Healio (2/20) reports, “Adults with body dysmorphic disorder benefited from both cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT] and supportive psychotherapy,” even though “CBT for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) was associated with more consistent improvement in symptom severity and quality of life,” researchers found. The findings of the 120-patient study were published online Feb. 20 in JAMA Psychiatry. The author of an accompanying editorial observed, “Important next steps for ensuring durable outcomes for the most people will be determining the essential elements for clinically significant improvement and how these elements produce change for different patients.”

Related Links:

— “CBT, supportive psychotherapy improve body dysmorphia severity,Healio, February 20, 2019

TIME (2/20, Park) reports Swedish researchers found that “mentally stimulating activities and physical exercise can independently lower people’s chances of developing many types of dementia, as well as Alzheimer’s disease.”

MedPage Today (2/20, George) reports, “Women who frequently engaged in cognitive activities – including artistic endeavors, reading, needlework, or social clubs – when they were ages 38 to 54 years were 46% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease in late life and 34% less likely to develop dementia,” researchers concluded in a “longitudinal study that spanned 44 years.” MedPage Today adds, “At multiple points in the study, psychiatrists or psychiatric research nurses performed neuropsychiatric examinations, using criteria from the” American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition Revised (DSM-III-R).”

HealthDay (2/20, Thompson) reports in the 800-woman study, researchers also found that “higher levels of physical activity reduced the risk of more vascular forms of dementia, regardless of how mentally active the women were,” whereas greater “levels of mental activity in midlife reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, regardless of how physically active the women were.” The findings were published online Feb. 20 in Neurology. Also covering the study are Newsweek (2/20, Gander) and Healio (2/20, Tedesco).

Related Links:

— “Doing Physical and Mental Exercise When You’re Younger May Help Ward Off Dementia, “Alice Park, TIME, February 20, 2019

The AP (2/14, Neergaard) reports that researchers in a study “used a new technique to scan the brains of living people – and discovered that patients with depression had a lower density of synapses than healthy people the same age.” The AP adds, “The lower the density, the more severe the depression symptoms, particularly problems with attention and loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities, Yale neuroscientist Irina Esterlis said…at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.” The article does not disclose the number of study participants.

Related Links:

— “Researchers find clues that depression may speed brain aging, “Lauran Neergaard , AP, February 14, 2019

The AP (2/14, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that on Thursday, HHS officials said “Medicare wants to change how it pays for emergency ambulance services to give seniors more options besides going to a hospital emergency department.” Alternatives “could include going to an urgent care center, a doctor’s office, or even treatment at home under supervision of a doctor via telehealth links.” The article says this is only “a pilot project for now, but if adopted nationwide, the idea could save Medicare more than $500 million a year.”

Modern Healthcare (2/14, King, Subscription Publication) reports that the pilot would only “apply to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.” The piece adds that HHS expects to request “applications to participate in the model by summer 2019.”

Related Links:

— “Medicare ambulance rides may no longer end up at ER, “Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, AP, February 14, 2019

The New York Times (2/13, Reynolds) reports, “Jogging for 15 minutes a day, or walking or gardening for somewhat longer, could help protect people against developing depression,” researchers concluded in a study published online Jan. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry. For the study, investigators turned “to the UK Biobank, an enormous database of genetic and health information for almost 400,000 men and women.” Next, the study team “identified people who carried at least one of several gene variants believed to increase the likelihood someone will be active. Most of those people were active, and few of them had experienced depression.” Using “Mendelian randomization,” the study authors found that, “statistically, the ideal amount of exercise to prevent depression started at about 15 minutes a day of running or other strenuous exercise,” while “less-taxing activities like fast walking, housework and so on also afforded protection against depression, but it took about an hour a day to have an effect.”

Related Links:

— “Exercise May Help to Fend Off Depression, ” Gretchen Reynolds, The New York Times, February 13, 2019