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Latest News Around the Web

Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression May Only Receive Modest, Short-Term Benefit From Using Intranasal Esketamine As Add-On Treatment, Research Finds

Psychiatric News (1/29) reports, “Patients with treatment-resistant depression may only receive a modest, short-term benefit from using intranasal esketamine as an add-on treatment, according to a meta-analysis.” Additionally, “the analysis reveals almost no benefit from esketamine for suicidality compared with placebo.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Meta-Analysis Reveals Disappointing Efficacy for Esketamine in Depression, Suicidality, Psychiatric News, January 29, 2025

Critical Crisis Services Have Not Become More Available Since 988 Launch, Research Suggests

STAT (1/29, Gaffney , Subscription Publication) reports, “In July 2022, 988 launched as the number anyone across the country could dial in a mental health crisis.” The phone number is “one entryway to a sprawling system of mental health care options, but new research shows that since then, critical crisis services have not become more available – a key objective of the nationwide rollout, designed to strengthen an underfunded, patchwork system that left many people alone in times of crisis.” Although “calls to the national hotline have continued to increase, fewer psychiatric facilities are offering emergency psychiatric walk-in services, mobile crisis response units, and suicide prevention services, according to a study.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Since 988 launch, mental health crisis services have faltered,”Theresa Gaffney, STAT, January 29, 2025

Mild traumatic brain injury linked to unfavorable long-term outcomes in U.S. veterans

Healio (1/28, Herpen) reports, “Among post-9/11 United States military veterans, mild traumatic brain injury was associated with unfavorable long-term outcomes, such as severe PTSD, when occurring around a traumatic event, researchers wrote.” The investigators found “that those with peritraumatic mTBI experienced greater trauma exposure compared with non-peritraumatic and no TBI groups…while those in the peritraumatic cohort registered more lifetime TBI compared with those who sustained non-peritraumatic mTBI.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Mild TBI outcomes in US veterans worse if sustained during traumatic event,”Robert Herpen, Healio, January 28, 2025

Adults Aged 18 To 49 Years Who Use Cannabis For Medical Reasons Have Higher CUD Rates Compared With Adults Who Only Use Cannabis Recreationally, Research Finds

Healio (1/28, Mahoney ) reports, “Adults aged 18 to 49 years who used cannabis for medical reasons had higher rates of cannabis use disorder [CUD] compared with adults who only used cannabis recreationally, according to a research letter.” The investigators said, “Clinicians should consider addiction risk before recommending medical cannabis and, if they do, should monitor for CUD emergence.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Medical cannabis use still linked to addiction,”Moira Mahoney, Healio, January 28, 2025

Regular cannabis use increases risk of multiple adverse cardiovascular outcomes

Cardiovascular Business (1/27, Walter ) reports that “according to a new in-depth analysis…regular cannabis use increases a person’s risk of multiple adverse cardiovascular outcomes, including myocardial infarction, arrhythmias and cardiomyopathy.” The data indicated that the “risks appear to become more severe depending on how often the drug is used.” The findings were published in Nature Reviews Cardiology.

Related Links:

— “Yes, physicians warn, cannabis is bad for the heart,”Michael Walter, Cardiovascular Business, January 27, 2025

Foundation News

Foundation Radio PSA Examines Child and Teen Adolescent Health

Among children and teens the rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide have been surging for over a decade and made severely worse by the pandemic. The latest radio spot from the Foundation examines how suicide is now the second leading cause of death among children aged 10-14 and the rise in emergency room visits for young people has become a national emergency. The Foundation asks you to reach out to your local and state legislators to urge funding for mental health help for our youth.

Child and Adolescent Mental HealthChild and Adolescent Mental Health, MP3, 1.2MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Carolyn Im to Receive MFP Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

The 2023 Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize will be awarded to Carolyn Im for her A Piece of My Mind in JAMA, “Major Developments During Medical School” published October 25, 2022.

She very effectively articulates some of the adjustments medical students with recurrent depression might have to make.  She encourages students to seek psychiatric help when needed and points out that dealing with mental health issues can foster personal growth and make us better physicians.

The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award carries a $500 prize and will be formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on April 20.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy media piece, preferably local or regional, that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
  • Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
  • Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.

Foundation Radio Spot Examines the Rise of Telehealth Due to Pandemic

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. Even the COVID-19 pandemic has seen some positive consequences for mental health care. A new radio spot from the Foundation examines the rise of Telehealth during days of lockdown and stress over the past few years, including increased acceptance by insurance companies in the wake of the U.S. government declaring a national mental health crisis.

Telehealth in the COVID-19 AgeTelehealth in the COVID-19 Age, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

New Foundation Radio Spot Notes Women’s Health In Jeopardy

It’s not easy to be a woman these days. Women’s health is especially in jeopardy, particularly for those who are pregnant. A new radio spot from the Foundation examines studies about women denied reproductive choice have significantly worse mental health, and other studies about women jailed for drug addiction and more.

Women’s HealthcareWomen’s Healthcare, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Seeking Nominations for 2023 Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

The annual Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award recognizes a worthy piece published in a major newspaper that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or in the community.
  • Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
  • Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

The article should be published during the period from January 15, 2022 to January 15, 2023. A Maryland author and/or newspaper is preferred. Click here for past winners and published articles.

The award carries a $500 prize, which is given at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting in April. Please send nominations to mfp@mdpsych.org no later than January 16, 2023.