MedPage Today (5/31, George) reports, “An index of gliosis was linked with persistent neurocognitive symptoms after mild or moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection, a small case-control study showed.” Data show that when “compared with healthy controls, PET measures of translocator protein total distribution volume, a marker of gliosis,” were “elevated in people with ongoing cognitive and depressive symptoms after COVID-19.” The findings were published online May 31 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (5/31, Walter) reports, “Patients with both systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are more likely to also have an issue with several substances including alcohol, tobacco, opioids, and cannabis,” investigators concluded in a study that “identified 743 patients with SLE and 37,623 patients with MDD.” In this particular “group, there were 317 patients with SLE that had comorbid MDD.” The findings were presented during the 2023 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

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— “Substance Use Disorder Rates Higher in Patients With Comorbid SLE, Major Depressive Disorder “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, May 31, 2023

MedPage Today (5/31, Short) reports, “People who quit smoking for at least 15 weeks may see improvements in their mental health,” investigators concluded in the findings of an 8,411-patient, “secondary analysis of the EAGLES trial.” Research revealed that “in adults with and without a psychiatric history, those who quit smoking for that duration saw reductions in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale…scores at six months compared with active smokers.” The findings were published online May 31 in JAMA Network Open.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (5/30, Herpen) reports, “Adults with binge-eating disorder who were given acute naltrexone/bupropion performed better with similar maintenance treatment compared with placebo,” investigators concluded in a 66-adult study that in which participants were “randomized 1:1 to receive either naltrexone/bupropion (n = 32) or placebo (n = 34) for 16 weeks.” The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology annual meeting.

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— “Naltrexone/bupropion maintenance therapy for binge-eating disorder superior to placebo “Robert Herpen, Healio, May 30, 2023

The New York Times (5/26, A1, Weiland) reported, “Hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans have lost Medicaid coverage in recent weeks as part of a sprawling unwinding of a pandemic-era policy that prohibited states from removing people from the program.” Early data indicate “many people lost coverage for procedural reasons, such as when Medicaid recipients did not return paperwork to verify their eligibility or could not be located. The large number of terminations on procedural grounds suggests that many people may be losing their coverage even though they are still qualified for it.” In addition, “many of those who have been dropped have been children.”

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— “Hundreds of Thousands Have Lost Medicaid Coverage Since Pandemic Protections Expired “Noah Weiland, The New York Times, May 26, 2023