On its front page, the New York Times (6/27, A1, St. Louis, Subscription Publication) reports in a nearly 1,500-word article that while New York state has legalized medical marijuana for specific conditions, “no rigorous scientific evidence that marijuana effectively treats the symptoms of many of the illnesses for which states have authorized its use.”

The Times adds, “Experts say, lawmakers and the authors of public referendums have acted largely on the basis of animal studies and heart-wrenching anecdotes.” The article also mentions that the National Institute on Drug Abuse is the only legal supplier of the substance.

Related Links:

— “Politicians’ Prescriptions for Marijuana Defy Doctors and Data,” Catherine Saint Louis, New York Times, June 26, 2014.

HealthDay (6/27, Preidt) reports research suggests that “if your spouse has a stroke, and the two of you disagree about the rate of recovery, your own health might suffer.” Investigators found that “the caregiving spouse is at increased risk for emotional distress and depression if the couple has different perceptions of the post-stroke progress.” The researchers came to this conclusion after studying “35 couples in which one spouse had suffered a stroke within the past three years.” The findings were published online in Aging & Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “After Stroke, Spouse May Also Need Care,” Robert Priedt, HealthDay, June 26, 2014.

USA Today (6/25, A1, Szabo) reports in a front-page story that “systemic discrimination” against people with mental illnesses, which is “embedded in Medicaid and Medicare laws, has accelerated the emptying of state psychiatric hospitals, leaving many of the sickest and most vulnerable patients with nowhere to turn.”

According to advocates and experts, the system is “in shambles, starved of funding while neglecting millions of people across the country each year.” The piece also mentions that a bill before Congress sponsored by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) called the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act would allow states to receive Medicaid matching payments for adult psychiatric hospitalizations.”

The measure enjoys the support of the American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Emergency Physicians, among others.

Related Links:

— “Cost of not caring: Stigma set in stone: Mentally Ill Suffer in Sick Health System,” Liz Szabo, USA Today, June 25, 2014.

The Times of Trenton (NJ) (6/26) reports that a bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) enhancing “federal programs for families touched by autism cleared the House of Representatives” yesterday night. The measure, called the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support (Autism CARES) Act, “earmarks $1.3 billion over five years for autism research, particularly for programs to aid people with autism as they transition from childhood into adulthood.”

Included in the “$1.3 billion is $950 million in research grants at the National Institutes of Health and Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee and $110 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Developmental Disabilities Surveillance and Research Program.”

Related Links:

— “Legislation to enhance federal aid for autism research passes House of Representatives,” Mike Davis, Times of Trenton, June 25, 2014.

USA Today (6/25, Weintraub) reports that according to a study published online June 25 in the journal Neurology, older veterans who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) appear to have an increased risk for dementia, compared to veterans who have never sustained a TBI.

HealthDay (6/26, Fischer) reports that after evaluating 190,000 veterans, average age 68, 1,229 of which had been diagnosed with a TBI, researchers found that veterans with TBIs “were 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia sooner than those who never had a brain injury.” Notably, “the risk for developing dementia was higher in veterans with a brain injury who also experienced depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or cerebrovascular disease, compared to those who had either a brain injury or any one of those conditions.”

Related Links:

— “Brain injury in veterans tied to higher Alzheimer’s risk,” Karen Weintraub, USA Today, June 26, 2014.

HealthDay (6/25) reports that a British study has found that adults with Asperger syndrome are “much more likely to think about and attempt suicide than those in the general population.” Researchers surveyed “374 British adults with Asperger syndrome.” The results indicated that “66 percent reported having suicidal thoughts and 35 percent had planned or attempted suicide.”

Related Links:

— “Adults With Asperger Syndrome May Have Higher Suicide Risk,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 24, 2014.

The Houston Chronicle (6/20) wrote in an editorial that some veterans claim marijuana helps alleviate their post-traumatic stress disorder, but points out that “a vet who is suffering from PTSD and who uses marijuana to self-medicate is committing a crime.” The National Institute on Drug Abuse has agreed “after years of resistance…to a study at the University of Arizona College of Medicine to assess marijuana’s potential for treating” PTSD in veterans. The Chronicle agrees “that more scientific research is needed as to the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids.”

Related Links:

— “Worth exploring: If cannabis works, we owe our veterans access to this PTSD treatment option.,” Houston Chronicle, June 21, 2014.

The New York Times (6/22, Carey, Subscription Publication) reports that the US mental health system is under scrutiny in the wake of several shootings and violent incidents committed by young males, particularly from “questions of how best to help them and how to pay for it.”

Even for families with premium health insurance, services and treatments for violent sons are not always covered. Because of this, “many affluent families” are taking their complaints to court in order to force school districts, for instance, to spend more money on special education services and therapeutic schools for troubled youths.

Related Links:

— “Seeing Sons’ Violent Potential, but Finding Little Help or Hope,” Benedict Carey, New York Times, June 21, 2014.

HealthDay (6/21, Preidt) reported that according to a study published online June 18 in the BMJ, medications “used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) do not increase the risk of suicide attempts or suicide, and may actually provide a protective effect.”

Researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining data on “the nearly 38,000 people in Sweden diagnosed with AD/HD between 1960 and 1996” and tracking “their rates of suicidal behaviors between 2006 through 2009, at times when they were taking AD/HD drugs or not taking the medications.”

Related Links:

— “No Sign That ADHD Meds Raise Suicide Risk: Study,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 20, 2014.

USA Today (6/21, Zoroya) reported that according to a 300-page report released June 20 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs “are not ready for a potential flood of war-related post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] among troops and veterans, particularly from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.” The IOM panel, which consisted of 16 experts and was chaired by physician Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH of Columbia University in New York, cited as a “key failure…delay in treating those who need therapy, a central element of the current wait-time scandal that led to the May 30 resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.”

According to the Los Angeles Times (6/21, Zarembo), the report found that the US “government spent $3 billion on PTSD treatments for veterans in 2012 and $294 million more for service members,” but neither the Pentagon “nor the VA have consistently collected data on how patients are faring or even what treatments they have received, making it impossible to assess the quality of care.”

What’s more, “the report described PTSD care in the military health system as ‘ad hoc, incremental and crisis driven’ and said the Department of Veterans Affairs had not hired mental health” professionals “fast enough to keep pace with the rising demand.”

Related Links:

— “Flood of PTSD cases coming, scientists warn,” Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, June 20, 2014.