In an over 3,300 word article, NBC News (12/20, Einhorn) reported on its website about the effectiveness of “brain training” to treat AD/HD, anxiety, autism, and other disorders in children. The article said that there is “a fast-growing industry” that promises “permanent changes to the human mind” through after-school brain training programs for children with AD/HD and/or autism. The industry is “based on the premise that targeted games and exercises can rewire the brain to boost memory, sharpen thinking or decrease the challenges associated with anxiety, autism, ADHD and other disorders.” However, that premise “has faced significant criticism from doctors and scientists who warn that some are making dubious claims.” In addition, some families have gone into debt paying for these programs that “can cost $12,000 or more for six months of training, three days a week.”

Related Links:

— “Parents pay thousands for ‘brain training’ to help kids with ADHD and autism. But does it work?, “Erin Einhorn, NBC News, December 20, 2019

The AP (12/21, Aljas, Little) reported that there were “48 jail suicides since the 2017 launch of a sweeping Texas law aimed at reducing such deaths through better screening and monitoring.” The Sandra Bland Act “hasn’t made a dent in the number of suicides, and experts blame its failure to address one of the most significant factors: the lack of staff to watch troubled inmates.” The AP “and the University of Maryland’s Capital News Service compiled a database of more than 400 lawsuits in the last five years alleging mistreatment of inmates in U.S. prisons and jails” and found nearly “40 percent involved suicides in local jails – 135 deaths and 30 attempts,” while “all but eight involved allegations of neglect by the staff.”

Related Links:

— “Ambitious Texas law fails to make dent in jailhouse suicides, “Riin Aljas and Ryan E. Little, AP, December 21 2019

Psychiatric News (12/20) reported, “Alcohol use may raise the short-term risk of suicide in patients who receive outpatient mental health treatment,” researchers concluded after analyzing data “from the electronic health records of more than 44,000 adults who had outpatient visits to a mental health professional between January 2010 and June 2015.” The findings were published online Dec. 18 in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Heavy Alcohol Use Associated With Higher Risk for Suicide, Psychiatric News, December 20, 2019

MD Magazine (12/20, Rosenfeld) reported, “A motivational interviewing intervention did not initially drive at-risk adolescents to seek mental health treatment following an emergency department (ED) visit,” research indicated. Specifically, “adolescent patients who presented at the ED for nonpsychiatric concerns but screened positive for suicide risk did not significantly benefit from the Suicidal Teens Accessing Treatment After an Emergency Department Visit (STAT-ED) intervention,” the study revealed. The findings of the 168-patient randomized trial were published online Dec. 20 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Intervention Did Not Improve Adolescents Seeking Mental Healthcare, “Samara Rosenfeld, MD Magazine, December 20, 2019

HealthDay (12/19, Thompson) reports researchers found that “obesity in middle age is associated with an increased risk of dementia later in life” for women. In the study published in Neurology, the researchers found that women “who were obese in their mid-50s had 21% greater risk of being diagnosed with dementia 15 or more years later, compared with women who had a healthy weight.”

Related Links:

— “Obesity in Middle Age Could Raise Odds for Alzheimer’s Later, “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, December 19, 2019