HCPlive (6/4, Walter) reported research indicates that “drinking rates are actually down during the” COVID-19 “pandemic in a sample of “473 “18-25 year old Ontario [Canada] residents, while mental health issues including depression, stress, and anxiety remain a concern.” The study authors theorized that “some potential reasons for the decrease in alcohol use include socializing restrictions, as well as a reduction of individuals living with roommates or in group living situations as peer influence is usually a strong predictor of alcohol misuse.” The findings were published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Related Links:

— “Drinking Down, Depression Up Among Young People During COVID-19 “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, June 4, 2021

The New York Times (6/3, Blum) explores the topic of virtual reality therapy which has shown some success at treating anxiety, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some virtual reality therapies “build on a sometimes-divisive therapeutic technique called prolonged exposure, developed by Edna Foa, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.” Even though “some experts have worried the practice might overwhelm or re-traumatize patients, prolonged exposure is now widely accepted as an effective tool to treat chronic PTSD.”

Related Links:

— “Virtual Reality Therapy Plunges Patients Back Into Trauma. Here Is Why Some Swear by It. “Dani Blum, The New York Times, June 3, 2021

Healio (6/3, Gramigna) reports, “Opioid agonist treatment reduced mortality rates among people with opioid dependence,” researchers concluded in a systematic review and meta-analysis that “included 15 randomized clinical trials with 3,852 total participants and 36 primary cohort studies with 749,634 total participants.” The findings were published online June 2 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Opioid agonist treatment ‘important intervention’ for those with opioid dependence “Joe Gramigna, Healio, June 3, 2021

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.

Related Links:

— 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.

Related Links:

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