USA Today (3/5, O’Donnell) reports a new analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data indicates the “number of deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide in 2017 hit the highest level since federal data collection started in 1999.” The study, conducted by the Trust for America’s Health and the Well Being Trust, indicated the “national rate for deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide rose from 43.9 to 46.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017, a 6 percent increase.” The increase was slower “than in the previous two years, but it was greater than the 4 percent average annual increase since 1999.”

Related Links:

— “U.S. deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide hit highest level since record-keeping began, “Jayne O’Donnell, USA Today, March 05, 2019

Reuters (3/4, Rapaport) reports researchers found that “the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine isn’t associated with an increased risk of autism even among kids who are at high risk because they have a sibling with the disorder.” The researchers found that children who received “the MMR vaccine were seven percent less likely to develop autism than children who didn’t get vaccinated.” The findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

NPR (3/4, Stein) reports on its website that Drs. Saad Omer and Inci Yildrim, both of Emory University, wrote in an accompanying editorial that the new study and similar ones done in the past can help refute claims that the vaccine is linked to autism.

Additional coverage is provided by HealthDay (3/4, Thompson), The Hill (3/4, Hellmann), Forbes (3/5, Forster), MedPage Today (3/4, Monaco), Medscape (3/4, Garcia, Subscription Publication), Newsweek (3/4, Georgiou), and TIME (3/4, Park).

Related Links:

— “Measles vaccine doesn’t cause autism, even in high-risk kids, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, March 04, 2019

HealthDay (3/1, Preidt) reported researchers identified “five new gene mutations that make people more vulnerable to” Alzheimer’s disease. The findings were published in Nature Genetics.

Related Links:

— “Scientists Find 5 New Genes That Sway Alzheimer’s Risk, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 01, 2019

Neurology Advisor (3/1, May) reported researchers found that “patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) who adhere to psychotherapy experience reductions in the frequency of PNES, improvements in quality of life, and decrease in emergency department visits.” The findings were published in Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Psychotherapy Associated With Reduced Frequency of Nonepileptic Seizures, “Brandon May, Neurology Advisor, March 01, 2019

MedPage Today (2/28, George) reports researchers found in a retrospective study that “medical cannabis was well-tolerated among elderly patients and provided significant symptomatic benefits.” The researchers found that older adults with “an average age of 81 experienced relief in chronic pain, sleep, neuropathy, and anxiety with medical cannabis.” The findings are scheduled to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in May.

HealthDay (2/28, Thompson) reports the researchers also found that “a third of” study participants “who took medical marijuana” reduced “their use of opioid painkillers.”

Related Links:

— “Medical Marijuana and Older Adults –
Well tolerated among elderly patients; nearly a third reduced opioids, “Judy George, MedPage Today, February 28, 2019