Psychiatric News (4/25) reported a new study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia finds that too much sleep per night may effect cognitive function – particularly for adults with depression. Overall, “compared with participants with average sleep, those with long sleep had poorer performance in global cognition, executive function, visuospatial memory, and verbal learning/memory tasks.” Researchers wrote, “These findings suggest that sleeping ≥ 9 hours per night is associated with cognitive differences equivalent to 6.5 years of brain aging.” Further, “the strongest negative associations between long sleep and cognition were among individuals with depressive symptoms, regardless of antidepressant usage.

Related Links:

— “Long Sleep Duration Linked to Poorer Cognitive Performance,” Psychiatric News, April 25, 2025

CNN (4/23, Gannon, Perez ) reports, “Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday issued a memo of directives to Justice Department employees to enforce the Trump administration’s policies targeting gender-affirmingcare for minors.” The memo, CNN says, “specifically targets the medical community, saying that it has given families ‘misleading advice,’ when seeking the help of medical professionals for this type of care.” CNN adds that “major mainstream medical associations” – including the American Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, among others – “have affirmed the practice of gender-affirming care.”

Related Links:

— “Attorney general directs Justice Department employees to enforce policies targeting care for transgender minors,” Casey Gannon and Evan Perez, CNN, April 23, 2025

CNN (4/24, Howard ) reports that 14 of 35 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers had their funding halted by the NIH last month as the Trump Administration stopped $65 million in funding for research. About a dozen Alzheimer’s disease research centers “are still waiting for their federal funding to be renewed, said Dr. Michael Greicius, professor of neurology and neurological sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, whose Alzheimer’s center is among those awaiting a decision.”

Greicius and his colleagues “had to hold off on starting research projects because they didn’t know whether there will be funding coming in.” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon explained in an email Thursday that the NIH is “committed to advancing groundbreaking research in Alzheimer’s disease. However, we also have a responsibility to ensure that all grant proposals align with the established policies.”

Related Links:

— “Uncertainty around NIH funding leaves Alzheimer’s studies in limbo,” Jacqueline Howard, CNN, April 24, 2025

HealthDay (4/23, Thompson ) reports a study found that “women who entered menopause before 40 had a greater cognitive decline than women who entered menopause after 50.” Researchers observed that “women who entered menopause early tended to experience a more dramatic decline in their thinking and memory skills than those whose menopause occurred in middle-age.” They noted the link “remained even after researchers accounted for the potential effect of depression on the women’s brain health.” Furthermore, “women who entered menopause at the more usual time of life wound up with better cognitive function than men of the same age, researchers found.” The study was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Related Links:

— “Early Menopause Might Mean Greater Age-Related Brain Decline,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, April 23, 2025

STAT (4/23, Todd , Subscription Publication) reports a study found that “using the oral pill varenicline in combination with behavioral counseling is the most effective way for young people” to quit e-cigarettes. In the study, half of participants ages 16 to 25 who took varenicline for 12 weeks “were able to abstain from e-cigarettes for the last month of that period, compared to 14% of the placebo group. After a total of six months, 28% of people in the varenicline group were still vape-free, compared to 7% of the placebo group.” Although the study was fairly small, its authors believe it “to be the first trial of a vaping cessation medication in young people.” Its findings can have “significant implications for how pediatricians and school health care providers treat nicotine addiction.” The study was published in JAMA.

Related Links:

— “Many young people want to quit vaping. A new study says medication can help,” Sarah Todd, STAT, April 23, 2025