According to the New York Times (2/8, Caron), in the past few years, “clinical trials have shown that MDMA, when combined with talk therapy, can bring relief to those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a finding that has elevated MDMA’s reputation from party drug to potential therapeutic.” Now, “some couples, drawn to the drug’s ability to produce feelings of empathy, trust and compassion, have started using unregulated MDMA on their own in an effort to help them reconnect, improve communication and have better sex.” Experts warn, however, that “MDMA, an amphetamine derivative, can have serious side effects,” and the illegal drug is “risky for people to use…on their own.” Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH, who chairs the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, said, “This can include everything from a ‘bad trip,’ to reckless behavior to psychiatric symptoms like panic attacks or physical effects like hypertension or interactions with other medications.”

Related Links:

— “Can MDMA Save a Marriage? “Christina Caron, The New York Times, February 8, 2022

ABC News (2/8, Livingston) reports, “U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told lawmakers on Tuesday that the pandemic has had a ‘devastating’ impact on the mental health of America’s young people.” Murthy said, “I’m deeply concerned as a parent and as a doctor that the obstacles this generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate and the impact that’s having on their mental health is devastating.” His “main recommendations are to ensure access to ‘high-quality, culturally competent care,’ focusing on prevention with school and community-based programs and developing a better understanding of the impact technology and social media have on young people.”

Related Links:

— “Pandemic’s impact on youth mental health ‘devastating’: Surgeon General “Kelly Livingston, ABC News, February 8, 2022

HealthDay (2/7) reports “adults with chronic pain use a variety of pain management strategies, including opioids, but the majority use nonopioid management techniques,” data indicate. Investigators “found that 54.7% of adults with chronic pain only used nonopioid pain management techniques, while 10.7, 4.4, and 30.2% used both opioids and nonopioid techniques, used opioids only, and did not report any pain management techniques,” respectively, “during the past three months.” The findings of the 31,916-participant study were published as a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Various Strategies Used by U.S. Adults to Manage Chronic Pain “Physician’s Briefing Staff, HealthDay, February 7, 2022

CNN (2/7, LaMotte) reports “people using e-cigarettes to quit smoking found them to be less helpful than more traditional” smoking cessation aids, according to a study, published Monday in the journal BMJ that analyzed the latest 2017 to 2019 data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. The study found that “nearly 60%” of daily e-cigarette users who were former smokers had resumed smoking by 2019. Study researcher John Pierce said, “This is the first time we found e-cigarettes to be less popular than FDA-approved pharmaceutical aids, such as medications or the use of patches, gum, or lozenges.” He added, “There’s no evidence that the use of e-cigarettes is an effective cessation aid.”

Related Links:

— “E-cigarettes were less effective than gum and other nicotine replacement aids, study says “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, February 7, 2022

Healio (2/7, Herpen) reports, “As symptom severity for major depressive disorder [MDD] and treatment-resistant depression [TRD] increases, so do costs to health systems,” researchers concluded in a study including 24,534 patients with TRD and 17,628 patients with MDD. The study revealed that “patients with TRD incurred healthcare costs 1.23 times greater…than the MDD group on average within the 12 month follow-up.” In addition, “participants who reported more severe symptoms in both groups recorded higher mean costs.” The findings of the “retrospective cohort study” were published online Feb. 1 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Health care costs rise with symptom severity in patients with MDD, TRD “Robert Herpen, Healio, February 7, 2022