by Megan Jentz, Emory University Emory University School of Medicine researchers have uncovered an important risk pathway for cardiovascular disease (CVD) by utilizing an oft-cited fear—public speaking—to measure how stress changes the lining of blood vessels in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). While psychological stress is already associated with CVD, the Emory study—published in this month’s...
Tag: <span>Mental Health</span>
Post
New medication may improve effects of psychological treatment for PTSD
A medication that boosts the body’s own cannabis-like substances, endocannabinoids, shows promise to help the brain un-learn fear memories when these are no longer meaningful. This according to an early-stage, experimental study on healthy volunteers at LiU. The new findings give hope that a new treatment can be developed for post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. “We have used a medication that blocks the way...
Post
Guidelines developed for reducing suicide in veterans
Kristen E. D’Anci, Ph.D., from the ECRI Institute in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and colleagues examined the benefits and harms of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic interventions to prevent suicide and related suicide behaviors in at-risk adults. Data were reviewed from eight systematic reviews and 15 randomized controlled trials. The researchers found that compared with treatment as usual,...
Post
AAN issues guideline on vaccines and multiple sclerosis
by American Academy of Neurology Can a person with multiple sclerosis (MS) get regular vaccines? According to a new guideline, the answer is yes. The guideline, developed by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), recommends that people with MS receive recommended vaccinations, including yearly flu shots. The guideline is published in the August 28, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the AAN,...
Post
Israel seeks to beat PTSD with ‘ecstasy’ therapy
by Jonah Mandel Nachum Pachenick says he lived a nightmare for nearly two decades after being sexually abused and developing post-traumatic stress disorder—until MDMA therapy came to his rescue. “It’s a life full of stress, pressure, nerves, anxiety, fatigue,” the 46-year-old Israeli said from his home in Sde Boaz, a wildcat settlement in the occupied...
Post
Abnormal blood pressure in middle and late life influences dementia risk
JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE In a study that spanned two and a half decades and looked at data from more than 4,700 participants, Johns Hopkins researchers have added to evidence that abnormal blood pressure in midlife persisting into late life increases the likelihood of developing dementia. Although not designed to show cause and effect, the study...
Post
AHA news: Here’s why stroke survivors need to pay attention to bone health
People who have had a stroke, and the doctors who treat them, have a lot to be concerned about: regaining mobility and function, controlling risk factors for a second stroke, guarding against depression that can result from a newly limited life. There’s another potential consequence not on everyone’s list: osteoporosis. “We don’t know as much...
Post
Virtual reality experiences may help treat severe pain
by Public Library of Science Therapeutic virtual reality can be used to reduce severe pain in hospitalized patients, according to a study published August 14, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Brennan Spiegel of Cedars-Sinai Health System, USA, and colleagues. Therapeutic virtual reality (VR) is emerging as an effective, non-pharmacological treatment modality for...
Post
Beyond finding a gene: Same repeated stretch of DNA found in three neurodegenerative diseases
by University of Tokyo Four rare diseases are characterized by similar symptoms of neurodegeneration. Patients with three of the diseases — fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) and oculopharyngeal myopathy with leukoencephalopathy (OPML) — have similar MRI brain scan images. Patients with a fourth disease, oculopharyngodistal myopathy (OPDM), have normal brain scans, but their muscle tissue has a...
Post
Exploring genetic “dark matter,” researchers gain new insights into autism and stroke
Posted Today With its elegant double helix and voluminous genetic script, DNA has become the of darling of nucleic acids. Yet, it is not all powerful. In order for DNA to realize its potential—for genes to become proteins—it must first be transcribed into RNA, a delicate molecule that requires intense care and guidance. “Gene expression is a lot more complicated...