Concern deepens for Chinese tennis star's safety after email

Wed, November 17, 2021

Peng Shuai is a prominent Chinese tennis player who was number one in doubles 

(AFP/GREG BAKER)

The boss of women's tennis has cast doubt on an email posted on China's media purportedly from tennis star Peng Shuai, saying it "only raises my concerns as to her safety."

Steve Simon, chairman of the WTA, said in a statement that he had a "hard time believing" the email was written by Peng, who has not been heard from since alleging two weeks ago that a powerful Chinese politician had sexually assaulted her.

Peng, a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion, alleged on the Twitter-like Weibo earlier this month that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli had "forced" her into sex during a long-term on-off relationship.

The claims were quickly scrubbed from social media and she has not been seen since, drawing mounting concern over her wellbeing.

However, state-run CGTN published a screenshot on Twitter of what it said was an email written by Peng to Simon and other WTA officials.

In the email, Peng purportedly claims that her earlier accusations of sexual abuse are "not true" and says she is "resting at home and everything is fine."

But doubts were quickly flagged about the language used in the purported email from Peng, which Twitter users noted had a cursor visible in the screenshot posted by CGTN.

Simon said he was struggling to believe it was authentic.

"The statement released today by Chinese state media concerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts," Simon wrote in a statement.

"I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her," he added.

He said he had been repeatedly trying to reach her via numerous forms of communication, to no avail.

He called for "independent and verifiable proof that she is safe".

- 'Incredible courage' -

"Peng Shuai displayed incredible courage in describing an allegation of sexual assault against a former top official in the Chinese government," said Simon.

"Her allegation of sexual assault must be respected, investigated with full transparency and without censorship.

"The voices of women need to be heard and respected, not censored nor dictated to."

China has kept silent over growing concern for the tennis star, whose claims marked the first time its fledgling #MeToo movement has struck at the top echelons of the ruling Communist Party.

But Beijing has previously faced allegations of using forced confessions on state media, with British regulators revoking CGTN's licence for failing to comply with fairness and privacy rules.

William Nee of advocacy group Chinese Human Rights Defenders said Peng's statement "should not be taken at face value".

"The Chinese government has a long history of arbitrarily detaining people involved in controversial cases, controlling their ability to speak freely, and making them give forced statements," he said in a statement.

Nee called for Beijing to prove that she has not been detained.

- 'Power of the state' -

Mareike Ohlberg of the German Marshall Fund wrote on Twitter that these types of messages are "not meant to convince people but to intimidate and demonstrate the power of the state."

The message from Beijing is clearly: "'We are telling you that she is fine, and who are you to say otherwise?'", she wrote.

Details of Peng's allegations remain scrubbed from China's internet.

On November 2, Peng wrote on social media that Zhang -- who is in his seventies -- "forced" her into sex and said they had an on-off relationship lasting several years.

The post appeared to have been deleted quickly, however, sparking swift accusations from critics of Beijing of online censorship.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said Wednesday that she was in "shock" about the case, with Novak Djokovic and numerous other players in recent days saying they were deeply worried about her.

American player Jessica Pegula tweeted Thursday that she hoped the WTA "continues to show what we stand for as players."

"I hope more people, not just tennis players, shed some light on this deeply concerning situation," she wrote.

China's national tennis association has not responded to AFP requests for comment.

ig-rox/ser

Chile's Pinera: the president defeated by social upheaval


Chile President Sebastian Pinera has had a torrid second term in office 

(AFP/MARTIN BERNETTI)

Wed, November 17, 2021

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera modernized the political right to distance it from the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, but a social crisis that broke out in 2019 will see him leave power with his popularity in tatters.

The billionaire leader, 71, who cannot stand for reelection in Sunday's voting, has served two non-consecutive mandates.

His second term, which ends in March, has been beset by numerous problems, not least the coronavirus pandemic.

But he has also had to deal with a social uprising, accusations of graft and an impeachment bid that was quashed on Tuesday by the Senate.

"The morning after the social outbreak was the end of the Pinera government politically and in terms of influence," elections analyst Axel Callis told AFP.

Pinera's early attempts to calm protests against social injustice were at best clumsy.

A rich businessman seen as the embodiment of the country's economic, political and institutional injustices, Pinera's martial tone and early decision to deploy the military proved disastrous.

Not long beforehand, he had described Chile as an "oasis" in Latin America due to its robust economy and political stability.

Two weeks later, two million Chileans took to the streets demanding change to the country's neo-liberal model.

The unprecedented protests convinced parliament to agree to hold a referendum on changing the country's dictatorship-era constitution -- and a year later the people voted overwhelmingly (78 percent) in favor of change.

Pinera, who failed to either propose or support the move, again appeared out of touch with the people he governed.

"What happened was a change in the axis of power," said Callis.

"In one way or another, a parliamentary system was installed, without the corresponding institutionality -- Chile is a presidential system -- and everything in terms of relevant politics started happening in parliament."

The executive found itself confined to the back benches and Pinera "ceased to be a valued, strategic or significant actor."

- Popularity plunge -

The pandemic could not have hit at a worse time.

While Chile can pride itself on its rapid vaccine roll-out -- 90 percent of those eligible amongst the 19 million population are fully immunized -- the government's procrastination in distributing aid prevented Pinera from regaining the people's trust.

Even less so his implication in the Pandora Papers, suspected of a conflict of interests over the sale of a mine by members of his family to a close friend, and completed in a tax haven.

While the Senate blocked opposition attempts to impeach Pinera, he remains the subject of a graft investigation.

With five months left of his term, Pinera's popularity has plunged to its lowest level at 12 percent, compared to 50 percent when he ended his first term in 2014.

In 2010, the Harvard-educated economist convinced the electorate that his personal success in business -- according to Forbes in 2018, Pineras was worth $2.8 billion -- could be transferred to the benefit of society.

He managed to bring back to power a revamped right-wing that had rid itself of the baggage of being associated with Pinochet's dictatorship.

During his first term he branded civilian defenders of the dictatorship as "passive accomplices" and closed a special jail set up for human rights abusers.

"Pinera wanted to represent a modern, democratic right-wing," Claudia Heiss, a professor of political sciences at the University of Chile, told AFP.

"He wanted to definitively end the transition" to democracy and "end the divisions that came from the dictatorship."

But his second mandate saw him "oscillate between two versions" of democracy, leaving him in "an ambiguous position," notably when it came to changing the constitution.

"He was never very clear ... he never wanted to say he was for or against" changing the constitution, said Heiss.

She says this fence-sitting served only to weaken the right-wing and facilitate the rise of far-right presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast, a harsh critic of Pinera's.

Polls even predict Kast will deny Pinera's favored candidate Sebastian Sichel a place in the second round run-off.

In any case, the damage done to Chile's right-wing under Pinera has resulted in left-wing candidate Gabriel Boric being the election favorite.

apg/pa/pb/bc/jh

Experts call for more icebreakers as tensions intensify in Arctic

By Catherine Buchaniec, Medill News Service

The Coast Guard Cutter Healy breaking ice for the first time. Photo by U.S. Coast Guard

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- When it comes to power and positioning in the Arctic, the United States trails behind Russia, regional experts told lawmakers.

"Our presence in the Arctic is late to the game," retired Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zukunft said at a hearing Tuesday. "Russia has de facto established itself as a regional hegemon."

Zukunft, who previously served as the highest-ranking member of the Coast Guard, added that Moscow is "almost thumbing their nose at any effort we make."

U.S. initiatives in the region are predominantly headed by the Coast Guard, which embarks on maritime missions through the icy waters. Although Washington's role in the Arctic is often overlooked, the United States has been an Arctic power for over 150 years, starting with the acquisition of Alaska from Russia in 1867.

The admiral testified alongside several Arctic experts before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee in a hearing focused on the national security implications of climate change in the Arctic.

The Arctic region has become increasingly accessible as global temperatures rise, melting ice and opening up previously unreachable territory and sea lanes. But with increased accessibility comes new venues for strategic competition.

Russia and the United States have long competed in the region, but climate change has exasperated existing competition, with China joining the fray and declaring itself a "near-Arctic power."

Throughout the past decade, Moscow and Beijing have increasingly sought to bolster their power in the region through military investments. Meanwhile, Washington has been slow to make similar investments, Zukunft said.

"We're waking up, but we're a little bit late to that wake-up call," Zukunft said, calling for an Arctic strategy that is more than a "skeleton."

When lawmakers asked for tangible recommendations, Zukunft pointed toward increased bandwidth for communications and infrastructure, as well as icebreakers, which are instrumental for Arctic navigation.

Icebreakers are large ships that can cut through thick sheets of ice. They are frequently used to carry supplies for military and scientific missions, as well as break up ice to create clear pathways for other vessels.

The U.S. Coast Guard has two ships in its icebreaking fleet, one of which is over three decades old. In contrast, Russia's fleet employs over 40 icebreakers of various sizes and strengths and Moscow plans to build more over the next decade.

China, meanwhile, operates a smaller fleet of two icebreakers, but has plans to expand its capabilities and has indicated an interest in developing a nuclear-powered icebreaker.

Although the United States authorized funding last year as part of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act for six new icebreakers, it will take years for them to become fully operational.

The specifics of the Biden administration's plans for the Arctic are still being negotiated as part of the 2022 NDAA, but some members in Congress have indicated support for adding to the United States' icebreaker fleet. However, rather than sending the ship up the Arctic, others in Congress have floated the idea of acquiring an icebreaker to use domestically in the Great Lakes.

Study: Teen social media posts about cutting, self-harm skyrocketing

By Alan Mozes, HealthDay News

Teen social media posts related to cutting and other forms of self-harm have soared in recent years, a new study shows. Photo by sasint/Pixabay

American teens are increasingly turning to the social media giant Instagram to share graphic images of their own attempts to harm themselves, a new study reveals.

"It could be an attempt to share their emotional or psychological pain with others or find support from others," said study lead author Amanda Giordano. She is an associate professor of counseling and human development services at the University of Georgia, in Athens.

"It could be to discuss different forms of self-injury or how to hide it or do it in a way that does not lead to infection. It could also be a way of seeking help and reasons to stop," Giordano said.

No matter the reason, researchers who tracked Instagram throughout 2018 found that teen postings focused on self-harm -- such as cutting or burning oneself -- rose significantly over the course of the year.

In January and February of 2018, for instance, teens posted between 58,000 and 68,000 images with hashtags related to some form of self-injury in which suicide was not the apparent goal. The researchers labeled such images as reflective of non-suicidal self-injury.

But by December of 2018, that figure had shot up to over 112,000, the study found, with notable rises in the use of three hashtags: #selfharm, #hatemyself and #selfharmawareness.

The big picture was also bleak: Over all of 2018, more than 1.2 million teen NSSI posts were identified on Instagram accompanied by one of the three hashtags, along with two others: #cutting and #selfharmmm.

Overall, the hashtag #selfharm was most closely linked with suicide, at 25.4%, then depression at 25.2%, self-injury at 13.1% and general mental distress and 9.5%, the study found.

The hashtag #hatemyself was most associated with suicide, at 32.1%, then depression at 31.2%, self-injury at 19.9% and anxiety/panic at 6.7%.

A rise in teenage self-harm itself appears to be driving the rise in online expressions about it, Giordano said.

She noted that recent research showed that about 17% of U.S. teens harmed themselves in the previous year. And that percentage appears to be increasing.

For example, one recent study indicated that self-harm among college freshmen shot up from less than 3% in 2008 to more than 19% by 2015.

Along with other recent research, such findings suggest that "self-injury affects a substantial number of individuals, and that rates may be increasing," Giordano said.

"As the prevalence of self-injury increases," she continued, "it is not surprising that hashtags related to self-injury also are increasing on social media platforms."

Giordano and her colleagues found several indications that this is exactly what's happening.

For example, the team noted that while the hashtag #selfharm was almost never used in January 2018, by December, it accompanied more than 45,000 teen posts.

And by year's end, only one of the five highlighted NSSI tags -- #selfharmmm -- saw a drop in overall usage.

As to what compels teens to share their self-harm experiences on social media, Giordano suggested they likely have several needs that they think apps like Instagram can fulfill.

And it could also reflect a risky copy-cat phenomenon. The more teens see others sharing posts about self-harm, the more curious they become and the more inclined they may be to imitate what they see and then share that experience online, Giordano said.

Whatever the main motivator, the analysis raised a troubling concern - the two most commonly associated hashtags with those related to self-injury were #suicide and #depression.

"Therefore, it appears that the individuals using self-harm-related hashtags are associating it with suicidal thoughts as well as feelings of depression," she said. "To me, this emphasizes the need to discuss mental health with youth and ensure they have the support they need."

That thought was seconded by Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City who reviewed the findings.

"The significant increase in social media posts related to self-injury is a wake-up call not only to children and teens, but also to their parents and caretakers," he said.

Noting that "the reason behind such an increase is complex," Glatter suggested that self-harm behaviors such as cutting "can be a cry for help, and serve as a way to alert parents, friends and teachers of ongoing emotional pain and suffering."

And, he added, feelings of isolation, depression and anxiety probably got worse once the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

Glatter suggested parents monitor their children's screen time and use, with an eye towards preventing teens from descending down "a slippery slope" in which self-harm is normalized as an outlet for emotional pain and suffering.

"Parents should create an open and non-judgmental environment for sharing and communication in order to allow their child to be honest about and open up regarding what's going on in their life," he suggested.

"When a child feels they have an open line of communication, the potential for early intervention, including psychiatric evaluation and referral, can be life-saving and life-changing," Glatter said.

The findings were published recently in the International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling.

More information

There's more about teens and self-harm at the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

First all-private space station mission to include two dozen experiments


Photo courtesy NASA

Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A private space company that's planning to send the first all-private crew to the International Space Station announced on Wednesday that they will conduct medical and scientific experiments during their time in low Earth orbit.

Axiom Space said former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria will command the crew of four, who will fly to the space station on a SpaceX rocket in February. The company has not announced a firm date.

Mission pilot Larry Connor will conduct an experiment on behalf of the Mayo and Cleveland clinics, and mission specialist Mark Pathy will perform research for the Montreal Children's Hospital, Canadian Research Universities and Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

An experiment by mission specialist Eytan Stibbe will benefit the Ramon Foundation in collaboration with the Israel Space Agency in Israeli Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.

The crew is scheduled to perform more than two dozen experiments in all, the company said.

"Humanity has only scratched the surface of low-Earth orbit's potential for breakthrough innovation, and Axiom was founded to push that envelope," Axiom President Michael Suffredini said in a statement.

"We're confident this mission will become not just a monumental moment in space travel, but the true beginning of making space's potential for meaningful discovery available to private citizens and organizations for the first time."

Dr. James Kirkland, director of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging at Mayo Clinic, said the private venture opens new doors to research.

Connor's research is designed to produce data on the impact of space travel on senescent cells and heart health.

"Ninety-five percent of what we're trying to do is to benefit people on Earth," Kirkland said in a statement.

"I never thought I'd be working with people headed to space, yet here we are."

Upcoming Beaver Moon eclipse longest of its kind since 1440
By Brian Lada, Accuweather.com

The moon is seen during a total lunar eclipse in Palestinian territories in Gaza strip on July 27, 2018. File Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI | License Photo


A loud alarm clock and a strong cup of coffee may be needed to enjoy one of 2021's final astronomy events as the moon passes through Earth's shadow to create a lunar eclipse.

An impressive partial lunar eclipse will plunge 97% of the moon into darkness on Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday over North America. It will also be visible from Australia, New Zealand, eastern Asia and part of South America.

This will be the longest partial lunar eclipse since 1440, but it is not the longest lunar eclipse in recent history. That title belongs to the total lunar eclipse of July 27, 2018, which lasted about 12 minutes longer than the one that is set to unfold this week, according to TimeAndDate.com.

Lunar eclipses only happen on the night of a full moon and November's full moon will be the smallest full moon of the year, also known as a "micromoon."

A micromoon is the counterpart to a supermoon and happens when there is a full moon near apogee, or the point in its orbit when it is farthest away from the Earth. Micromoons appear about 14% smaller and 30% dimmer than a supermoon, according to TimeAndDate.com.

November's full moon is also known as a Beaver Moon, leading some people to combine these nicknames to call the upcoming event a micro Beaver Moon eclipse.

The entire eclipse lasts around 6 hours, but onlookers do not need to be focused on the sky for the whole event to enjoy the show.

The penumbral phases of the eclipse are barely noticeable, even with the help of a telescope, so it might not be worth stepping outside until the partial phase of the eclipse begins around 2:19 a.m. EST.

The best time to look at the moon will be shortly after 4 a.m. EST when all but just a sliver of the moon will be in Earth's dark inner shadow. Some of the darkest areas of the moon could even appear red or orange around this time.

Unlike other celestial events such as meteor showers, a lunar eclipse can be seen from light-polluted cities, although the weather needs to cooperate for folks waking up in the middle of the night hoping to see the eclipse.

AccuWeather meteorologists are predicting excellent viewing conditions across most of the Southeast, as well as parts of the southern Plains and into the lower Midwest. Favorable weather is also expected across most of Mexico and the western Canadian Prairies.

Some clouds are likely for most of the mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes and Southwest, but since this is a long-lived event, there should be enough breaks in the clouds to occasionally catch a glimpse of the eclipsed moon.

Other areas of North America may want to consider watching the event online or reliving the eclipse through pictures the day after with mostly cloudy conditions in the forecast.

This week's partial lunar eclipse is a warmup for what's to come in 2022.

North America will experience a pair of total lunar eclipses next year that will be even more impressive than this week's event.

The first lunar eclipse is slated for the night of May 15 into the early morning of May 16. Six months later, the moon will once again pass through Earth's shadow on the night of Nov. 7 and into the morning of Nov. 8.

SAVING ENDANGERED RIGHT WHALES
Federal appeals court reinstates ban on lobstering in Gulf of Maine


Maine lobstermen Mark Rand, left, and Dick Mancini prepare to heave a crate of lobsters lifted off from their boat to be unloaded into lobster tanks at New Meadows Lobster Pound in Portland, Maine. File Photo by Lee K. Marriner/UPI | License Photo


Nov. 17 (UPI) -- In an effort to protect endangered whales, a federal appeals court reinstated a ban on traditional lobster fishing on a nearly 1,000-square-mile stretch of the Gulf of Maine on Wednesday.

The move comes after federal fisheries officials released a new set of restrictions on Main's iconic lobster fishery earlier this year, including state-specific gear marking and weak points in rope to allow whales to break free.

The law won't go into effect until May, after an October-to-January season closure requiring fishermen to remove their gear on Oct. 18.

The Maine Lobstering Union fought the decision, and U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker temporarily halted the closure until details and science behind the decision could be thoroughly checked.

In turn, the national marine Fisheries Service and conservationists appealed the decision in the U.S. District Court in Bangor, stating that the whale population declined by 30 in just one year. The motion was denied, and the group sought an appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeal for the First Circuit in Boston.

The court ruled that the district court didn't have the jurisdiction to reject the judgment of the Fisheries Service, which has been charged by Congress to protect endangered animals.

"The First Circuit's decision affirms that the best available science and the law demand action now," Conservation Law Foundation Attorney Erica Fuller said in a statement.

 "Right whales can't wait for the perfect empirical data Judge Walker sought."

The Maine Lobstering Union plans to continue to fight the ban.

There are fewer than 336 North Atlantic right whales remaining, many of which are vulnerable to getting entangled in fishing gear and are killed in ship strikes.

Catholic bishops avoid banning politicians from communion over abortion views

Pope Francis meets with the United States President Joe Biden during a private audience at the Vatican on October 29. U.S. Catholic bishops declined to not prevent Biden from receiving communion because of his position on abortion. Photo by Vatican Media/UPI | License Photo


Nov. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. Catholic bishops on Wednesday declined to prevent President Joe Biden or other politicians who support abortion rights from receiving communion, something that was pushed hard for by conservative clergy leaders.

The bishops voted overwhelmingly on a "meaning of communion" emphasizing there is a "special responsibility" of Catholic public figures to shape their own views based on the "church's faith and moral law," according to the Washington Post.

The document approved did not address the question of public figures' right to the eucharist head-on as some wanted and barely mentioned abortion in its 29 pages.

The document passage ended, for now, a long campaign by conservative bishops to target Biden for his political position on abortion, despite the opposition of the effort from the Vatican.

Biden met with Pope Francis at the Vatican last month.

"President Biden thanked his holiness for his advocacy for the world's poor and those suffering from hunger, conflict, and persecution," the White House said in a statement after the 90-minute meeting on Oct. 29.

"He lauded Pope Francis' leadership in fighting the climate crisis, as well as his advocacy to ensure the pandemic ends for everyone through vaccine sharing and an equitable global economic recovery."

Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself..... 

CAPITALI$M IS ADDICTION

More than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses in one year in U.S., report says

#LEGALIZEDRUGS

By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay News

More than 100,000 people in the United States died of drug overdoses during a one-year period ending in April, according to a new report. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture



New government data confirms what many have suspected: The pandemic has prompted a record number of drug overdose deaths, with more than 100,000 Americans succumbing to addiction as COVID-19 raged across the country.

That figure is almost 30% higher than the previous year, when 78,000 overdose deaths were reported, according to provisional figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
"The 12-month period ending in April 2021 is the first time we've seen over 100,000 estimated deaths due to drug overdose," said lead researcher Farida Bhuiya Ahmad, the mortality surveillance lead at the NCHS.

"Drug overdose deaths continued to rise at least through April 2021," Bhuiya Ahmad said. "So that's this past spring, and we haven't seen any indication that the numbers are slowing down."

Those troubling statistics coincide with the pandemic, and the massive repercussions of social distancing and lockdowns.

"I think the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly contributed to the increase in overdose deaths and has exacerbated the addiction crisis," said Lindsey Vuolo, vice president of health law and policy at the Partnership to End Addiction.

"The economic losses, grief, anxiety and social isolation associated with the pandemic lead to increased substance use, increased demand for treatment, and put people in recovery at risk for relapse," Vuolo said.

"Social distancing requirements may have led to more people using drugs alone without someone to administer naloxone [an overdose reversal medication] or call 911 in the case of overdose, leading to a greater risk for a fatal overdose," Vuolo added.

"COVID-19 restrictions also made it even more difficult to access addiction treatment by placing limits on in-person care. Patients who were used to in-person treatment may have had difficulties switching to a remote format or had greater hesitation to go to treatment because of fear that they would be exposed to COVID-19," she said.

Overdose deaths from opioids alone rose to more than 75,600 in the 12 months ending in April, according to the NCHS report. The increase in deaths started in late 2019, but there was a sharp increase in mid-2020 that has continued through April 2021.

Opioids are fueling most of this rise in deaths. "That's opioids like fentanyl, but then we also see increases nationally, and in some states, of deaths from methamphetamines," Bhuiya Ahmad noted.

Bhuiya Ahmad said that with all the attention the opioid epidemic has incurred, it was hoped that opioid use and abuse would have declined.

"I think any optimist would hope that the numbers would go down," Bhuiya Ahmad said. "But so far, we're seeing that the increase is sustained - it just continues to rise, we haven't seen it leveling off."

Deaths have risen in every state except South Dakota, New Hampshire and New Jersey, the findings showed. The largest increases in opioid deaths were seen in California, Kansas, the mid-Atlantic states, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Annual overdose deaths were up nearly 50% in California, 37% in Kansas, 56% in Louisiana and 48% in Mississippi. Virginia had a nearly 46% increase, as did South Carolina, and in West Virginia deaths rose 62%, the researchers found.

"The staggering death toll is devastating, and it is even more tragic because addiction is a preventable and treatable disease," Vuolo said. "Research shows us what we need to do we just lack the will to make the significant, albeit necessary, changes."

"Prior to COVID-19, it was already very difficult to get addiction treatment," she noted. "Our current addiction treatment system wasn't able to meet existing demand before the pandemic and certainly won't be able to support this type of demand increase."

Vuolo suggested that "to immediately address the crisis, we need to significantly expand the tools we have to prevent opioid overdoses, including increasing access to FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder and naloxone, the opioid reversal medication."

In the long term, more needs to be done to address addiction as a health condition by fully integrating it with the mainstream health care system, she said.

This will require major changes, including increasing training in substance use and addiction treatment. Also, insurance companies must obey laws that cover addiction treatment so that care is affordable and accessible.

"We need a greater focus on prevention by implementing initiatives that promote healthy youth development and reduce risk factors. We also need to expand services to support individuals in recovery and families impacted by addiction," Vuolo added.

"To effectively make these changes, we have to continue to root out stigma against addiction, which remains pervasive among the public and professionals who interact with people with addiction," she said.

"There is now greater recognition that addiction is not a moral failing, but stigma is still reflected in the lack of urgency and willingness to adopt the major changes necessary to address the addiction crisis," she said.

More information

For more on drug overdose deaths, head to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Mild brain injury leads to early cognitive decline, study in veterans finds


Mild traumatic brain injuries can increase risk for early cognitive decline, including Parkinson's disease-like symptoms, a study with veterans found. 

Photo by toubibe/Pixabay

Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Military veterans who suffer a mild traumatic brain injury during combat experience early cognitive decline within seven years of the incident, a study published Wednesday by PLOS One found.

The effects of the injury on cognitive function are comparable with those seen by people with early-stage Parkinson's disease and significantly worse than those felt by healthy non-veterans, the researchers said.

Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder that leads to shaking, stiffness and difficulty with walking, balance and coordination, according to the National Institute on Aging.

It may progress to include symptoms of dementia, or memory loss and declines in brain function, the institute says.

Although the study focused on the risks among veterans associated with combat, the results could have implications for others with a history of mild traumatic brain injury, according to the researchers.

"We found that young veterans with mild traumatic brain injury are exhibiting some specific premature cognitive aging effects," researchers from the University of North Texas Health Science Center and Texas Christian University wrote.

"[This] might be considered a possible phenotype linking remote mild traumatic brain injury to Parkinson's disease in later years," they said.

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force that occurs when a sudden trauma results in damage to the brain, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

It can occur when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. TBI common among athletes and active-duty military in combat.

About 430,000 head injuries were suffered by active-duty servicemen and women between 2000 to 2018, with 82% classified as mild, the Department of Defense reported.

However, veterans with a history of mild TBI have a 56% higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease within 12 years of their injury, according to earlier research.

In addition, studies have shown that TBI increases the risk for ADHD among children and has been linked with dementia in older adults.

For this study, the researchers assessed 27 veterans ages 25 to 45 who had suffered a non-penetrating mild TBI -- which means it did not involve breaking through the skull -- during combat in the past seven years.

Their performance on several measures of cognitive function was compared with those of 30 healthy veterans and 30 healthy non-veterans -- all matched based on age and intelligence -- as well as 27 with Parkinson's disease at age 60 to 90 before the start of the study, the researchers said.

In all tests for cognitive function, the vets with mild TBI and Parkinson's took about 33% longer to complete tasks and performed less well than the healthy veterans and non-veterans, the data showed.

"We were able to show coincident similarities between veterans with mild TBI and Parkinson's disease in particular cognitive domains. ... We also found veterans with mild TBI significantly lagged behind their age- and IQ-matched controls," the researchers wrote.

They "performed more like older, early-stage Parkinson's disease subjects and presented cognitively as if they were at least three decades older on tests of cognitive flexibility, attention, processing speed and inhibitory control," they said.

More than 100 US troops suffered traumatic brain injury in ...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/10/us-troops-brain-injury...

The number of US service members diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) stemming from Iran’s missile attack on a base in Iraq last month has shot up to more than 100, the Pentagon said Monday.

Trump Dismisses Troops’ Possible Brain Injuries as ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/world/middleeast/trump-iraq-brain...

The deputy commander of the American-led operation in Iraq said the Pentagon was putting service members through medical examinations to see if they had traumatic brain injuries.