The Boston Globe (1/13, Lazar) reports on a “first-of-its kind study” scheduled for release today that finds positive effects to “brain training drills” lasting up to ten years. The study analyzed data from “roughly 2,800 participants” who were given sessions of brain training, 74% of whom showed continuing improvement at the decade mark.

Reuters (1/13, Steenhuysen) reports that the results are slated for publication in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Related Links:

— “Study finds long-lasting results from brain exercises, “Kay Lazar, The Boston Globe, January 13, 2014.

Several publications, both large circulation newspapers and niche sources, reported over the weekend on Federal approval of Maryland’s initiative to control hospital costs.

In an article entitled “Maryland Experiments With Capping Hospital Spending,” the Wall Street Journal (1/10, Dooren, Schatz, Subscription Publication) reported that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a waiver to Maryland to set its own Medicare rates for hospitals. Maryland agreed to save $330 million in Medicare cost savings over five years. The plan waiver was supported by the state’s major hospitals and insurance companies.

The Washington Post (1/10, Kliff) “Wonkblog” noted that, unlike other states, “in Maryland, all customers — whether a private insurance plan, public program or uninsured patient — pay the same price.” A form of the program started in the 1970s and has generated substantial savings for the state.

Related Links:

— “Maryland Experiments With Capping Hospital Spending, “Jennifer Corbett, The Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2014.

The AP (1/11, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that that Obama Administration proposed removing from Medicare “special protections that guarantee seniors access to a wide selection of three types of drugs.” The medications, “antidepressants, antipsychotics and drugs that suppress the immune system to prevent the rejection of a transplanted organs,” have enjoyed “protected” status, but removing that status could save millions of dollars per year and help prevent the overprescribing of antipsychotics in senior care facilities. Critics are concerned that the rule, published in Friday’s Federal Register, could negatively affect patient care. Medscape (1/13) also reports.

The Time (1/11, Sifferlin) “Healthland” blog reported that a study published online Jan. 11 in the Journal of Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics “found that among parents of 600 children between ages two and five with autism (453) and developmental delays (125), 40% reported using homeopathic remedies, mind-body medicine, melatonin and probiotics in an attempt to relieve some of their children’s symptoms and even prevent some of the condition’s behavioral problems from progressing.”

Medscape (1/12, Roach) reported that the study authors noted that “8.6% of the children with an autism spectrum disorder received complementary treatments that are invasive, disproven, or potentially unsafe (e.g., chelation, intravenous immunoglobulin, antifungal drugs, and vitamin B12 injections).” The study received funding from the National Institutes of Health, among others.

Related Links:

— “Autism and Alternative Medicine: Getting Real About the Benefits and Risks, “Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, January 11, 2014.

The MedPage Today (1/10, Gever) “Striking a Nerve” blog reports that certain anti-seizure medications are safer for the developing fetus during pregnancy than others, “with valproate probably the biggest no-no,” as evidenced by a studypublished online in the journal Neurology that compared language and cognitive development of youngsters born to mothers with epilepsy who took valproate, levetiracetam, or no anti-seizure medication at all during pregnancy. Kids whose moms took valproate during pregnancy had an increased risk for such problems, compared to kids whose moms took levetiracetam or no medication at all. Currently, because there is no set “algorithm for deciding which [medication] is best for a given patient,” the “decision still comes down to the individual clinician’s judgment and the patient’s tolerance for risk to herself and her unborn child.”

Related Links:

— “Striking a Nerve: Epilepsy Drugs in Pregnancy, “John Gever, MedPage Today, January 9, 2014.

The New York Times (1/10, Carrns, Subscription Publication) “Your Money” column reports that the Affordable Care Act and rules to fully implement the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 are expected to provide improvements and greater availability of “insurance coverage for mental conditions and addictions.” The ACA “includes mental health care and substance abuse treatment among its 10 ‘essential’ benefits, which means plans sold on the public health care exchanges must include coverage.” What’s more, “the parity law says that when health insurance plans provide coverage for mental ailments, it must be comparable to coverage for physical ailments.”

Related Links:

— “Understanding New Rules That Widen Mental Health Coverage, “Ann Carrns , The New York Times, January 9, 2014.

In a front-page story, USA Today (1/10, A1, Zoroya) reports that according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, “young veterans just out of the service and receiving health care from the government committed suicide at nearly three times the rate of active-duty troops in recent years.” According to USA Today, “Veterans ages 18-24 enrolled in the VA’s health program killed themselves at a rate of 46 per 100,000 in 2009 and nearly 80 per 100,000 in 2011,” while “non-veterans of the same age had a suicide rate during 2009 and 2010…of about 20 per 100,000.”

Related Links:

— “Young vets’ suicide rate alarming, ” Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, January 9, 2014.

The Chicago Tribune (1/9, Graham) reports that Medicaid expansion under the auspices of the Affordable Care Act may provide additional opportunities for “poor people struggling with mental illnesses.” However, the expansion in coverage causes concerns among some analysts that some people may still have difficulty accessing mental health professionals, whom the Tribune notes are often in short supply in disadvantaged areas.

Related Links:

— “Doors to treatment opening for poor people struggling with mental illnesses, “Judith Graham, The Chicago Tribune, January 9, 2014.

One major television network, several major US newspapers, and numerous online media sources cover a Vital Signs report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday showing that many Americans are drinking too much alcohol, even though they are not alcoholics, and that many of these individuals have never discussed their alcohol use with their physicians.

NBC Nightly News (1/7, story 8, 1:50, Williams) reported that the CDC has released a new report revealing that “many millions of Americans drink too much,” a problem rarely discussed with their physicians. NBC News chief medical Editor Nancy Snyderman, MD, explained, “At least 38 million people in the United States drink too much and most are not alcoholics.” Still, 75 percent of binge drinkers claim never to have had a discussion about their alcohol use with their physicians. CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, was shown saying that a brief interview with a physician “can result in a substantial reduction of problem drinking for a long period of time.”

Related Links:

— “January 2014 Vital Signs Issue: Alcohol Screening and Counseling,CDC Vital Signs, January, 2014.

HealthDay (1/8, Goodman) reports that according to a study published online Jan. 6 in the journal Pediatrics, “newer antidepressants all seem to carry about the same risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors” in children being treated for depression. After reviewing “medical records of nearly 37,000 school-aged kids who were enrolled in Tennessee’s Medicaid program between 1995 and 2006,” researchers found that approximately “one percent of kids who were treated with newer antidepressants – including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) – attempted suicide.” However, the suicide risk was increased in youngsters who were simultaneously taking multiple antidepressants.

Related Links:

— “Kids’ Suicide Risk Similar for All Newer Antidepressants: Study, “Brenda Goodman, HealthDay, January 7, 2014.