Psychiatric Risk Transmission; Phase III Win, Flop for Anxiety; 10K Hotel Overdoses

Data from Finland lent support to the idea that risk for mental health disorders can be transmitted among adolescents. (JAMA Psychiatry) Actor and activist Danny Glover, best known for starring as an easygoing police officer in the "Lethal Weapon" franchise, revealed he has Alzheimer's disease. (AP) U.S. emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts declined 7% from 2021 to 2025, with the largest decreases observed among adolescents and females. (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) Despite concerns that suicide prevention studies could pose heightened safety risks, a ClinicalTrials.gov analysis found no trials that were discontinued due to study-specific safety events among the participants. (JAMA Network Open) A phase IIIb trial of centanafadine XR -- a novel first-in-class oral norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin reuptake inhibitor -- met its primary endpoint of symptom improvement in patients with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and comorbid anxiety, said developer Otsuka. Meanwhile, Vistagen's investigational social anxiety nasal spray fasedienol failed to meet its main goal in another phase III trial, the company announced. Roughly one in five U.S. adults said they took medication for their mental health in 2024 (25% for women and 13% for men) and 14% received counseling, according to a CDC report. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) called for the military healthcare program TRICARE to cover applied behavior analysis for autism. (NBC News) Meanwhile, a bipartisan Senate bill seeks to allow doctors who are board certified in addiction medicine to prescribe methadone directly to patients for pickup at a pharmacy. (STAT) Asynchronous electronic screening for unhealthy alcohol among veterans in a primary care setting improved screening rates and detected more unhealthy alcohol use compared with usual staff-administered screening, a trial found. (JAMA Internal Medicine) Nearly 10,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in U.S. hotels and motels from 2022 to 2024, with a potential bystander present roughly a third of the time. (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) Jails are dealing with a dangerous new type of drug withdrawal as medetomidine-laced opioids continue to spread. (STAT) World Trade Center responders to the 9/11 attack who have post-traumatic stress disorder may be more susceptible to diseases that accelerate aging. (Nature Communications) Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.), who recently returned to Congress after a 4-month absence for depression treatment, has frequently voted against paid sick leave. (Mother Jones) Even short-term changes in temperature and sunshine were associated with shifts in unscheduled, mental health-related healthcare utilization, a study in England found. (Frontiers in Psychiatry)