The Wall Street Journal (5/14, D1, Reddy, Subscription Publication) discusses cognitive-training games that are designed to improve brain functionality and are the focus of a expanding research examining their ability to thwart cognitive declines that often accompany age. The Journal notes that a government-funded study published this month found that playing the game Double Decision can delay as well as reverse declines in brain function that come with aging, adding to an earlier trial which found that older people who played different cognitive games had better health-related outcomes, driving records, and improved performance of daily tasks such as meal preparation. Such research has prompted groups like AARP to offer discounts for various games that have demonstrated observable benefits.

Related Links:

— “When Computer Games May Keep the Brain Nimble, “Sumathi Reddy, The Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2013.

HealthDay (5/14, Doheny) reports, “Cancer patients who participate in the creative arts – such as music therapy, dance, art therapy and writing – may be helping to reduce the anxiety, depression and pain that can be associated with their diagnosis, according to” research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The researchers came to this conclusion after looking at data from 27 studies which included approximately 1,500 participants. HealthDay adds, “Taking part in these creative arts ‘is an opportunity for these patients to complement the healing process above and beyond the physical,’ said Timothy Puetz, presidential management fellow at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s Office of the Director.”

Related Links:

— “Creative Arts May Help Cancer Patients Cope, “Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay, May 13, 2013.

MedPage Today (5/14, Bankhead) reports, “Parent- and teacher-reported rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [AD/HD] do not appear to overestimate the true prevalence of the condition, according to a” research letterpublished online May 13 in JAMA Pediatrics. “The AD/HD prevalence in California was found to be about 6% among children 4 to 17, and 4.7% among insured children ages 5 to 11, using teacher and parent reports, Susanna N. Visser, MS, of the CDC, and co-authors found.” These results “were in line with a recent California study using a large administrative claims database, which found a rate of 4.9% among insured children ages 5 to 11 (JAMA Pediatr 2013; 1o67: 282-288).”

Related Links:

— “Adult-Observed ADHD Reflects True Rate in Kids, “Charles Bankhead, MedPage Today, May 13, 2013.

CQ (5/14, Scully, Subscription Publication) reports that each year, Congress approves “an unknown sum of money” on efforts to reduce the military’s suicide rate, which has doubled over the past decade. However, this means Congress is funding over 900 programs, and now officials are trying to discover which programs are working and which aren’t. Despite efforts to reduce suicides, the “rate has grown from 10.3 to 18.3 out of every 100,000 persons during the past decade.” It is feared that the “shear number of separate suicide prevention initiatives” means the Pentagon or Congress lacks a “coherent strategy to deal with the problem beyond simply throwing money at it.” Defense officials saw a minor decline in suicides to around 300 a year in 2010 and 2011, but “preliminary figures for 2012 indicate that the rate climbed once again to about 349.” The DoD’s Defense Suicide Prevention Office plans to inventory the programs and their costs by Oct. 1.

HealthDay (5/11, Gordon) reported, “Nearly 10 percent of teenagers experience some form of violence in their dating relationships, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dating violence encompasses physical, emotional and sexual abuse, the CDC notes.” HealthDay added, “A study in the January issue of Pediatrics found that teens who had experienced dating violence were more likely to binge drink, smoke, have depression symptoms, think about suicide and experience additional intimate partner violence than were their peers who’d never experienced dating violence.”

People In Same-Sex Relationships May Also Suffer From Abuse. HealthDay (5/11, Gordon) reported, “Though many teens find it difficult to talk about dating violence or abuse, the shroud of secrecy may be even harder to get through for same-sex couples.” The article went on to recount the experiences of one New York woman who was involved in an abusive relationship with a female partner.

Related Links:

— “When Teen Dating Turns Abusive and Violent, “Serena Gordon, HealthDay, May 11, 2013.