Medscape (8/28, Brauser) reports, “Smartphone users are inundated with all types of downloadable applications (apps) for their smartphones, including a myriad of so-called ‘mental health self-help apps.'” As to whether such apps are helpful for patients with psychiatric disorders, psychiatrist Lori Simon, MD, who is a volunteer member of the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Electronic Health Records, said, “I don’t see them as something to be used instead of being treated by a practitioner, but I see them as adjuncts or if the patients are fairly stable. And if a person is in between treatment sessions, these can be good for them.”

On its “Morning Edition” program and in its “Shots” blog, NPR (8/28, Neighmond) reported that “researchers have found a link between disrupted sleep and cognitive decline.” After conducting “a series of studies evaluating more than 1,300 adults older than 75, initially assessing their sleep patterns and, five years later, their cognitive abilities,” researchers “found that those with sleep-disordered breathing or sleep apnea had more than twice the odds of developing dementia years later.” Theresearch was recently presented at the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual conference.

Related Links:

— “Sleepless Nights May Put The Aging Brain At Risk Of Dementia, “Patti Neighmond, NPR, August 27, 2012.

The Wall Street Journal (8/28, D2, Wang, Subscription Publication) reports that elderly people, in general, suffer less from stress and anxiety than their younger counterparts, according to research. Unlike those who are young, many seniors appear to learn to distance themselves from negative feelings, focusing instead on pleasurable situations in the present. In comparison, happiness, enjoyment, and other positive emotions may hardly vary at all throughout the course of a person’s lifetime.

Related Links:

— “Tricks From the Elderly to Stop Worrying, “Shirley S. Wang, The Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2012.

MedWire (8/28, Cowen) reports, “More than four-fifths of patients with schizophrenia spectrum or affective disorders have a history of childhood trauma (CT),” according to a study published online Aug. 15 in the journal Comprehensive Psychiatry. In “305 psychiatric patients from three major hospitals in Oslo, the team found that 250 (82%) had experienced at least one type of CT, 49 (16%) had experienced two types, 58 (19%) three types, 52 (17%) four types, and 27 (9%) had experienced five types of trauma.” The study authors concluded, “Clinicians should be alert of childhood abuse in [the] severely mentally ill, as the consequences may contribute to the clinical picture and may require special attention and measures to be taken into treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Childhood trauma common in schizophrenia, affective disorders, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, August 28, 2012.

The New York Times (8/28) “Well” blog reports, “People in a study who began smoking marijuana as teenagers and continued to use it heavily for decades lost a few IQ points along the way, while those who started in adulthood did not,” according to research published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. “The findings, from a study tracking people’s habits from childhood through middle age, suggest that the developing teenage brain is especially vulnerable to drug use, the authors concluded.”

The USA Today (8/28, Winter) “On Deadline” blog reports, “The study, which tracked more than 1,000 New Zealanders from birth to 38, found an average eight-point decline in IQ among “persistent, dependent” users of marijuana younger than 18. About 5% of the study group were considered “marijuana-dependent” — using more than once a week before they were 18 years old, according to the news release (8/28).” What’s more, “quitting did not appear to reverse the effects, and the IQ decline could not be explained by alcohol, other drug use or by having less education, said lead researcher Madeline Meier at Duke University.”

Interestingly, “the researchers didn’t find the same IQ dip for people who became frequent users of pot after 18,” the AP (8/28, Ritter, Perry) reports. “Although experts said the new findings are not definitive, they do fit in with earlier signs that the drug is especially harmful to the developing brain.”

Bloomberg News (8/28, Lopatto) reports, “Because marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the US, looking into how it changes the brain is important, said” Meier. “Daily use among high school seniors is at a 30-year peak, according to a 2011 survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.”

HealthDay (8/28, Goodwin) reports, “Though pot has a reputation among many teens for being benign, Meier urged adolescents and their parents to take the findings seriously.”

MedPage Today (8/28, Gever) points out, “The current analysis was supported by the UK Medical Research Council, the US National Institutes of Health, and the Jacobs Foundation.” Also covering the story are WebMD (8/28, Boyles), Medscape (8/28, Harrison), Reuters (8/28, Kelland), and BBC News (8/28, Hughes).

Related Links:

— “Early Marijuana Use Linked to I.Q. Loss, “Benedict Carey, The New York Times, August 27, 2012.