Mental Health Stigma Improving; First Remote Depression Study; LSD Trial on Hold

According to a survey of over 4,000 individuals, there was a significant drop in the public stigma towards depression since the mid-’90s. Those with more progressive views toward mental illness tended to be millennials and adults born prior to World War II. (JAMA Network Open)

A nearly $7 million settlement was reached for two former psychiatric hospital patients who were sexually abused by an employee. (Bloomberg Law)

Alto Neuroscience announced a partnership with mental health startup Cerebral to launch the first-ever fully remote depression clinical trial, where patients participate fully from their homes. (FierceHealthcare)

The FDA slapped a clinical hold on Mind Medicine’s investigational new drug application to test LSD in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. (Reuters)

Since 2013, the prevalence of dispensed benzodiazepines has been steadily dropping for adolescents and younger adults. Still, only about 25% of adolescents had a diagnosis corresponding with an approved indication. (JAMA Pediatrics)

In a case-control study of 850 adults, those with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia had lower fractional anisotropy and higher radial diffusivity in the posterior limb of the internal capsule associated with birth asphyxia not found in healthy controls. (JAMA Network Open)

In response to the problem-riddled launch of the Clozapine REMS (Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy) program in mid-November, the FDA said pharmacists can now dispense this atypical antipsychotic without a REMS dispense authorization and that wholesalers can ship clozapine to pharmacies and healthcare settings without confirming enrollment in REMS.

A Florida psychiatrist was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for running a cash-only pill mill, dispensing oxycodone and amphetamines for no legitimate medical purpose. (Department of Justice)

A study out of England found that as fewer National Health Service psychiatric beds were available, the prison population spiked. (The British Journal of Psychiatry)

Authors of a new review in The BMJ advised prescribing antidepressants more cautiously — recommending these agents get doled out to fewer patients for shorter durations.

Online gambling is quickly reaching problematic levels among the over-65 demographic. (The Guardian)

Indiana University School of Medicine in Evansville received a $34.2 million donation to set up a youth mental health center. (Evansville Courier & Press)