Friday, December 17, 2004

A Flood of Troubled Soldiers Is in the Offing, Experts Predict
December 15 fron page New York Times story - "The nation's hard-pressed health care system for veterans is facing a potential deluge of tens of thousands of soldiers returning from Iraq with serious mental health problems brought on by the stress and carnage of war, veterans' advocates and military doctors say. An Army study shows that about one in six soldiers in Iraq report symptoms of major depression, serious anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, a proportion that some experts believe could eventually climb to one in three, the rate ultimately found in Vietnam veterans. Because about one million American troops have served so far in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Pentagon figures, some experts predict that the number eventually requiring mental health treatment could exceed 100,000..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Equal Treatment: closing the gap (UK)
Page at the Disability Rights Commission web site on "a formal investigation into health inequalities experienced by people with long term mental health problems and people with learning disabilities." As noted at the site, the investigation was launched "because of the overwhelming weight of evidence pointing to disparities in health outcomes amongst people with learning disabilities and people with long term mental health problems. Put simply, a lot of the evidence points to the fact that these groups of disabled people have higher mortality rates (i.e. die earlier) than the overall population - not always for reasons related to their impairment. Much of this evidence is alarming and therefore the DRC decided to use its powers to undertake formal investigations to instigate a comprehensive enquiry into this issue..."  
  

Diversion from criminal justice system requires enhanced community mental health services (Canada)
Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "A review of programs that divert people with serious mental illness who commit minor offenses into mental health treatment, rather than jail, identifies key elements of successful programs and recommends increased funding for community mental health and housing agencies. 'Evidence-Based Practices in Diversion Programs for Persons with Serious Mental Illness Who Are in Conflict with the Law' was prepared by a research team led by Dr. Kathleen Hartford of the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario. The review was proposed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to identify what standards, benchmarks or evidence-based practice exists on mental health diversion. The report released by the authors has not been endorsed by the ministry." See also the full report, Evidence-Based Practices in Diversion Programs for Persons with Serious Mental Illness Who Are in Conflict with the Law (Adobe Acrobat format).  
  

State Pocketbooks Are Fuller, but Health Costs Stall Recovery
New York Times story - "The fiscal condition of the states improved this year, but soaring health costs have made it difficult for them to recover from the worst fiscal crisis in six decades, the National Governors Association said Thursday. States ended the 2004 fiscal year with balances totaling $25.3 billion, equal to 4.8 percent of state spending. That represents a significant increase from the previous year, when balances totaled $16.4 billion, or 3.2 percent of state spending..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free]. See also the full report, The Fiscal Survey of States (Adobe Acrobat format), released by the National Governor's Association and their related press release.  
  

$2.4 Million Available to Build Behavioral Health Service System Capacity for American Indian/Alaska Native Children and Their Families
SAMHSA press release - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the availability of FY 2005 funds to increase the capacity of mental health and/or substance abuse service systems for American Indian and Alaska Native children and their families. It is expected that approximately $2.4 million will be available to fund 7-9 Circles of Care III: Tribal Infrastructure grants. The annual award amount will range from $250,000 to $350,000 for up to 3 years. The actual award amount may vary, depending on the availability of funds. The grants will be awarded by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)..."  
  

Mutant Gene Linked To Treatment-Resistant Depression
Science Daily story - "A mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin, a mood-regulating chemical messenger, has been discovered and found to be 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients than in control subjects, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Patients with the mutation failed to respond well to the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant medications, which work via serotonin, suggesting that the mutation may underlie a treatment-resistant subtype of the illness..."  
  

Lilly Adds Warning to Strattera Label
Reuters story - "Eli Lilly and Co. on Friday said it added a warning to the label of its attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder medicine, advising patients with jaundice or a liver injury to stop taking the treatment. Lilly said the label change on the drug, known as Strattera, discusses two reported cases of severe liver injury out of the more than 2 million patients who have taken the medication since approval. Both patients have recovered with normal liver function after discontinuing the medication..."