The Washington Post (7/3, Ovalle ) reported, “Public health experts and officials are amplifying their warnings about the risks of unregulated and sometimes illegal products advertised on social media and easily purchased online or in vape shops.” Some of these products “claim to contain the hallucinogenic mushroom compound psilocybin, which is legal for use in two states but illegal federally.” And “some products contain potentially harmful synthetic chemicals or extracts from a sometimes-toxic mushroom known as amanita muscaria.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (7/2, Kahn) reports, “Older adults who experienced delirium while hospitalized for COVID-19 had increases in functional disability and cognitive impairment in the 6 months after discharge, according to a prospective cohort study.” In the study, patients “with delirium had increased functional disability (rate ratio 1.32, 95% CI 1.05-1.66) and cognitive impairment (odds ratio 2.48, 95% CI 1.38-4.82) over the 6 months after discharge compared with those without in-hospital delirium, reported” researchers in JAMA Network Open.

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Healio (7/2, Jenkins) reports, “Youth with autism spectrum disorder and psychiatric comorbidities were more likely to be hospitalized and show greater symptom severity, which led to prolonged hospital stays and higher costs, according to study results.” In the study, “results showed patients with ASD and comorbid impulse control disorders had the highest likelihood of psychiatric hospitalization (OR = 7.2; 95% CI, 6.47-8.07), followed by disruptive behavior disorders (OR = 2.5; 95% CI, 2.2-2.77) and mood disorders (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.99-2.41).” These findings were presented at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

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— “Psychiatric comorbidities increase odds of hospitalization among youth with ASD,”Cassandra Jenkins, Healio, July 2, 2024

MedPage Today (7/1, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Multiple first-line antidepressant medications were broadly linked with weight gain, although bupropion (Wellbutrin) had the least amount of weight change, according to observational data.” In a two-year study, “the estimated weight gain was lower for bupropion compared with sertraline (Zoloft) – the most commonly prescribed antidepressant in the analysis – at 6 months (difference -0.80 kg, 95% CI -1.26 to -0.42 kg), according to” researchers. Additionally, six-month weight gain was higher for “escitalopram (Lexapro): difference 0.41 kg (95% CI 0.31-0.52 kg); paroxetine (Brisdelle): difference 0.37 kg (95% CI 0.20-0.54 kg); duloxetine (Cymbalta): difference 0.34 kg (95% CI 0.22-0.44 kg); venlafaxine (Effexor): difference 0.17 kg (95% CI 0.03-0.31 kg);” and “citalopram (Celexa): difference 0.12 kg (95% CI 0.02-0.23 kg)” than bupropion. These results were published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

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The New York Times (6/30, Philipps) reports research suggests brain damage experienced by Navy SEALs who died by suicide “may be just as widespread in SEALs who are still alive. A Harvard study, published this spring, scanned the brains of 30 career Special Operators and found an association between blast exposure and altered brain structure and compromised brain function.” Additionally, “the more blast exposure the men had experienced, the more problems they reported with health and quality of life.” The results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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