The Los Angeles Times (4/20, Healy) “Booster Shots” blog reports that a study published online April 19 in Science Magazine suggests that the way in which people deal with deal with regret may make a significant difference in whether they can be healthy and happy in old age. Researchers found that older adults who had experienced late-life depression were more likely to respond to regret with a pounding heart rate and moist hands, much as a healthy young person would respond. In contrast, healthy older adults would respond to regret with serenity. The blog post adds that among 40 older subjects over the age of 50, “whenever regret was evident, the anterior cingulate cortex — a key hub for communication between emotions and rational decision-making — came alive in the happy older adults,” as revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging scans.

According to HealthDay (4/20, Marcus), Murali Doraiswamy, MD, of the Duke School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, pointed out that “the brain patterns seen in depressed participants, if confirmed in larger studies, could potentially help identify people who are vulnerable to late-life depression and in need of counseling.”

Related Links:

— “For a healthy old age, learn to let go of regrets,”Melissa Healy , Los Angeles Times, April 19, 2012.

The Department of Veterans Affairs receives extensive, mostly positive coverage of its Thursday announcement that it will hire 1,900 more mental-health professionals.

The AP (4/20, Tucker) reports that VA “said Thursday it was increasing its staff of mental health workers by roughly 1,900, part of an effort to address a shortage of specialists and to better prepare for the medical needs of veterans returning home from war.” The last point was emphasized in a statement about the new hires from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. The “move was cheered by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which also called on the VA to reduce its claims backlog and urged President Barack Obama to issue a national call for service for mental-health professionals.” The House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman, US Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), “said the announcement was a good start, but that the VA also needs to strengthen training of employees who encounter veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Related Links:

— “VA to add about 1,900 to mental health staff,”Erick Tucker , Associated Press, April 20, 2012.

The New York Times (4/19, Dao, Subscription Publication) reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs will announce on Thursday that it plans to hire about 1,600 additional psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other mental health clinicians in an effort to reduce long wait times for services at many veterans medical centers. The hiring…would increase the department’s mental health staff by nearly 10 percent at a time when the veterans health system is being overwhelmed not just by veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, but also by aging veterans from the Vietnam era.” The Times notes that VA’s “announcement comes as the department is facing intensified criticism for delays in providing psychological services to veterans at some of its major medical centers.”

Related Links:

— “Veterans Department to Increase Mental Health Staffing, “James Dao, The New York Times, April 19, 2012.

HealthDay (4/19, Mozes) reports, “Teens who use the party drugs ecstasy (MDMA) and speed (methamphetamine and/or amphetamine) appear to face a notably higher risk of depression afterward,” according to a study published online April 18 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. “Interviews and mental health assessments conducted among nearly 3,900 10th-grade residents of Quebec revealed that, compared to non-users, adolescents who acknowledged taking either speed or ecstasy had a 60 percent to 70 percent greater risk of experiencing telltale signs of depression a year after their last recorded use.” In addition, adolescents “who said they had tried both speed and ecstasy showed double the risk for depressive symptoms, when compared to non-users.”

Related Links:

— “Use of Ecstasy, Speed by Teens Tied to Later Depression,”Alan Mozes , HealthDay, April 19, 2012.

HealthDay (4/17, Preidt) reports that according to a study published online April 16 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, individuals sporting piercings and tattoos (body art) “tended to drink more alcohol than their peers.” After asking “nearly 3,000 French youth to take a breathalyzer test as they left bars and other drinking establishments,” researchers found through breathalyzer readings that “those with tattoos and body piercings had consumed more alcohol than those without the adornments.”

Related Links:

— “Tattoos, Piercings Tied to Heavier Drinking in French Study,”Robert Preidt , HealthDay, April 16, 2012.