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Policy Challenges & the complicated intersection between Developmental & Psychiatric disorders

7/11/2024

Val's Take/Conjecture

I am supportive of the State's desire to reserve premium ABTU space to those who really need it.
We do have some categories that we have traditionally thought of as quite distinct and most research in 2024 would identify a Neuro-Developmental / Psychiatric Continuum.
There are specialists, but many mental health professionals are not competent to address Neuro-Developmental Disorders, and if these kids, adolescents, adults have an IQ over 70 --- they are ironically quite at risk.
Historically, a lot of kids and adults with neuro-developmental disorders have ended up in the Juvenile Justice System and the Adult Justice System.
So where in the "rich, abundant resources in the community" are these kids with neuro-developmental disorders going?

The influence of neurodevelopmental impairment on youth crime. (2017)

"The disproportionately high prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders among young people in custody in numerous countries suggests a heightened vulnerability to serious and/or persistent offending coupled with a failure of various policy and practice systems to address complex needs in seeking to prevent offending and re-offending."

Updated adolescent admissions to the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo
June 27, 2024

Good afternoon,
I am writing to inform you of the updated admissions policy and procedures for the adolescent behavioral treatment unit (ABTU) at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo (CMHHIP).

Review of recent admissions to ABTU show that many of the youth ordered to inpatient competency restoration are not in need of inpatient psychiatric care and that the factors impacting competency are often related to learning or developmental disorders, young age, and/or attentional problems, for example, rather than a psychiatric illness.

Youth without a need for intensive/inpatient psychiatric treatment would be best served, and have their developmental needs best met, in settings where there are more opportunities for these youth to develop their skills and abilities socially, academically, and recreationally while continuing treatment in a safe and secure environment.

Jill Marshall
Chief Executive Officer
Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo (CMHHIP)

Higher levels of Bioactive Lipids are arising as another biomarker of mental Disorders

7/2/2024

Val's Take, Conjecture

Illness is a scary thing --- especially when there are a lot of unknowns. With something like "Mental Illness," the symptoms can be very subtle until they are not.
We are constantly telling ourselves stories about how the world works --- until we have the basis for a new story.
"Mental Disorders" do involve the brain --- but they involve a lot more and often have prenatal origins.
We are starting to be able to see this in the Circulatory System in the Blood and the Mitochondria and in the Lymphatic System with Increased levels of Bioactive Lipids.
We're maybe not that far from getting a more comprehensive understanding of neuro-developmental and psychiatric disorders . Given the level of human suffering --- that would be a very good thing.
A lot of Energy in this society is going to trying to understand these issues and integrate the understandings we do have.
Better understandings (and treatments) will almost assuredly improve the "dynamics" of how we handle neuro-developmental and psychiatric disorders in the society.

University of Cologne in Germany

Lipid Signaling in Brain Linked to Mental Disorders (June 6, 2024)

"Increased levels of bioactive lipids produced naturally in the body, which affect excitatory transmission between brain cells, promote mental disorders."

Autotaxin activates the lipids.

Autotaxin is also recognized as a factor in heart disease and stroke, cancer, immune regulation, and autoimmune disorders.

[Val's Take: Mental Health has gone a long time without biomarkers. Things are breaking. We will likely have many biomarkers in the next 30 years]

Why are BioMarkers so important?

7/2/2024

Val's Take

"Seeing is Believing" and many people don't know what to make of our "Mental Health Crisis."
- Are we just a Society of Victims?
- Do we need more Positivity?
- Is this more complicated than what we thought?
  - What did we think: If we just have medication adherence this will all work out.
Dr. Chris Palmer is developing this idea of "Brain Energy" and I think it can be expanded to the Society in general.
It is taking a lot of time, energy and resources to analyze these issues and their ramifications.

One of the things that has been surprising is the rise of biomarkers in the blood for psychiatric disorders.

It's one of those things that if you are not looking for it or you don't know what to look for, you don't see it.
But if you hit upon a new conceptualization, you may be looking for something different and looking for it in a different place.

University of Indiana School of Medicine
Indianapolis VA Medical Center

Global Health Today
Blood Testing Identifies Biomarkers in Suicidal Thoughts

Blood Testing Identifies Biomarkers of Suicidal Thoughts (2023)
UC San Diego study

The point I want to make is this idea of "Blood Biomarkers" for Suicidality and at least some research to support it has been out there for over a decade.

How many people know that?

I would submit it is important that we know there are blood biomarkers for suicidality.

Translational Medicine Friday

We're riffing off NPR's Science Friday to create Translational Medicine Friday.

We'll be collecting Research Article recommendations for Clinicians with regard to Cognitive Disability.

There is much in the RESEARCH JOURNALS and we'll just be SKIMMING THE SURFACE.

The POINT is to INCREASE FUNDING for TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH at the Federal Level for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, the Nation's Research & Teaching Hospitals and possible collaborations with Medicare and Medicaid providers.

Translational Medicine Friday

Policy Challenges & the complicated intersection between Developmental & Psychiatric disorders

Higher levels of Bioactive Lipids are arising as another biomarker of mental Disorders

Why are BioMarkers so important?

Translational Medicine Friday

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