Duration of untreated autism in rural America: emerging public health crisis.

The rural areas have been at the receiving end amidst mental health disparity across the USA. There is a serious and concerning divide among ones with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) living in underserved areas as compared to urban residents. With the higher than ever prevalence of ASD as per the recent reports of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; there is a need for a closer look at the prevailing issues. The trends are reflecting marked underdiagnosis, late diagnosis, lack of evidence-based diagnostic measures and interventions. These factors interplay in worsening the mental health crisis and there is an urgent need for corrective measures to address these highly modifiable problems.

Refractory Methamphetamine-Induced Psychosis: An Emerging Crisis in Rural America and the Role of Amantadine in Therapeutics.

In the last decade, methamphetamine (MA) use has substantially increased in rural America. These changes in the epidemiological trends could be attributed to the restricted availability of opioids after measures against the opioid epidemic were enforced. The availability of cheaper alternatives, such as fake prescriptions mixed with fentanyl, is a few among the many recent developments in the ongoing mental health and substance abuse crisis in rural America. A serious clinical effect of MA use is psychosis, which inadvertently has stretched mental health services. In recent times, the atypical clinical presentations of these psychotic episodes with a refractory course have challenged clinicians. Hence, the knowledge of its unique pharmacodynamics, neurotoxicity, similarities with schizophrenia amid the evolving empirical evidence is critical to addressing this unique conundrum.