Mental Health in the Headlines: Week of November 3, 2008

Mental Health in the Headlines offers summaries of the latest news and views in the mental health field. Coverage of news items in this publication does not represent Mental Health America's support for or opposition to the stories summarized or the views they express.

*DID YOU KNOW?

More than 90 percent of a survey’s respondents say that the global economic turmoil is causing them to lose sleep at night...more

*TODAY´S NEWS

Governors At Odds Over Stimulus At Hearing

At a congressional hearing last week, New York Gov. David Paterson asked House Ways and Means Committee members to include aid to states as a part of any stimulus bill that Congress may debate and vote on probably later this month. He said that New York could have a $47 billion deficit by 2012 without additional federal Medicaid and other payments. At the same hearing, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford contradicted Paterson, saying that an additional stimulus bill wouldn’t help states, but only drive the federal government deeper into debt than now. (Los Angeles Times/The Associated Press, 10/29/08)

Experts Concerned About Untreated PTSD Among Returning Service Members

With one out of every seven service members having returned from deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD), Americans are more aware than ever of the existence of the disorder. Despite increased awareness, many myths about the condition remain. Despite all the public attention, myths about PTSD abound. One myth is that the disorder is only psychological. But it's a biologically based condition, says Farris Tuma, chief of the traumatic stress program at the National Institute of Mental Health. Because PTSD can impair so much of a person's life, mental health experts are concerned about the impact on young soldiers. (USA Today, 10/26/08)

Latest Research

Researchers Use Drug To Research Schizophrenia: Researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they have discovered how schizophrenia affects the brain based on the club drug “Special K,” which can mimic the symptoms of the illness. The drug disrupts specific receptors in brain cells, a problem that can permanently “unhinge” the brain’s normal electrical wave patterns. Knowing how this process works may eventually lead to the development of drugs that can boost the receptors’ functioning. (Reuters, 10/27/08)

Antidepressant Use Among African-Americans With Depression Lower Than Whites: Although people who are African-American who have heart disease are more likely than people who are white to also have symptoms of depression, African-Americans are less than one-half as likely to be prescribed antidepressant medications, researchers report in the American Heart Journal. One reason for the disparity might be a lack of health insurance coverage, the information for which wasn’t available to the study’s researchers. Depression in people who have heart disease places them at a two- to four-fold higher risk of complications than people without depression. (Reuters, 10/29/08)

Combination Therapy Helps Kids’ Antianxiety Disorders: The severity of kids’ anxiety disorders were significantly reduced among those children who receive a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressant medication compared with kids who only received one of the treatments, researchers reported last week in The New England Journal of Medicine. The Rush University Medical Center’s Louis Krause, who wasn’t involved in the study, called the effectiveness of the combination treatment “incredible,” but noted that there’s a severe shortage in professionals trained in cognitive behavioral therapy. (The Wall Street Journal, 10/31/08)

Nicotine Dependence Among Teens’ With ADHD More Severe Than Peers’: Although researchers have known for some time that kids who have ADHD are more likely than their peers to start smoking, a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics indicates that once they do begin smoking, they are much more likely than kids without ADHD to become severely nicotine dependent. There is evidence that nicotine can affect brain systems similar to how the ADHD treatment Ritalin affect those systems, and may help alleviate some ADHD symptoms. (Reuters, 10/30/08)

Early Drug, Alcohol Use Lead to Worse Health In Adulthood: Teens who begin using drugs or drinking alcohol before age 15 are more likely than their peers to have a range of health problems later on in life, researchers report in the journal Psychological Science. The health problems include becoming dependent on drugs or alcohol and contracting a sexually transmitted disease. The researchers also found that girls who begin using drugs or drinking early are at a higher risk than other girls to become pregnant before age 21, and that both girls and boys are at a higher risk for criminal convictions. (Reuters, 10/28/08)

Economic Problems Leading To Sleep Problems: More than 90 percent of a survey’s respondents say that the global economic turmoil is causing them to lose sleep at night. In the survey, conducted by ComPsych, a Chicago-based provider of employee assistance programs, one-third said that their lack of sleep can be attributed to the cost of living and another one-third cited credit card debt. (Reuters, 10/27/08)

Nicotine Dependence On The Rise: Many more people who sought medical help in 2005 and 2006 to overcome an addiction to nicotine were highly addicted to the substance than those who’ve sought help in the past 20 years, researchers reported at an American College of Chest Physicians meeting last week. Seventy-three percent who sought help in 2005 and 2006 were highly addicted, compared to 66 percent in 1994 and 55 percent in 1989 and 1990. The researchers said that they didn’t know the cause of the increase. (Reuters, 10/28/08)

*Mental Health America MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Sexual identity issues contribute to a suicide rate among young people that has tripled since 1960, according to Mental Health America. A new play, “Speech & Debate,” examines these issues. Portland Tribune, “Life with Children: Drama’s in real life for gay kids,” October 30, 2008

Depression, characterized by ongoing feelings of sadness or hopelessness and a lack of interest in everyday activities, affects as many as 15 out of every 100 adults over age 65. Mental Health America is a great resource for information on mental health in older adults. WWJ.950 Newsradio Detroit “Feeling Blue?: Depression a common, treatable condition in seniors,” October 29, 2008

“This is a historic day and a great civil rights victory for millions of Americans who have been unable to access mental health treatment,” said David Shern, Ph.D., president and CEO of Mental Health America, of the recent passage of mental health parity legislation. “With approval of this bill, we will tear down the walls of stigma and discrimination and open the doors to the power and promise of treatment and recovery. It recognizes that mental health disorders are every bit as debilitating, and just as treatable, as cancer and diabetes. With economic problems making it even harder for Americans to afford treatment and driving up rates of depression and family difficulties, passage of this law is even more important.” Abilene Reporter News, “Mental health legislation,” October 29, 2008

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Mental Health in the Headlines is produced weekly by Mental Health America. Mental Health America's Mental Health in the Headlines staff: Steve Vetzner, senior director, Media Relations; Sarah Jones, communications coordinator; and Hazel Moran, senior director, Healthcare Reform.

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