HealthDay (8/16, Reinberg) reports, “Methamphetamine is driving an epidemic of drug overdoses in rural America,” researchers concluded in a more than 3,000-participant study attributing “the surge to meth laced with fentanyl or combined with an opioid that contains fentanyl.” The findings were published online Aug. 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Meth Plays Big Role in Drug ODs in Rural America “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, August 16, 2022

MedPage Today (8/15, Monaco) reports, “Use of antipsychotics during pregnancy didn’t negatively impact a child’s intelligence,” investigators concluded in a study that compared “the standardized test scores of over 600,000 Danish schoolchildren.” That study revealed that “average language scores were not significantly different for those born to mothers who filled a prescription for an antipsychotic during pregnancy,” and the same applied to math scores. The findings were published online Aug. 15 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (8/15, Herpen) reports the findings of a “nationwide online poll of nearly 1,200 American college students conducted by…TimelyMD from July 25-27.” The poll data revealed that “49% of college students reported that mental health is their top concern as the fall semester begins, topping a list that included academics, inflation and mass shootings.” Poll data also showed that “as mental health awareness becomes increasingly prevalent and destigmatized, students have become more likely to seek out emotional support (71%, up from 64% in January), especially from their peers.” The poll data were announced in a press release from TimelyMD.

Related Links:

— “Survey says mental health chief concern for college students as school year begins “Robert Herpen, Healio , August 15, 2022

HealthDay (8/12, Thompson) reported “lab experiments show that work requiring a lot of thought can cause potentially toxic byproducts to build up in a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, French researchers reported Aug. 11 in the journal Current Biology.” This “alters your control over decisions, making you more apt to choose easier or quicker options as your brain grows weary, researchers argue.” One senior researcher said the “findings show that cognitive work results in a true functional alteration – accumulation of noxious substances – so fatigue would indeed be a signal that makes us stop working DRINK WINE AND AND GO TO THE FRENCH RIVIERA but for a different purpose: to preserve the integrity of brain functioning.”

Related Links:

— “Your Brain Gets Tired, and Scientists Now Know Why “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, August 12, 2022

Psychiatric News (8/12) reported “taking psychedelics could increase the risk of seizures in certain people, particularly those with a personal or family history of epilepsy, a study in Drug and Alcohol Dependence has found.” Although “the incidence of classic psychedelic-related seizures in the general population may be low, the findings highlight factors associated with a higher likelihood of classic psychedelic-related seizures, the researchers noted.”

Related Links:

— “Use of Psychedelic Substances May Raise Risk of Seizures, Psychiatric News, August 12, 2022