Weight & Cognitive Impairment; ED Visits Surge for Sex Trauma; Addiction Tx Access

About 7 years prior to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, body mass index (BMI) typically took a significant decline. “High brain pathologies may underlie the BMI decline preceding dementing disorders,” researchers reported in JAMA Psychiatry.

One Maryland teen with autism spent weeks in the emergency department while awaiting help for his mental health crisis. (Washington Post)

From 2006 to 2019, there was a 1,533% increase in the number of emergency department visits for sexual assault trauma. But at the same time, there was an 8.3% decrease in admission rates for sexual assault. (JAMA Network Open)

So far, Colorado, Florida, and Idaho have all opted out of participating in the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior surveys aimed at tracking the ongoing mental health crisis among high school students. (Kaiser Health News)

A psychologist in Illinois was convicted of defrauding Medicare by submitting claims for psychotherapy services he purportedly provided to people who were dead, the Department of Justice said.

Core Parkinson’s disease treatments — in particular dopamine replacement therapy and deep brain stimulation — have a complex and varied effect on neuropsychiatric symptoms, said authors of a BMJ clinical review detailing how to manage psychiatric and cognitive complications of Parkinson’s.

Lawmakers are asking the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to expand Medicare coverage for substance use disorder treatments. (FierceHealthcare)

But could the national shortage of mental health professionals thwart efforts to expand this addiction treatment access? (Politico)

A task force created by the National Center for State Courts said the U.S. court systems must do a better job of diverting more individuals away from incarceration and toward mental health treatments. (Reuters)