By: Shahnawaz Amdani, MD, FACC, FAAP & Majd Makhoul, MD, FAAP, FACC, FASE Rare and often underdiagnosed, cardiomyopathy is one of the common causes of sudden cardiac death in children under the age of 18. Because the disease can be present without symptoms, families should be aware of any family members who have heart disease… Read More »
Mayo Clinic Q and A: How to diagnose and support someone with post-traumatic stress disorder
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I’m reaching out because I’m in a tough spot. A close friend rode out Hurricane Ian in Florida last year and it seems to me that he’s struggling now. He’s angry and jumpy, while being numb to what’s happening around him. He told me that he’s not sleeping well, especially when another… Read More »
Supporting Your Child with Anxiety and/or OCD
Mona Potter, MD and Kathryn Boger, PhD, ABPP recently partnered with ADAA to host an insightful Q&A webinar addressing strategies for parenting children with anxiety and OCD. The engaging discussion provided parents and caregivers with practical tips and recommendations, and the audience asked so many wonderful questions that Drs. Potter and Boger weren’t able to… Read More »
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s: Scientists produce human norepinephrine neurons from stem cells
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have identified a protein key to the development of a type of brain cell believed to play a role in disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and used the discovery to grow the neurons from stem cells for the first time. The stem-cell-derived norepinephrine neurons of the type found… Read More »
In the fight against malaria-carrying mosquitoes, just add soap
Could the solution to the decades-long battle against malaria be as simple as soap? In a new study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, scientists at The University of Texas at El Paso have made a compelling case for it. The team has found that adding small quantities of liquid soap to some classes of… Read More »
Brain Taurine Levels Linked to Depression
The study, conducted in collaboration with research teams led by Dr. Hyungjun Kim at the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) and Prof. Jin-Hun Sohn at Chungnam National University (CNU), is the result of comparing two groups of female participants, a group of 36 female patients with , and a control group of 40 healthy… Read More »
How a mutation in microglia elevates Alzheimer’s risk
A rare but potent genetic mutation that alters a protein in the brain‘s immune cells, known as microglia, can give people as much as a three-fold greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. A new study by researchers in The Picower Institute for learning and memory at MIT details how the mutation undermines microglia function, explaining… Read More »
New study reveals the genetics of human head shape
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and KU Leuven have discovered a suite of genes that influence head shape in humans. These findings, published this week in Nature Communications, help explain the diversity of human head shapes and may also offer important clues about the genetic basis of conditions that affect the skull, such as… Read More »
Mini-Wearable Device Captures Body Sounds to Monitor Health
The study was conducted by Northwestern University researchers and published in the journal ). During even the most routine visits, physicians listen to sounds inside their patients’ bodies air moving in and out of the and even digested food progressing through the long gastrointestinal tract. These sounds provide valuable information about a person’s health.… Read More »
Reducing ‘vivid imagery’ that fuels addiction cravings
In 2021, 61.2 million Americans ages 12 and older used illicit drugs and more than 106,000 died from drug-involved overuse. Florida ranks second to California, with 5,300 annual overdose deaths, outpacing the national average by about 23 percent. Excessive alcohol use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and is associated… Read More »
Following a Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of cognitive decline in older people
Old people who follow a Mediterranean diet are at a lower risk of cognitive decline, according to a study published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. The study provides new evidence for a better understanding of the biological mechanisms related to the impact of the diet on cognitive health in the ageing population.… Read More »
Benefits of adolescent fitness to future cardiovascular health possibly overestimated
There is a well-known relationship between good physical fitness at a young age and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. However, when researchers adjusted for familial factors by means of sibling analysis, they found a weaker association, although the link between high body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular disease remained strong. The… Read More »
The Science of Quick Weight Loss
In comparing quick workouts to traditional, longer exercise routines, it’s essential to understand the principles behind their efficiency. Quick effective workouts for weight loss focus on maximizing effort in a shorter timeframe, leading to increased calorie expenditure and fat burning. Exploring the efficacy of these workouts can provide insights into whether they truly offer a… Read More »
High levels of maternal stress during pregnancy linked to children’s behavior problems
Children whose mothers are highly stressed, anxious or depressed during pregnancy may be at higher risk for mental health and behavior issues during their childhood and teen years, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “Our research suggests that psychological distress during the pregnancy period has a small but persistent effect on children’s… Read More »
Researchers identify brain center responsible for responses to rapid temperature change
We’ve all heard it: Put a frog in boiling water, and it will jump out. But put the same frog in lukewarm water and heat it gradually, and you’ll cook the frog. Often used as a metaphor for the unhurried and stubborn response many have to a slowly rising threat, the mechanisms underlying the urban… Read More »
Blinking on a quiz show offers clues to human response under stress
Quiz shows, where contestants answer rapid-fire questions in a high-stress, high-stakes environment, are an integral part of TV programming — and now they are demonstrating that they have research value. By analyzing contestants’ behavior and patterns of blinking on the British TV show “Mastermind,” cognitive scientists at the University of Arizona have studied human physiology… Read More »
Gene Expression Predicts Brain Tumor Growth Revolutionizing Cancer Treatment
This study was conducted by researchers at UC San Francisco and Northwestern Medicine, in collaboration with 10 other medical centers, and published in ). doctors often prescribe radiation along with surgery to treat a brain tumor called meningioma that originates in the protective membranes surrounding the brain. But side effects from radiation can be serious,… Read More »
New studies of brain activity explain benefits of electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), formerly known as electroshock therapy, involves inducing a brief seizure in the brain using controlled doses of electricity. While ECT is highly effective for certain mental illnesses, particularly depression, the reasons for its efficacy have long puzzled the fields of psychiatry and neuroscience. Now, researchers from University of California San Diego may… Read More »
A small molecule blocks aversive memory formation, providing a potential treatment target for depression
Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the world, but current anti-depressants have yet to meet the needs of many patients. Neuroscientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently discovered a small molecule that can effectively alleviate stress-induced depressive symptoms in mice by preventing aversive memory formation with a lower dosage,… Read More »
Hunger hormones impact decision-making brain area to drive behavior
A hunger hormone produced in the gut can directly impact a decision-making part of the brain in order to drive an animal’s behaviour, finds a new study by UCL (University College London) researchers. The study in mice, published in Neuron, is the first to show how hunger hormones can directly impact activity of the brain‘s… Read More »
