News Free Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have shown that these brain regions can over- or underreact in response to stressful tasks, such as recalling a traumatic event or reacting to a photo of a threatening face. In a recent study published in Neuroscience Letters and presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatry Association, researchers have explored for the first time what happens in the brains of combat veterans with PTSD in the absence of external triggers. Their results show that the effects of trauma persist in certain brain regions even when combat veterans are not engaged in cognitive or emotional tasks and face no immediate external threats. The findings shed light on which areas of the brain provoke traumatic symptoms and represent a critical step toward better diagnostics and treatments for PTSD. The study examined “spontaneous” or “resting” brain activity in 104 veterans of combat from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The researchers found that spontaneous brain activity in the amygdala, a key structure in the brain’s “fear circuitry” that processes fearful and anxious emotions, was significantly higher in the 52 combat veterans with PTSD than in the 52 combat veterans without PTSD. The PTSD group also showed elevated brain activity in the anterior insula, a brain region that regulates sensitivity to pain and negative emotions. Moreover, the PTSD group had lower activity in the precuneus, a structure tucked between the brain’s two hemispheres that helps integrate information from the past and future, especially when the mind is wandering or disengaged from active thought. Decreased activity in the precuneus correlates with more severe “re-experiencing” symptoms—when victims re-experience trauma over and over again through flashbacks, nightmares, and frightening thoughts. Source.“For Combat Veterans Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ‘Fear Circuitry’ in the Brain Never Rests.” (2013, May 17). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://ow.ly/lkPKR. A new national public service announcement (PSA) campaign that empowers parents to talk to children as young as age 9 about the dangers of underage drinking was recently launched by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “Talk. They Hear You.” ( http://www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov) raises parents’ awareness about these issues and arms them with information they need to help them start a conversation about alcohol with their children before their children become teenagers. The campaign features a series of television, radio, and print PSAs in English and Spanish. The PSAs show parents “seizing the moment” to talk with their children about alcohol, such as while preparing dinner or doing chores together. By modeling behaviors through these PSAs, parents can see the many “natural” opportunities for initiating the conversation about alcohol with their children. Source.“New Underage Drinking Prevention Campaign Launches Today: ‘Talk. They Hear You.’” (2013, May 13). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1305134523.aspx. At the White House Forum on Military Credentialing and Licensing in late April, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new program to help military veterans with health care experience or training, such as medics, pursue nursing careers. The program is designed to help veterans obtain bachelor’s degrees in nursing by building on their unique skills and abilities. Administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration at USDHHS, the Veterans’ Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program will fund up to nine cooperative agreements, of up to $350,000 per year. Funding of $3 million is expected to be awarded by the end of fiscal year 2013 (September 30). Program funding will go to accredited… Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have shown that these brain regions can over- or underreact in response to stressful tasks, such as recalling a traumatic event or reacting to a photo of a threatening face. In a recent study published in Neuroscience Letters and presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatry Association, researchers have explored for the first time what happens in the brains of combat veterans with PTSD in the absence of external triggers. Their results show that the effects of trauma persist in certain brain regions even when combat veterans are not engaged in cognitive or emotional tasks and face no immediate external threats. The findings shed light on which areas of the brain provoke traumatic symptoms and represent a critical step toward better diagnostics and treatments for PTSD. The study examined “spontaneous” or “resting” brain activity in 104 veterans of combat from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The researchers found that spontaneous brain activity in the amygdala, a key structure in the brain’s “fear circuitry” that processes fearful and anxious emotions, was significantly higher in the 52 combat veterans with PTSD than in the 52 combat veterans without PTSD. The PTSD group also showed elevated brain activity in the anterior insula, a brain region that regulates sensitivity to pain and negative emotions. Moreover, the PTSD group had lower activity in the precuneus, a structure tucked between the brain’s two hemispheres that helps integrate information from the past and future, especially when the mind is wandering or disengaged from active thought. Decreased activity in the precuneus correlates with more severe “re-experiencing” symptoms—when victims re-experience trauma over and over again through flashbacks, nightmares, and frightening thoughts. Source.“For Combat Veterans Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ‘Fear Circuitry’ in the Brain Never Rests.” (2013, May 17). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://ow.ly/lkPKR. A new national public service announcement (PSA) campaign that empowers parents to talk to children as young as age 9 about the dangers of underage drinking was recently launched by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “Talk. They Hear You.” ( http://www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov) raises parents’ awareness about these issues and arms them with information they need to help them start a conversation about alcohol with their children before their children become teenagers. The campaign features a series of television, radio, and print PSAs in English and Spanish. The PSAs show parents “seizing the moment” to talk with their children about alcohol, such as while preparing dinner or doing chores together. By modeling behaviors through these PSAs, parents can see the many “natural” opportunities for initiating the conversation about alcohol with their children. Source.“New Underage Drinking Prevention Campaign Launches Today: ‘Talk. They Hear You.’” (2013, May 13). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1305134523.aspx. At the White House Forum on Military Credentialing and Licensing in late April, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new program to help military veterans with health care experience or training, such as medics, pursue nursing careers. The program is designed to help veterans obtain bachelor’s degrees in nursing by building on their unique skills and abilities. Administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration at USDHHS, the Veterans’ Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program will fund up to nine cooperative agreements, of up to $350,000 per year. Funding of $3 million is expected to be awarded by the end of fiscal year 2013 (September 30). Program funding will go to accredited schools of nursing to increase veterans’ enrollment in and completion of baccalaureate nursing programs, and to explore ways to award academic credit for prior military health care experience or training. The institutions will also train faculty to provide mentorships and other supportive services. This new program is an important step forward in addressing needs identified in the February 2013 White House report, The Fast Track to Civilian Employment: Streamlining Credentialing and Licensing for Service Members, Veterans, and Their Spouses. Information on applying for this funding opportunity can be found at http://www.grants.gov. Source.“Translating Veterans’ Medical Skills Into Nursing Careers.” (2013, April 29). Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/04/20130429a.html. For nearly a decade, physicians have used implanted electronic stimulators to treat severe depression in people who do not respond to standard antidepressant therapy. Now, preliminary brain scan studies are beginning to reveal the processes occurring in the brain during stimulation and may provide some clues about how the device improves depression. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that vagus nerve stimulation brings about changes in brain metabolism weeks or even months before patients begin to feel better. The findings have been published online in the journal Brain Stimulation. The study team followed 13 people with treatment-resistant depression. Their symptoms had not improved after many months of treatment, with as many as five different antidepressant medications. Most had been depressed for at least 2 years, but some patients had been clinically depressed for more than 20 years. All of the participants had surgery to insert a device to electronically stimulate the left vagus nerve. Once activated, the device delivers a 30-second electronic stimulus to the vagus nerve every 5 minutes. To establish the nature of the treatment’s effects on brain activity, the researchers performed positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging before the initiation of stimulation, and again 3 and 12 months after stimulation had begun. Eventually, 9 of the 13 participants experienced improvements in depression with the treatment. However, in most cases it took several months for improvement to occur. Remarkably, in those who responded, the scans showed significant changes in brain metabolism following 3 months of stimulation, which typically preceded improvements in symptoms of depression by several months. Although the patients remained on antidepressant agents for several months after their stimulators were implanted, many of those who responded to the device eventually were able to stop taking medication. Additionally, the PET scans demonstrated that structures deeper in the brain also start to change several months after nerve stimulation begins. Many of those structures have high concentrations of brain cells that release dopamine. There is a consensus forming among depression researchers that problems in dopamine pathways may be particularly important in treatment-resistant depression. The finding that vagus nerve stimulators influence those pathways may explain why the therapy can help and why, when it works, its effects are not transient. Patients who respond to vagus nerve stimulation tend to get better and stay better. Source.“Nerve Stimulation for Severe Depression Changes Brain Function.” (2013, May 7). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/25384.aspx. Teens nationwide are being tempted to use a “study drug”—a prescription stimulant or amphetamine agent—to gain an academic edge. However, a poll from the University of Michigan shows only 1 in 100 parents of teens ages 13 to 17 believes their teen has used a study drug. Study drugs refer to stimulant medications typically prescribed for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); commonly prescribed medicines include brand names Adderall®, Concerta®, Ritalin®, and Vyvanse®. Among parents of teens who have not been prescribed a stimulant medication for ADHD, just 1% said they believe their teen has used a study drug to help study or improve grades. However, recent national data from Monitoring the Future indicate that 10% of high school sophomores and 12% of high school seniors say they have used an amphetamine or stimulant medication not prescribed by their physician. The poll indicates a clear mismatch between what parents believe and what their children are reporting. But even though parents may not be recognizing these behaviors in their own children, the poll also showed that one half of parents say they are very concerned about this abuse in their communities. White parents were most likely to say they are “very concerned” (54%), compared with Black (38%) and Hispanic/ Latino (37%) parents. Despite this concern, only 27% of parents polled said they have talked to their teens about using study drugs. Black parents were more likely to have discussed this issue with their teens (41%), compared with White (27%) or Hispanic (17%) parents. Nearly 80% of parents polled support a policy to require students with a prescription for ADHD medications to keep their pills in a secure location such as the school nurse’s office—a requirement that would prohibit students from carrying medicines of this nature that could potentially be shared with, or sold to, other students. Source.“One in Ten Teens Using ‘Study Drugs,’ But Parents Aren’t Paying Attention.” (2013, May 20). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://ow.ly/ll1TU. A study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine reports lengthy waits for severely ill psychiatric patients in need of immediate hospitalization in the Boston area, due in part to time-consuming prior authorizations required by insurance companies. Psychiatrists spent, on average, 38 minutes on the telephone getting authorization. In 10% of cases, it took more than 1 hour to obtain insurance authorization; in one case, authorization took 5 hours of psychiatrist time. In the study, over a 3-month period, researchers tabulated how long psychiatric patients who were deemed in need of inpatient admission stayed in the emergency department (ED) prior to being hospitalized and the amount of time that the ED psychiatrists spent obtaining authorization from the patient’s insurer. A group of psychiatric residents at Cambridge Health Alliance working in the psychiatric ED with acutely ill psychiatric patients collected the data. Most patients required hospitalization because they were suicidal or, in a few cases, homicidal. Although obtaining insurance authorization delayed care and took clinicians away from other duties, only 1 of the 53 requests for authorization was denied. Median total time in the ED was 8.5 hours, with the shortest stay lasting 3 hours and the longest recorded stay lasting 20 hours. These numbers do not include a handful of patients who boarded in the ED over the weekend while waiting for an inpatient bed to become available. They exclude uninsured patients and those with Medicare, which does not require prior authorization. With approximately 1.6 million psychiatric admissions among people with private insurance nationwide each year, 38 minutes of phone time to obtain authorization translates into approximately 1 million hours of wasted psychiatrist time. Source.“1 Million Hours of Psychiatrist Time Wasted on Phone Annually Getting Insurance Approvals for Hospitalization of the Mentally Ill.” (2013, April 23). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/pfan-1mh041713.php. A multinational randomized clinical trial has found that patients with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa will not only stick with treatments but also make significant improvements with just a slight modification of the standard goals and methods of treatment. More than 85% of those who enrolled in the trial completed treatment—almost three times the usual retention rate. After 8 months of outpatient treatment, patients in both treatment groups reported improved quality of life, reduced symptoms of mood disorders, and enhanced social adjustment. The study, published online by the journal Psychological Medicine, was the first randomized clinical trial for chronic anorexia nervosa. It compared two standard treatments but modified them in ways that made them more suitable for individuals with such a profound and persistent disorder. The treatments—cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and specialist supportive clinical management (SSCM)—were altered to focus on retention, improved quality of life, and to avoid “further failure experiences.” The researchers enrolled 63 patients, all women, at two clinical centers. The average body mass index (BMI) of study participants was 16.2, with a range from 11.8 to 18.5. Participants had lived with severe anorexia for at least 7 years, with an average duration of illness of more than 15 years. Thirty-one patients were assigned to CBT and 32 to SSCM. Both treatments involved 30 outpatient therapy sessions over 8 months. Patients were assessed at the end of treatment, with follow-up assessments 6 and 12 months later. Results from both treatments were comparable, with significant improvements ranging from “moderate” to “large” on many measures. CBT had a greater impact on eating-disorder symptoms and readiness to change. SSCM produced larger improvements in health-related quality of life and depression. Average BMI for both groups increased from 16.2 to 16.8, approximately 4%. One crucial element of this trial was the decision to reprioritize how the goals of treatment were presented to those enrolled in this study. Treatment of newly diagnosed adolescents and young adults tends to focus on weight recovery. For this study, treatment goals were set collaboratively—by the care team and the patient—with less emphasis on weight gain and more on quality of life, reduction of mood disorders, and enhanced social adjustment. Source.“Rethinking Treatment Goals Improves Results for Those with Persistent Anorexia.” (2013, May 7). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2013/20130508-anorexia.html. 10.3928/02793695-20130523-89 Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have shown that these brain regions can over- or underreact in response to stressful tasks, such as recalling a traumatic event or reacting to a photo of a threatening face. In a recent study published in Neuroscience Letters and presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatry Association, researchers have explored for the first time what happens in the brains of combat veterans with PTSD in the absence of external triggers. Their results show that the effects of trauma persist in certain brain regions even when combat veterans are not engaged in cognitive or emotional tasks and face no immediate external threats. The findings shed light on which areas of the brain provoke traumatic symptoms and represent a critical step toward better diagnostics and treatments for PTSD. The study examined “spontaneous” or “resting” brain activity in 104 veterans of combat from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The researchers found that spontaneous brain activity in the amygdala, a key structure in the brain’s “fear circuitry” that processes fearful and anxious emotions, was significantly higher in the 52 combat veterans with PTSD than in the 52 combat veterans without PTSD. The PTSD group also showed elevated brain activity in the anterior insula, a brain region that regulates sensitivity to pain and negative emotions. Moreover, the PTSD group had lower activity in the precuneus, a structure tucked between the brain’s two hemispheres that helps integrate information from the past and future, especially when the mind is wandering or disengaged from active thought. Decreased activity in the precuneus correlates with more severe “re-experiencing” symptoms—when victims re-experience trauma over and over again through flashbacks, nightmares, and frightening thoughts. Source.“For Combat Veterans Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ‘Fear Circuitry’ in the Brain Never Rests.” (2013, May 17). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://ow.ly/lkPKR. A new national public service announcement (PSA) campaign that empowers parents to talk to children as young as age 9 about the dangers of underage drinking was recently launched by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “Talk. They Hear You.” ( http://www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov) raises parents’ awareness about these issues and arms them with information they need to help them start a conversation about alcohol with their children before their children become teenagers. The campaign features a series of television, radio, and print PSAs in English and Spanish. The PSAs show parents “seizing the moment” to talk with their children about alcohol, such as while preparing dinner or doing chores together. By modeling behaviors through these PSAs, parents can see the many “natural” opportunities for initiating the conversation about alcohol with their children. Source.“New Underage Drinking Prevention Campaign Launches Today: ‘Talk. They Hear You.’” (2013, May 13). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1305134523.aspx. At the White House Forum on Military Credentialing and Licensing in late April, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new program to help military veterans with health care experience or training, such as medics, pursue nursing careers. The program is designed to help veterans obtain bachelor’s degrees in nursing by building on their unique skills and abilities. Administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration at USDHHS, the Veterans’ Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program will fund up to nine cooperative agreements, of up to $350,000 per year. Funding of $3 million is expected to be awarded by the end of fiscal year 2013 (September 30). Program funding will go to accredited… Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have shown that these brain regions can over- or underreact in response to stressful tasks, such as recalling a traumatic event or reacting to a photo of a threatening face. In a recent study published in Neuroscience Letters and presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatry Association, researchers have explored for the first time what happens in the brains of combat veterans with PTSD in the absence of external triggers. Their results show that the effects of trauma persist in certain brain regions even when combat veterans are not engaged in cognitive or emotional tasks and face no immediate external threats. The findings shed light on which areas of the brain provoke traumatic symptoms and represent a critical step toward better diagnostics and treatments for PTSD. The study examined “spontaneous” or “resting” brain activity in 104 veterans of combat from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The researchers found that spontaneous brain activity in the amygdala, a key structure in the brain’s “fear circuitry” that processes fearful and anxious emotions, was significantly higher in the 52 combat veterans with PTSD than in the 52 combat veterans without PTSD. The PTSD group also showed elevated brain activity in the anterior insula, a brain region that regulates sensitivity to pain and negative emotions. Moreover, the PTSD group had lower activity in the precuneus, a structure tucked between the brain’s two hemispheres that helps integrate information from the past and future, especially when the mind is wandering or disengaged from active thought. Decreased activity in the precuneus correlates with more severe “re-experiencing” symptoms—when victims re-experience trauma over and over again through flashbacks, nightmares, and frightening thoughts. Source.“For Combat Veterans Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ‘Fear Circuitry’ in the Brain Never Rests.” (2013, May 17). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://ow.ly/lkPKR. A new national public service announcement (PSA) campaign that empowers parents to talk to children as young as age 9 about the dangers of underage drinking was recently launched by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “Talk. They Hear You.” ( http://www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov) raises parents’ awareness about these issues and arms them with information they need to help them start a conversation about alcohol with their children before their children become teenagers. The campaign features a series of television, radio, and print PSAs in English and Spanish. The PSAs show parents “seizing the moment” to talk with their children about alcohol, such as while preparing dinner or doing chores together. By modeling behaviors through these PSAs, parents can see the many “natural” opportunities for initiating the conversation about alcohol with their children. Source.“New Underage Drinking Prevention Campaign Launches Today: ‘Talk. They Hear You.’” (2013, May 13). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1305134523.aspx. At the White House Forum on Military Credentialing and Licensing in late April, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new program to help military veterans with health care experience or training, such as medics, pursue nursing careers. The program is designed to help veterans obtain bachelor’s degrees in nursing by building on their unique skills and abilities. Administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration at USDHHS, the Veterans’ Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program will fund up to nine cooperative agreements, of up to $350,000 per year. Funding of $3 million is expected to be awarded by the end of fiscal year 2013 (September 30). Program funding will go to accredited schools of nursing to increase veterans’ enrollment in and completion of baccalaureate nursing programs, and to explore ways to award academic credit for prior military health care experience or training. The institutions will also train faculty to provide mentorships and other supportive services. This new program is an important step forward in addressing needs identified in the February 2013 White House report, The Fast Track to Civilian Employment: Streamlining Credentialing and Licensing for Service Members, Veterans, and Their Spouses. Information on applying for this funding opportunity can be found at http://www.grants.gov. Source.“Translating Veterans’ Medical Skills Into Nursing Careers.” (2013, April 29). Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/04/20130429a.html. For nearly a decade, physicians have used implanted electronic stimulators to treat severe depression in people who do not respond to standard antidepressant therapy. Now, preliminary brain scan studies are beginning to reveal the processes occurring in the brain during stimulation and may provide some clues about how the device improves depression. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that vagus nerve stimulation brings about changes in brain metabolism weeks or even months before patients begin to feel better. The findings have been published online in the journal Brain Stimulation. The study team followed 13 people with treatment-resistant depression. Their symptoms had not improved after many months of treatment, with as many as five different antidepressant medications. Most had been depressed for at least 2 years, but some patients had been clinically depressed for more than 20 years. All of the participants had surgery to insert a device to electronically stimulate the left vagus nerve. Once activated, the device delivers a 30-second electronic stimulus to the vagus nerve every 5 minutes. To establish the nature of the treatment’s effects on brain activity, the researchers performed positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging before the initiation of stimulation, and again 3 and 12 months after stimulation had begun. Eventually, 9 of the 13 participants experienced improvements in depression with the treatment. However, in most cases it took several months for improvement to occur. Remarkably, in those who responded, the scans showed significant changes in brain metabolism following 3 months of stimulation, which typically preceded improvements in symptoms of depression by several months. Although the patients remained on antidepressant agents for several months after their stimulators were implanted, many of those who responded to the device eventually were able to stop taking medication. Additionally, the PET scans demonstrated that structures deeper in the brain also start to change several months after nerve stimulation begins. Many of those structures have high concentrations of brain cells that release dopamine. There is a consensus forming among depression researchers that problems in dopamine pathways may be particularly important in treatment-resistant depression. The finding that vagus nerve stimulators influence those pathways may explain why the therapy can help and why, when it works, its effects are not transient. Patients who respond to vagus nerve stimulation tend to get better and stay better. Source.“Nerve Stimulation for Severe Depression Changes Brain Function.” (2013, May 7). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/25384.aspx. Teens nationwide are being tempted to use a “study drug”—a prescription stimulant or amphetamine agent—to gain an academic edge. However, a poll from the University of Michigan shows only 1 in 100 parents of teens ages 13 to 17 believes their teen has used a study drug. Study drugs refer to stimulant medications typically prescribed for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); commonly prescribed medicines include brand names Adderall®, Concerta®, Ritalin®, and Vyvanse®. Among parents of teens who have not been prescribed a stimulant medication for ADHD, just 1% said they believe their teen has used a study drug to help study or improve grades. However, recent national data from Monitoring the Future indicate that 10% of high school sophomores and 12% of high school seniors say they have used an amphetamine or stimulant medication not prescribed by their physician. The poll indicates a clear mismatch between what parents believe and what their children are reporting. But even though parents may not be recognizing these behaviors in their own children, the poll also showed that one half of parents say they are very concerned about this abuse in their communities. White parents were most likely to say they are “very concerned” (54%), compared with Black (38%) and Hispanic/ Latino (37%) parents. Despite this concern, only 27% of parents polled said they have talked to their teens about using study drugs. Black parents were more likely to have discussed this issue with their teens (41%), compared with White (27%) or Hispanic (17%) parents. Nearly 80% of parents polled support a policy to require students with a prescription for ADHD medications to keep their pills in a secure location such as the school nurse’s office—a requirement that would prohibit students from carrying medicines of this nature that could potentially be shared with, or sold to, other students. Source.“One in Ten Teens Using ‘Study Drugs,’ But Parents Aren’t Paying Attention.” (2013, May 20). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://ow.ly/ll1TU. A study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine reports lengthy waits for severely ill psychiatric patients in need of immediate hospitalization in the Boston area, due in part to time-consuming prior authorizations required by insurance companies. Psychiatrists spent, on average, 38 minutes on the telephone getting authorization. In 10% of cases, it took more than 1 hour to obtain insurance authorization; in one case, authorization took 5 hours of psychiatrist time. In the study, over a 3-month period, researchers tabulated how long psychiatric patients who were deemed in need of inpatient admission stayed in the emergency department (ED) prior to being hospitalized and the amount of time that the ED psychiatrists spent obtaining authorization from the patient’s insurer. A group of psychiatric residents at Cambridge Health Alliance working in the psychiatric ED with acutely ill psychiatric patients collected the data. Most patients required hospitalization because they were suicidal or, in a few cases, homicidal. Although obtaining insurance authorization delayed care and took clinicians away from other duties, only 1 of the 53 requests for authorization was denied. Median total time in the ED was 8.5 hours, with the shortest stay lasting 3 hours and the longest recorded stay lasting 20 hours. These numbers do not include a handful of patients who boarded in the ED over the weekend while waiting for an inpatient bed to become available. They exclude uninsured patients and those with Medicare, which does not require prior authorization. With approximately 1.6 million psychiatric admissions among people with private insurance nationwide each year, 38 minutes of phone time to obtain authorization translates into approximately 1 million hours of wasted psychiatrist time. Source.“1 Million Hours of Psychiatrist Time Wasted on Phone Annually Getting Insurance Approvals for Hospitalization of the Mentally Ill.” (2013, April 23). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/pfan-1mh041713.php. A multinational randomized clinical trial has found that patients with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa will not only stick with treatments but also make significant improvements with just a slight modification of the standard goals and methods of treatment. More than 85% of those who enrolled in the trial completed treatment—almost three times the usual retention rate. After 8 months of outpatient treatment, patients in both treatment groups reported improved quality of life, reduced symptoms of mood disorders, and enhanced social adjustment. The study, published online by the journal Psychological Medicine, was the first randomized clinical trial for chronic anorexia nervosa. It compared two standard treatments but modified them in ways that made them more suitable for individuals with such a profound and persistent disorder. The treatments—cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and specialist supportive clinical management (SSCM)—were altered to focus on retention, improved quality of life, and to avoid “further failure experiences.” The researchers enrolled 63 patients, all women, at two clinical centers. The average body mass index (BMI) of study participants was 16.2, with a range from 11.8 to 18.5. Participants had lived with severe anorexia for at least 7 years, with an average duration of illness of more than 15 years. Thirty-one patients were assigned to CBT and 32 to SSCM. Both treatments involved 30 outpatient therapy sessions over 8 months. Patients were assessed at the end of treatment, with follow-up assessments 6 and 12 months later. Results from both treatments were comparable, with significant improvements ranging from “moderate” to “large” on many measures. CBT had a greater impact on eating-disorder symptoms and readiness to change. SSCM produced larger improvements in health-related quality of life and depression. Average BMI for both groups increased from 16.2 to 16.8, approximately 4%. One crucial element of this trial was the decision to reprioritize how the goals of treatment were presented to those enrolled in this study. Treatment of newly diagnosed adolescents and young adults tends to focus on weight recovery. For this study, treatment goals were set collaboratively—by the care team and the patient—with less emphasis on weight gain and more on quality of life, reduction of mood disorders, and enhanced social adjustment. Source.“Rethinking Treatment Goals Improves Results for Those with Persistent Anorexia.” (2013, May 7). Retrieved May 23, 2013, from http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2013/20130508-anorexia.html.