USA Today (7/27, Weintraub) reports several new studies presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto confirmed that “living a healthy, non-smoking, socially active and interesting life remains the best way to prevent dementia.” Moreover, research shows there are currently no “medications that can prevent the fatal disease, or extend the lives of the more than 5 million Americans currently suffering from Alzheimer’s.”

Related Links:

— “Best way to combat Alzheimer’s is a healthy lifestyle, studies show,” Karen Weintraub, USA Today, July 28, 2016.

The Guardian (UK) (7/27, Boseley) reports, “People living in affluent countries are more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder than those in poorer nations,” researchers found. The large study revealed that “Canada has the highest levels of PTSD, followed by the Netherlands, Australia, the US and New Zealand,” while “the lowest levels were found in Nigeria, China and Romania.” The findings were published in the July issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “PTSD more likely to affect people in affluent countries, scientists say,” Sarah Boseley, The Guardian, July 27, 2016.

HealthDay (7/27, Preidt) reports, “Changes that occur in teens’ brains as they mature may help explain why the first signs of mental illness tend to appear during this time,” a magnetic resonance imaging scan study suggests. Investigators found not only that the “cortex becomes thinner” as adolescents grow older, but also that “the brain regions that undergo the greatest changes during the teen years are also where genes associated with schizophrenia risk are most strongly expressed.” The findings of the nearly 300-participant study were published July 25 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Related Links:

— “Study of Teen Brains Offers Clues to Timing of Mental Illness,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 27, 2016.

The New York Times (7/26, A9, Belluck, Subscription Publication) reports, “The World Health Organization is moving toward declassifying transgender identity as a mental disorder in its global list of medical conditions.” This comes as “a new study lend[s] additional support to a proposal that would delete the decades-old designation.”

The Times adds that “in the fifth and most recent edition,” the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “the designation was changed to ‘gender dysphoria,’ and was defined to apply to only those transgender people who are experiencing distress or dysfunction, said” psychiatrist Jack Drescher, MD, a “psychoanalyst at New York Medical College, who serves on the WHO working group and served on a similar working group for the DSM-5.”

Related Links:

— “W.H.O. Weighs Dropping Transgender Identity From List of Mental Disorders,” PAM BELLUCK, New York Times, July 26, 2016.

The Washington Post (7/27, Love) reports a new study indicates a type of computer game “could decrease the risk of symptoms of dementia by almost half, compared to not having any brain training at all.” The findings are still being reviewed, so they are considered preliminary.

This type of game is known as “a speed-of-processing task,” which is “one of three types of cognitive training that 2800 people took part in during The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, a randomized longitudinal study funded by NIH” in 2014.

The Post adds that “even with this compelling ACTIVE data analysis, researchers are hesitant to accept the findings right away,” because “the 2014 ACTIVE study wasn’t designed to track dementia, Jonathan King” said. King “was the project director and co-author of the 2014 study and is a program director at the National Institute on Aging.”

Related Links:

— “Could this computer game delay Alzheimer’s symptoms? New study suggests it could.,” Shayla Love, Washington Post, July 27, 2016.