.” According to Lourdes officials, the facility “is scheduled to open this month at Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingboro and will be only the fifth such center in the country and the only one on the East Coast.” The piece cites US Department of Veteran Affairs data, which said that “women, who make up about 15 percent of the armed forces, are more likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder than men, in part because they are more likely to be sexually assaulted.”

Related Links:

— “New health center for military women, “Harold Brubaker, The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 6, 2012.

USA Today (12/6, Payne) reports, “The months of November, December and January actually have the lowest number of suicides per day, according to the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, which analyzed 1999-2010 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It found that averages were highest in the spring and summer.”

Related Links:

— “Holiday suicide myth persists, research says, “Cathy Payne, USA Today, December 5, 2012.

Bloomberg News (12/6, Homan) reports, “The US House voted to remove the term ‘lunatic’ from sections of federal law, while the word ‘idiot’ would remain.” The measure, “which passed 398-1, would amend a section of the US Code that defines the meanings of certain words used in acts of Congress. Making the change would eliminate ‘references that contribute to the stigmatization of mental health conditions,’ according to an April 25 statement by the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota.” The bill has the backing of the American Psychiatric Association, among others.

The AP (12/6) reports, “The congressional action is the latest effort to remove language from the US code that has become outdated or demeaning. Two years ago Congress took out references in federal law to the term ‘mental retardation.'”

Related Links:

— “Congress Erases ‘Lunatic,’ Keeps ’Idiot’ in Federal Law, “Timothy R. Homan, Bloomberg, December 5, 2012.