By Simon Shayket  An alarming national shortage of a commonly used prescription drug to treat ADHD comes as students are now back in class, and experts warn there could be further challenges impacting learning. At Wayne State University, students are hard at work pursuing their education. But now, a nationwide Adderall shortage has attention of those, some who’ve used the prescription drug to help them focus. “Students are going to need it and not be able to get it,” said Collin Houston, a senior at Wayne State University. “It makes me think easier. Less distractions in my head. My thoughts won’t wander,” he said. Dr. David Rosenberg, professor and chair of psychiatry, discussed the effect on those unable to treat their attention deficit hyperactivity disorder due to supply issues. “We know that ADHD is the most common diagnosis in children and adolescents, but guess what, it’s not limited to children and the biggest age increase for ADHD is in adulthood,” he said. “First and foremost, if you’re concerned, reach out to your physician, they can be of a lot of help.”  

By Patrick Williams   Wayne State University is one of three institutions that has been given the green light by the state of Michigan to evaluate the efficacy of cannabis in treating PTSD and preventing suicide in veterans. Dr. Leslie Lundahl, associate professor and clinical psychologist in Wayne State’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, will take a leading role in much of that research. “Public perception and acceptance of cannabis as a pharmacotherapeutic, I think, has outpaced the science at this point,” she said. “So, we’re hoping to start this conversation, and we’re in a good position to do this because we have studied cannabis for a couple of decades now, and we’re quite well-versed in the risks that can be associated; looking at the possible therapeutics I think requires a balance of understanding what those risks could be.”  

Hilary Marusak, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State University, wrote an article for The Conversation outlining the benefits of meditation for children. Children actively meditating experience lower activity in parts of the brain involved in rumination, mind-wandering and depression, Marusak’s team found in the first brain-imaging study of young people under 18 years old. Over-activity in this collection of brain regions, known as the default mode network, is thought to be involved in the generation of negative self-directed thoughts – such as “I am such a failure” – that are prominent in mental disorders like depression, Marusak writes. She shares findings that meditation techniques were more effective than distraction at quelling activity in that brain network, which reinforced research showing that meditation techniques and martial arts-based meditation programs are effective for reducing pain and stress in children with cancer or other chronic illnesses – and in their siblings – as well as in schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

By Robin Erb   Death comes early to Detroit, killing residents in some neighborhoods 12 to 15 years earlier than Michiganders elsewhere. Thickening heart muscles, narrowing arteries and cholesterol deposits are hallmarks of the heart disease silently afflicting Detroiters and building toward life-threatening heart attacks or strokes. Dr. Brian O’Neil, chair of emergency medicine at Wayne State University’s School of Medicine, said that young doctors arriving in Detroit are often blown away by patients’ blood pressure readings. The coronavirus has exacerbated chronic conditions, increased the number of deaths of preventable diseases because people skipped regular check-ups, and disrupted transportation options for those seeking to get to doctors. As a result, more people who suffered heart attacks or strokes died because they laced swift medical intervention. The pandemic also proved the nimble nature of mobile health. Dr. Phil Levy, an emergency medicine doctor at Detroit’s Receiving and Sinai-Grace hospitals and a researcher at Wayne State University, was positioned to act because he and his team had gathered and arranged data for years to map out hypertension rates in the Detroit area. Their data tool, called Population Health OutcomEs aNd Information Exchange (PHOENIX) revealed neighborhoods strained by high blood pressure and stress based on social vulnerability index factors. Even in the earliest days of the pandemic, the parallels between COVID and heart disease in Detroit were obvious, Levy said. “We started seeing everything that was happening with the brown and Black communities in Detroit and around Detroit – especially around the Sinai Grace area – and the increased caseload and death rate that was occurring in Detroit,” Levy said. In April, the Wayne Health mobile health fleet began with a single van. By the end of this year, it will consist of ten vans that visit schools, churches, festivals and neighborhood parking lots.   

By Keenan Smith  Kids are returning to school and with fall on the way, cold and flu season isn’t too far off either. Looking ahead, it could be a busy season with cold, flu, COVID-19 and monkeypox all in circulation. While there are vaccines for many of them, it raises a lot of questions about timing. Dr. Teena Chopra, a professor of infectious diseases at Wayne State University, said that based on what’s happening in the southern hemisphere, flu season could be really bad. If you’re one of the Michiganders in line for a flu shot, COVID-19 booster and possibly the monkeypox vaccine, Chopra said in most cases you can get them at the same time. “You know, especially people who don’t want to make multiple trips to get their vaccine shots,” Chopra said.  

By Dave Kinchen and David Komer  We know from recent events more and more first responders are feeling burned out – due to stress, long hours, and graphic things they see that they can’t speak to others about. But now there’s help. “We are talking about police, firefighters, dispatchers, corrections officers and EMS. It’s a different population,” said Dr. Arash Javanbakht, a psychiatrist who directs the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic at Wayne State University. “They have their own different experiences.” Wayne State’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Sciences Department has developed the Frontline Stronger Together Program to give first responders mental and emotional support. “The trauma and stress in this population is different than most other people in the way that, if I have a horrible car accident or I may be assaulted, then I come back to my usual, safe, normal life and I can recover,” said Javanbakht. “For these people – it’s every single day…We have different ways of helping. Part is therapy or psychotherapy, or what we call talking cure. There are different ways of it. Talking about the trauma. Talking about the meanings and perceptions a person has created after trauma…” Treatments also include augmented reality devices to help first responders approach social situations in a healthy way while being treated for job-related PTSD.   

Two Michigan universities and a California-based marijuana research group are using about $40 million in Michigan marijuana tax revenue to research the therapeutic effects of cannabis on veterans suffering from suicidality and post-traumatic stress disorder. Wayne Stathe University, the University of Michigan and a marijuana research organization called MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) will spend the next three to five years studying hundreds of veterans using cannabis. They will examine variances in the effectiveness of pot use based on factors such as CBD and THC ratios, use prolonged exposure therapy and the inhalation of cannabis flower. The research, a requirement of the 2018 ballot initiative that legalized recreational marijuana in Michigan is rare nationally because cannabis remains illegal at the federal level and is considered a schedule 1 drug on par with heroin, ecstasy and peyote. The same federal laws that make such funding a rarity also make the research funded by state money all the more challenging as the groups struggle to comply with federal research standards involving a controlled substance. “I could go to a dispensary tomorrow two blocks from my office to buy whatever I need, but I’m prohibited by the FDA to give that to anyone in my laboratory,” said Leslie Lundahl, the lead principal investigator for Wayne State University’s research project. “We’ve identified a supplier who can give us exactly what we need and they’ve begun the process of getting approval,” she said. “But it could take a while.” Wayne State University received the most funding of any one group, raking in nearly $19.6 million between the two grant funding periods in 2021 and 2022. WSU researchers are working on a series of three areas to study marijuana’s effect on combatting veteran suicidality and PTSD. The study will work to determine the lowest dose of THC that still retains effectiveness in order to find ways for veterans to maintain concentration, memory or function while using cannabis. A second trial will examine whether cannabis use improves outcomes of prolonged exposure therapy, a common treatment for PTSD that includes discussions of trauma, triggers and reminders to decrease its debilitating effect. 

Dr. Leslie Lundahl, associate professor in the department of psychiatry and neurosciences at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and her team are launching a new study to find out whether CBD and THC can help with PTSD. The study is looking to enlist the help of 350 veterans. The study will test cognitive function and monitor vitals while also testing blood, urine, and saliva samples. When studying regular cannabis users, they’re hoping to find lower levels of THC that can produce effective results. “Public opinion has really outpaced science in terms of cannabinoid therapeutics,” said Lundahl. “There are animal data that suggest it might be helpful, there are anecdotal reports that it might be helpful for pain or for PTSD or mood or anxiety, but we don’t really have any hard scientific data to really support that…Specifically, we’re looking at PTSD symptoms severity and then frequency and severity of suicidal thoughts and behavior.  

As of July 16, people have only to press three digits – 988 – to reach the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline when they need help during a mental health crisis. Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression were a leading cause of global health problems even before the spread of COVID-19; however, they’ve gotten worse. Since the first year of the pandemic, anxiety and depression rates worldwide have increased by an overwhelming 25%. The Conversation gathered four essential reads that explore some daily habits and practices that have been shown to improve mental health. Arash Javanbakht, associate professor of psychiatry at Wayne State University, shares the science behind the connection between exercise and mental well-being as well as his personal experience with the positive impacts of physical activity. “Working out regularly really does change the brain biology, and it is not just ‘go walk and you will just feel better,’” he said. “Regular exercise, especially cardio, does change the brain. Do not see it as all or none. It does not have to be a one-hour drive to and from the gym or biking trail for a one-hour workout vs. staying on the couch. I always say to my patients: ‘One more step is better than none, and three squats are better than no squats. When less motivated, or in the beginning, just be nice to yourself. Do as much as possible. Three minutes of dancing with your favorite music still counts.”  

The latest COVID-19 surge has health leaders urging the public to get booster shots. That leaves people with a choice: Get boosted now or wait for an omicron-specific booster that is expected to roll out this fall or winter? BA.5 is better at evading immunity from previous infection and vaccinations, and it’s now responsible for roughly 80% of new COVID-19 cases. Dr. Teena Chopra, the co-director at the Center for Emerging Infections at Wayne State University said don’t wait for omicron-specific vaccines to get boosted. “We don’t want to get a severe disease from COVID. We don’t want to be hospitalized. We don’t want to be in the ICU from COVID. So do not wait to get your boosters,” she said.  

By Elizabeth Yun  Psoriasis scales, the gray or silvery flakes of dead skin that collect on the surface of the plaques that characterize the condition, can be itchy, uncomfortable, and embarrassing – so much so that you may be tempted to pick, peel, or scrape them off. However, while there are some good reasons to remove scales, taking your fingernails to them isn’t one of them, as you risk damaging the skin they’re attached to. This “can trigger flares of more patches of psoriasis, a reaction known as the Koebner phenomenon,” said Steven Daveluy, assistant professor and program director at the Wayne State University department of dermatology.  

The Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute announced plans Monday to build a pair of towers in Midtown Detroit for medical education and research. The project, estimated to cost between $350 million to $450 million, would replace aging Wayne State medical school facilities and be an expansion of research space for the cancer institute. A joint committee is working to determine a precise location for the two adjacent and connected towers. The decision could come in the next three to four months, said Dr. Mark Schweitzer, vice president of health affairs for Wayne State. “The goal is to provide state-of-the-art medical education facilities and state-of-the-art research facilities,” Schweitzer said.  

The Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute announced plans Monday to build a pair of towers in Midtown Detroit for medical education and research. The project, estimated to cost between $350 million to $450 million, would replace aging Wayne State medical school facilities and be an expansion of research space for the cancer institute. A joint committee is working to determine a precise location for the two adjacent and connected towers. The decision could come in the next three to four months, said Dr. Mark Schweitzer, vice president of health affairs for Wayne State. “The goal is to provide state-of-the-art medical education facilities and state-of-the-art research facilities,” Schweitzer said.  

Ten years ago, a gunman opened fire in a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and wounding 70 people. At the time, it was one of the worst mass shootings in the country’s history, and sparked familiar conversations about gun control and mental health. A decade later that massacre continues to take a daily toll on both individuals and the community. Arash Javanbakht, who directs the Stress, Trauma and Anxiety Research Clinic at Wayne State University, said there are as many ways that people deal with trauma as there are people who experience trauma. “For some people, there’s detachment. For some people, it’s loss of hope. For some people, basically, their perspective of the world has changed, the way they see life, the way they define experiences,” he said. “Some people turn it to the action. Some people channel their emotions into action. We have seen some of the survivors of these events start becoming activists who are trying to find solutions to make this better.”

The Michigan Health Endowment Fund (MHEF) has awarded research investigators at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute a $100,000 Community Healthy Impact grant to support a new program addressing financial toxicity among cancer patients. Michigan Community Outreach to Address Financial Toxicity (MI-COST) will build upon ongoing community outreach and engagement work underway within Karmanos’ Office of Cancer Health Equity and Community Engagement (OCHECE). The objectives include developing a series of educational seminars on topics designed to help people with cancer and their caregivers navigate related financial barriers and creating a website to provide patients and caregivers with financial information and resources. “One of our roles in OCHECE is to connect our communities to our scientists and our scientists to our communities to ensure that there is community input into our cancer center’s research agenda,” said Dr. Hayley Thompson, co-investigator for the MI-COST program, associate center director for community outreach and engagement at Karmanos, and professor in the department of oncology at Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. 

By Geoff Brumfiel   COVID cases and hospitalizations are once again on the rise, thanks to a new omicron subvariant. Vaccines and certain proven treatments can help prevent the worst outcomes. But for some Americans who don't trust the medical establishment, there's a network of fringe medical doctors, natural healers and internet personalities ready to push unproven cures for COVID. And a shady black market where you can buy them. For some plugged into that alternative medical network, doctors say it ultimately cost their lives. "The non-fraudulent non-messed up clinical trials are all pretty uniformly negative," says David Gorski, a cancer surgeon and researcher at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan. For years before COVID, Gorski tracked doctors who offered alternative cures for cancers. And he sees plenty of parallels between those physicians and doctors like Pierre Kory. "A lot of these doctors fit the mold of what I used to call back in the day 'the brave maverick doctor,'" he says. Gorski says that they play up their persecution by the system, offer scant evidence for their treatments, and deride effective therapies while promoting their own cures. "COVID is no different than quackery going back centuries," Gorski says.  

It has been over two years since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the ways we interacted as a community worldwide. While we have done a lot to fight the spread of the virus, many are wondering when the pandemic will officially end. In the meantime, the BA.5 Omicron subvariant – the most prevalent subvariant in the United States – is spreading and is four times more resistant to COVID-19 vaccines. Still, unvaccinated people are five times more likely to get infected and about fifteen times more likely to die from the disease than those vaccinated and boosted, according to the Mayo Clinic. While we know that those vaccinated are likely to have more mild symptoms than the unvaccinated, the death rate from COVID-19 is still much higher than the flu and other contagious diseases. Paul Kilgore, co-director of the Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases at Wayne State University and the senior investigator for Henry Ford Health System’s Global Health Initiative, says exercise, a healthy diet, getting vaccinated and checking in with one’s physician is the best way to keep people safe and healthy while the Omicron subvariant spreads. “The real question is, what are the best health behaviors we can adopt now, for our own selves, but also for our family and children, that are going to protect us for years to come against chronic diseases and infectious diseases,” Kilgore said. 

By Eric Freedman  Michigan’s only venomous snake, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, has been suspected or proven responsible for at least 75 bites reported in the state from 2003 to 2020, according to a comprehensive tally of such incidents. However, “only a handful were actually confirmed bites from identified eastern massasaugas,” said Varun Vohra, a clinical toxicologist and director of the Michigan Poison & Drug Information Center at Wayne State University. “The majority of cases involved folks who were out hiking in and around wetlands when they were reportedly bit,” said Vohra. “There were very few (bites) resulting from an individual actually handling the snake. And I do not believe any were trying to pick one up in the wild to try and keep.” He said the most common symptoms are edema – swelling – followed by pain and redness, with the most frequent treatments being an antidote. None of the bites were fatal, according to a recently published study by researchers from the information center and the Detroit Medical Center.  

Wayne County and Wayne State University have finalized an agreement to partner in the operation of the county’s Office of the Medical Examiner for a five-year period, which was unanimously approved by the Wayne County Commission. The agreement anticipates the transfer of the oversight of the office from the University of Michigan to WSU on Oct. 1, subject to the terms of a mutually agreeable operating agreement. “This is good news for Wayne County,” said Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans. “Wayne State University has a great reputation, but equally as important is that this is an institution with longstanding ties to our community. They care about the people they serve in Wayne County because to them this is personal, and that’s so important for a relationship like this to work.” “The university, through its School of Medicine and our other health sciences programs, will provide state-of-the-art forensics services, public health research and education,” said Wael Sakr, dean of the Wayne State University School of Medicine and former chair of the department of pathology. “As part of the agreement, Wayne State commits to launching an aggressive program of retention and recruitment of forensic pathologists and associated professionals, and to initiate planning for a forensic pathology fellowship program. We look forward to providing this critical service to the residents of Wayne County.”  

Arash Javanbakht, a psychiatrist at Wayne State University, wrote an article for The Conversation outlining how fireworks can trigger PTSD. For some combat veterans, the Fourth of July is not a time to celebrate the independence of the country they love, he writes. Instead, the holiday is a terrifying ordeal because the noise of fireworks – loud, sudden, and reminiscent of war – rocks their nervous system. “This reaction is not unique to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Also affected are millions of others, including civilians, refugees, and first responders,” Javanbakht writes. “As a psychiatrist who specialize in trauma and PTSD, I urge you not to overdo an act which causes so much suffering for so many of your fellow Americans.”