Alzheimer's drug data, congressional elections

The study found that children, male adolescents, and black and Hispanic adolescents who came to the emergency room with thoughts of self-harm or self-harm attempts were less likely than teenagers to have had a suicide-related emergency. female adolescents and adolescents of other races and ethnicities. The authors of the new study combed through the health records of 2,700 children and adolescents from two emergency rooms between 2017 and 2019. “Existing methods miss children, and not indiscriminately,” said Juliet Edgcomb, an author of the study and a psychiatrist at the University of California, Los Angeles, in a press release.

One possible solution, says Edgcomb, is to use artificial intelligence algorithms to double-check doctors. “If we can automate this process and make suicidality more present and relevant to the clinician, we can do a lot to improve care,” she said.

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call, text, or chat at 988lifeline.org. For TTY users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988.

A safer way to take Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's drug?

Eli Lilly's Kisunla is one of two drugs on the market designed to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. But the drug, whose benefits are modest, poses potentially serious risks of brain swelling and bleeding.

Now new data shows that changing the dosing regimen in a clinical trial resulted in a lower risk of brain swelling. With standard treatment, 24% of people taking the drug experienced brain swelling after 24 weeks. However, with the modified treatment, 14% experienced this swelling – a risk reduction of 41%. This decline was even more pronounced in people with two copies of a genetic variant called APOE4.

Doctors are still waiting for more detailed results and whether the data will be enough to convince doctors who have been reluctant to prescribe the drugs. But if the data is correct, Kisunla could be more competitive with Leqembi – a similar drug from Eisai and Biogen. Read more from Elaine Chen.

Digital avatars could help people with schizophrenia who hear voices

People with schizophrenia often experience auditory hallucinations of voices that insult and bully them. New data suggests they may benefit from a type of behavioral therapy that uses digital avatars to externalize these voices so patients can safely confront and talk to them.

The study, published in Nature Medicine, found that both people's distress from these voices, as well as the severity and frequency of the voices, decreased after 16 weeks of digital avatar therapy. The approach is part of a larger shift in psychiatry to take these voices more seriously and understand their content rather than dismissing them as meaningless. Read more from Timmy Broderick.

A primary care physician about providing abortion care

Ten states have abortion measures on the ballot this election, and reproductive rights have been a focus throughout the presidential campaign. Christine Dehlendorf, a family physician and professor of family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, joined the First Opinion Podcast this week to discuss how abortion is gaining traction in the 2024 election cycle.

Abortion “is actually no different or more complicated than a lot of other things we do in health care,” said Dehlendorf, who recently wrote a column for STAT arguing that primary care physicians and primary care physicians should be better trained in providing abortion care . Listen to her conversation with First Opinion editor Torie Bosch.

What we read

• According to STAT, Warren wants the FTC to closely scrutinize drug distributors that buy cancer medical groups

• Exosomes are considered a trendy panacea. We don't know if they work, MIT Technology Review

• Can Brain Zapping Help Treat Addiction? Wall Street Journal
• Investments in health technology are gaining momentum. Here are 5 VC executives behind the biggest recent deals, STAT