The Huffington Post (9/21, Wood) reports, “After more than a decade of war, the US military cannot precisely diagnose concussion-related brain injuries resulting from the bomb blasts that are the most common cause of combat casualties.” Earlier this week, however, Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department “announced a new $100 million research effort to find better ways to diagnose and treat” mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a “form of combat trauma with many of the same symptoms as mTBI.”

The Warner Robins (GA) Patriot (9/21, Rector) says Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department have “announced…that more than $100 million will be invested in research to improve diagnosis and treatment” of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a Pentagon statement, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson said the research will “bring together leading scientists and researchers devoted to the health and welfare of our nation’s service members and veterans.”

Related Links:

— “Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment, Diagnosis Continues To Elude Military Doctors, “David Wood, Huffington Post, September 20, 2012.

HealthDay (9/21, Reinberg) reports, “More Americans now commit suicide than die in car crashes, making suicide the leading cause of injury deaths,” according to a study published online Sept. 20 in the American Journal of Public Health. “In addition, over the last 10 years, while the number of deaths from car crashes has declined, deaths from poisoning and falls increased significantly, the researchers” reported. Study author Ian Rockett, a professor of epidemiology at West Virginia University, believes “there may be 20 percent or more unrecognized suicides,” possibly from intentional overdosing on prescription medications.

WebMD (9/21, Warner) reports, “In the study, researchers looked at cause of death data from the National Center for Health Statistics from 2000 to 2009.” They found that “the top five leading causes of injury-related deaths were: suicide, motor vehicle crashes, poisoning, falls, [and] homicide.” The study authors “say the findings demonstrate that suicide is now a global public health issue.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide Now Kills More Americans Than Car Crashes: Study, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, September 20, 2012.

MedWire (9/19, Cowen) reports, “Children with a parental history of bipolar disorder (BD) or major depressive disorder (MDD) are at increased risk for any mood or anxiety disorder,” according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Bipolar Disorders. For the study, researchers examined “a total of 376 children, aged 6.0-17.9 years, of whom 139 had a parental history of BD (72 parents), 110 had a parental history of MDD (56 parents), and 127 (controls) had mentally healthy parents.” Investigators “also found that children with a parental history of BD were more likely to develop recurrent MDD than the children of parents with MDD and those of mentally healthy parents.”

Related Links:

— “Mood disorder, anxiety risk elevated in children with mood disordered parents, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, September 19, 2012.

HealthDay (9/19, Dallas) reports that a study published online in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise “found that moderate exercise can help people manage future stress and anxiety, and the emotional and mental health benefits of exercise may last long after a workout ends.” For the study, investigators “compared the effects of 30-minute periods of quiet rest and moderate-intensity cycling on the anxiety levels of healthy college students.” Researchers found that “after viewing 90 stimulating photos from the International Affective Picture System, a database of images used in emotion research, for 20 minutes…only the students who exercised maintained a lower level of anxiety.”

Related Links:

— “Exercise May Prevent Stress and Anxiety, Study Suggests, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, September 18, 2012.

Reuters (9/18) reports on a study published online Sept. 17 in the journal Pediatrics that found that one in every seven high schoolers in Los Angeles with a mobile phone has sent a sexually explicit photo or text message. The study found that the teens who had engaged in “sexting” were seven times more likely to be sexually active than those who never sexted.

The Los Angeles Times (9/18, Lynch) “Nation Now” blog reports that “the study polled more than 1,800 Los Angeles high school-age students. Of those polled, 15% acknowledged sexting, and 54% reported knowing someone who had sent a sext.” Lead researcher Eric Rice said that “there is an emerging sense of normalcy around sexting behavior,” adding that “if you have friends that sext, you are 17 times more likely to sext.”

Related Links:

— ““Sexting” again linked to risky sex among teens, “Genevra Pittman, Reuters, September 17, 2012.