Medscape (3/1, Brooks) reports, “Researchers have identified a novel gene variant involved in opioid addiction, a finding that may aid efforts to develop novel pharmacologic approaches to the treatment of opioid dependence.” Medscape reports that in a genome-wide association study, “investigators found that a variant on chromosome 15 (rs12442138) near the repulsive guidance molecule A (RGMA) gene was associated with opioid dependence at a ‘genome-wide significant’ level.” The study was published online in Biological Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The Hartford (CT) Courant (3/1, Rosner) reports, “The number of privately insured women nationwide between the ages of 15 and 44 who filled a prescription for an” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder AD/HD “medication soared 344 percent from 2003 to 2015, from 0.9 percent to 4 percent, according to” data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Amphetamine salts, lisdexamfetamine, and methylphenidate are the three commonly filled AD/HD prescriptions, according to the CDC, and all three of those drugs are classified as Category C drugs by the FDA, which means that “studies on animals have shown an adverse effect on a fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in humans, but potential benefit may warrant their use in pregnancy despite potential risks.”

Related Links:

— “ADHD Drug Use Rises Sharply Among Young Women,” Cara Rosner, , March 1, 2018.

Healio (3/1, Demko) reports that “due to the substantial, unmet need for mental health services and care in the military, many service members seek care in the civilian sector,” researchers found after examining data on “233 military clients located throughout the U.S., Afghanistan, South Korea and Germany who received care between 2013 and 2016 from a network of volunteer civilian practitioners.” The findings were published online Feb. 27 in the journal Military Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Service members’ mental health needs unmet, some seek civilian care,” Waitzkin H, et al., Healio, March 1, 2018.

The Hill (3/1, Weixel) reports that advocates for mental health are now “seizing on the new spotlight on their issue after the Florida shooting, as President Trump and congressional Republicans focus on mental health as a solution to gun violence.” Some mental health advocacy “groups want to use the renewed attention on mental illness to push for more resources to address what they see as major gaps in the country’s mental health system.” Groups mentioned in the article are Mental Health America and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Related Links:

— “Mental health groups push for policy changes after shooting,” NATHANIEL WEIXEL, The Hill, March 1, 2018.

The AP (3/1) reports that officials in Phoenix, AZ, “are launching an interagency push to reduce suicide among military service personnel, veterans and their families.” The initiative, which is “sponsored by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,” has the goal of increasing “support” and developing “a response plan for detection of warning signs and timely intervention.”

Related Links:

— “Phoenix launching interagency initiative to prevent suicide,” Associated Press, March 1, 2018.