The Washington Post (7/25, Maese) reports that investigators looking into “the link between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy” have “found that 99 percent of the brains donated by families of former NFL players showed signs of the neurodegenerative disease.” Altogether, the investigators “examined 202 brains that belonged to men who played football at all levels and were later donated for research.” CTE was found “in 177 of them – 87 percent.” Of the brains that belonged to men who had played in the NFL, 110 of 111 were found to have CTE.

The AP (7/25, Tanner) reports, “A panel of neuropathologists made the diagnosis by examining brain tissue, using recent criteria from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke…said” lead author Dr. Ann McKee.

TIME (7/25, Sifferlin) reports that the study indicated “the severity of CTE symptoms appeared to progress the more a person played the sport.”

The Boston Globe (7/25, Freyer) reports that “even those with mild CTE had suffered from disabling mental problems, including agitation, impulsivity, explosive tempers, and memory loss,” while “more than half contemplated suicide.”

USA Today (7/25, Perez) reports that “the most common cause of death (27%) among those with mild stages of CTE (stages 1-2) was suicide.” The findings were published July 25 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to Psychiatric News (7/25), the study authors wrote, “Behavior or mood symptoms may be the initial presentation for a subset of individuals with CTE, or alternatively, CTE pathology may lower the threshold for psychiatric manifestations in susceptible individuals.”

Related Links:

— “The latest brain study examined 111 former NFL players. Only one didn’t have CTE.,” Rick Maese, Washington Post, July 25, 2017.

HealthDay (7/24, Preidt) reports that adolescents and “adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder may have a lower risk of developing an alcohol or drug problem if they take medications to treat” AD/HD, researchers concluded after examining data “from three million Americans” with AD/HD. The findings were published online June 29 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Treating ADHD May Help Curb Later Drinking, Drug Problems,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 24, 2017.

On the front of its Science Times section, the New York Times (7/24, D1, Carey, Subscription Publication) reports in a nearly 2,500-word article that “England is in the midst of a unique national experiment, the world’s most ambitious effort to treat depression, anxiety and other common mental illnesses.” The initiative “offers virtually open-ended talk therapy free of charge at clinics throughout the country,” with the goal of the eventual creation of “a system of primary care for mental health not just for England but for all of Britain.”

Related Links:

— “England’s Mental Health Experiment: No-Cost Talk Therapy,” BENEDICT CAREY, New York Times, July 24, 2017.

In an op-ed in the New York Times (7/24, Subscription Publication), Robert Rigo, who recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, discusses his experiences with self-harm and depression and even how he has considered suicide. In the classroom, as well as in adult life, people with mental health issues “are suffering – and sometimes dying – in silence because we can’t seem to talk openly about mental health.”

Rigo concludes, “We must push the conversation about mental illness forward whether it be in the classrooms of public schools or with our families and friends.” Mental health “issues are real and lethal, and the first means of prevention is acknowledging their existence.”

Related Links:

— “Let’s Talk About Suicide,” ROBERT RIGO, New York Times, July 24, 2017.

Medscape (7/24, Anderson) reports, “Depression that starts early in life increases the risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” researchers concluded after examining “data from the Prospective Population Study of Women in Gothenburg Sweden, which began almost 50 years ago.” Included in the study sample were some “800 women (mean age, 46 years), born between 1914 and 1930.” The findings were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2017.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)