The New York Times (5/15, Kolata) reports that researchers have discovered a genetic mutation in one patient that appears to delay Alzheimer’s disease from entering the patient’s entorhinal cortex, even though brain scans “revealed severe atrophying and…rough, hard, amyloid plaques and spaghetti-like tangles of tau proteins.” This particular “mutation results in a potent version of a protein, Reelin, in the entorhinal cortex,” and this “super-potent Reelin ultimately prevents tangled strands of tau proteins from sticking together and forming the structures that are a characteristic of Alzheimer’s.” The discovery has prompted researchers to investigate this as a potential target in developing the next generation of Alzheimer’s therapeutics. The findings of the research were published in Nature Medicine.

The Washington Post (5/15, A1, Johnson) reports that “this man is only the second patient identified with the miraculous ability to defy the devastating Alzheimer’s gene.” A previously known patient with a different mutation also had a brain “clogged with the characteristic amyloid plaques of Alzheimer’s, [but] it was relatively free of the tangles of tau that are also associated with the disease.” Investigators “did find an overlap between the two different gene mutations that helped protect these individuals: Both mutations affect proteins that bind to the same receptors on the surfaces of brain cells.”

Related Links:

— “Mutation Protected Man From Alzheimer’s Disease, Hinting at Treatment “Gina Kolata, The New York Times, May 15, 2023

Healio (5/15, VanDewater) reports, “Most self-harm diagnoses occurred within 24 months of a dementia diagnosis, and vice versa, with a greater risk for self-harm within six to 12 months after dementia diagnosis,” researchers concluded in a study that “linked data from” Australia’s “Admitted Patient Data Collection, the ED Data Collection, the Mental Health Ambulatory Data Collection, the New South Wales (NSW) Registry of Births, Death and Marriages and the NSW Cause of Death Unit Record File” to “identify 154,811 people who had no history of self-harm who were diagnosed with dementia between July 2001 and December 2014 – termed the dementia cohort – and 28,972 people who had no history of dementia who were diagnosed with self-harm between January 2005 and December 2014 – termed the self-harm cohort.” The findings were published online May 1 in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Related Links:

— “Dementia diagnosis increases self-harm risk in first year “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, May 15, 2023

HealthDay (5/15, Murez) reports, “While people might assume suicide is more common in the darker months of winter, it actually peaks in spring and early summer,” according to findings published online May 12 in the journal Translational Psychiatry. After examining questionnaire data from some “10,000 people in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom…about their moods and thoughts around suicide and self-harm over a six-year period,” investigators also found that “suicidal thoughts peak in December but then take a few months to reach a ‘tipping point,’” and people appear to be “most vulnerable to ending their lives between 4 and 5 a.m.”

Related Links:

— “Study Shows Season, Time of Day When Suicidal Thoughts Most Likely “Cara Murez, HealthDay, May 15, 2023

Psychiatric News (5/15) reports, “Seven in ten American adults reported that they felt anxious or extremely anxious about keeping themselves or their families safe, according to a recent APA Healthy Minds Poll” that sampled 2,201 adults. Even though “this is an improvement over the 80% of adults who expressed anxiety over their safety and that of their loved ones in 2020 (during the early days of the pandemic), the percentage reporting anxiety about keeping safe has increased since 2022.” APA President Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD, said, “Ongoing stress about our basic needs can lead to other negative mental health effects.” Dr. Brendel added, “The impact of this stress means that psychiatrists will need to continue work with the communities they serve, the larger mental health field, and policymakers to ensure those who need care can access it.”

Related Links:

— “Americans Feel Worried About Their Safety, APA Poll Finds, Psychiatric News , May 15, 2023

KFF Health News (5/15) reports, “Over the past two years, rural Greene County in northeastern Tennessee has collected more than $2.7 million from regional and national settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors,” but rather than “helping people harmed by addiction, county officials are finding other ways to spend it.” This issue “is reverberating nationwide as state and local governments receive billions of dollars from companies that made, distributed, or sold opioid” analgesics. Monies received from these companies “is meant to remediate that harm.” So far, “about $3 billion has already landed in state, county, and city coffers, and about $50 billion more is expected in the coming decade and beyond.”

Related Links:

— “County with high rate of overdose deaths doesn’t use opioid settlement funds for addiction program “Aneri Pattani, KFF Health News, May 15, 2023