MedPage Today (5/30, Monaco) reported, “Nearly half all patients with hypothyroidism reported experiencing ‘brain fog,’ even before receiving a diagnosis,” investigators concluded after conducting “an online survey of over 5,000 people with hypothyroidism.” The study revealed that “905 (17.1%) said they experienced new-onset brain fog symptoms in the weeks or months following their initial diagnosis,” but “46% of all patients questioned said they experienced brain fog symptoms prior to receiving their hypothyroidism diagnosis.” The findings were presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology’s virtual annual meeting.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (6/2) reports, “Older adults being treated for depression with a combination of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and medication appear to have similar cognitive improvements over time as those treated with medication only,” investigators concluded after examining “six-month neurocognitive outcomes for a total of 120 patients with remitted depression who received either a combination of ECT (right unilateral ultrabrief pulse ECT), venlafaxine, and lithium or venlafaxine and lithium only as part of the” Prolonging Remission in Depressed Elderly study. The findings were published online May 17 in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

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— “ECT, Medication Combo Found as Safe as Medication Alone to Maintain Remission From MDD, Psychiatric News, June 2, 2021

HCPlive (6/2, Iopace) reports the FDA “has granted de novo clearance” to Cognoa “for an AI-based, diagnostic aid (Canvas Dx) designed to aid physicians in primary care” in making a “diagnosis of autism.” This clearance “is the first authorized to aid in primary care diagnosis of autism in young children, with the goal of shortening time-to-diagnosis and initiation of earlier interventions.” The diagnostic aid “is indicated for use in diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder for patients aged 18 to 72 months at risk of developmental delay, based on concerns from parent, caregiver, or” clinician.

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— “FDA Grants De Novo Clearance to AI-Based Autism Diagnosis Aid “Connor Iapoce, HCPlive, June 2, 2021

Healio (6/2, Gramigna) reports, “Suicide rates in the United States differed by race and ethnicity in recent years,” researchers concluded after obtaining and then analyzing “data for this study via the National Vital Statistics System…with rates adjusted for age according to postcensal population estimates.” The study team “collected mortality, race and ethnicity data from death certificates. The findings of the “cross-sectional study” were published online May 26 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Suicide rates differed significantly by race, ethnicity in past decade “Joe Gramigna, Healio, June 2, 2021

HCPlive (6/1, Walter) reports, “An earlier wake up time could pay dividends in drastically cutting the risk of major depressive disorder (MDD),” researchers concluded after examining “the association of genetically proxied morning diurnal preference with the risk of depression” in some “697,828 participants of European ancestry.” The study team “used up to 340 genetic loci associated with diurnal preference in a meta-analysis of the UK Biobank and 23andMe cohorts as genetic proxies for diurnal preference.” The findings were published online May 26 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— “Earlier Wake Up Time Reduces Risk of Depression “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, June 1, 2021