In any given year, depression affects more than 6 percent of the adult population in the United States—some 16 million people—but fewer than half receive the treatment they need. What if an algorithm could scan social media and point to linguistic red flags of the disease before a formal medical diagnosis had been made? New
(HealthDay)—If you have diabetes, you need all recommended vaccinations, the American Association of Diabetes Educators says. Diabetes reduces the immune system’s ability to fight certain infections. This raises the risk for serious complications from diseases that vaccines protect against—including flu, pneumonia, hepatitis B, tetanus and shingles. “People with diabetes may be at higher risk of
It has long been known that so-called place cells in the human hippocampus are responsible for coding one’s position in space. A related type of brain cell, called grid cells, encodes a variety of positions that are evenly distributed across space. This results in a kind of honeycomb pattern tiling the space. The cells exhibiting
In a new study researchers have developed a two-pronged approach for targeting Ebola virus infection using linked nucleic acid (LNA) antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs)designed to interfere both genes essential for translation of Ebola virus genes and to block production of an intracellular human protein needed for the virus to enter cells. The results of using LNA
A man hospitalized for dehydration a few months ago at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center started suffering a severe fever, and doctors weren’t sure why. The patient was homeless, a clue to doctors that he might have typhus. Every year people contract flea-borne typhus in Southern California, mostly in Los Angeles County. Doctors did a
The brain allows organisms to learn and adapt to their surroundings. It does this by literally changing the connections, or synapses, between neurons, strengthening meaningful patterns of neural activity in order to store information. The existence of this process—brain plasticity—has been known for some time. But actually, there are two different types of brain plasticity
If you’re a parent, you may be concerned that materialism among children has been on the rise. According to research, materialism has been linked to a variety of mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, as well as selfish attitudes and behaviors. But there’s some good news. A new University of Illinois at Chicago
What do medical biomarkers do on evenings and weekends, when they might be considered off the clock? The hidden lives of medical biomarkers are the focus of a recent study in Nature Communications by Jonathan Mosley, MD, Ph.D., assistant professor of Medicine and Biomedical Informatics, and colleagues from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and 11 other
When it’s a significant injury, not just a hot pizza, that damages your tongue and taste buds, you appear to need a cell type best known for its inflammation-promoting skills to help restore your sense of taste. The intricate system that enables us to savor that pizza is daily mildly traumatized by the foods we
(HealthDay)—For patients with early-stage septic shock and severe acute kidney injury, 90-day mortality does not differ for patients randomly assigned to an early strategy for initiation of renal-replacement therapy versus a delayed strategy, according to a study published in the Oct. 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Saber D. Barbar, M.D., Ph.D.,
For adults over age 65, surgical complications can dampen not only their physical health but also their mental sharpness, with more than half of high-risk cases declining into delirium. In research published this week in the journal Brain Stimulation, Duke University scientists show in a mouse model that a current treatment for seizures can also
Consciousness requires continuous, internally generated activity in the brain. The modulation of this activity is the basis of the electroencephalogram (EEG) and of generation of sleep, dreams, and perception. Achieving such activity is thus an important milestone in normal brain maturation, which occurs around birth. Successful transition to this activity indicates a good prognosis for
A positive sense of mental well-being is related to better brain health among older adults, according to a new report issued today by the Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH) and involving University of Exeter research. Studies shows our sense of mental well-being tends to increase after middle age and there are steps we can
Just one-third of Chinese patients with acute coronary syndromes including heart attack receive cardiac rehabilitation guidance before discharge from hospital, according to research presented at the 29th Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology (GW-ICC). Only one in ten receive personalised advice. GW-ICC 2018 is being held 11 to 14 October in Beijing, China. Visiting experts
Each year, more than 10,000 pregnant women in Australia suffer from preeclampsia and 30,000 die from it on a global level. The condition, characterized by high blood pressure, can be fatal and have long-term health effects for both mothers and babies. It causes the death of 780 babies each day. These numbers, according to Dean
A new clinical trial at Emory University and 45 other sites around the U.S. will test a combination of vitamins and steroids in patients diagnosed with sepsis. Sepsis is caused by the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death. According to sepsis researchers, sepsis can
A new study has found that the Rehabilitation Enablement in CHronic Heart Failure (REACH-HF) programme, led by the University of Exeter and the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS trust, significantly improved quality of life and is deliverable within NHS cost guidelines. The programme was co-designed by clinicians, academics, patients and caregivers to help increase participation in
Higher levels of biomarkers of dairy fat consumption are associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to new research published today in PLOS Medicine. The study, in more than 60,000 adults, was undertaken by an international consortium led by scientists at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, and
High levels of air pollutants, especially fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and to a lesser extent, ozone, may be linked to a heightened risk of developing mouth cancer, suggests the first study of its kind, published online in the Journal of Investigative Medicine. The number of new cases, and deaths from, mouth cancer is increasing in
For the first time scientists have been able to put a figure on how many faces people actually know- a staggering 5,000 on average. The research team, from the University of York, tested study participants on how many faces they could recall from their personal lives and the media, as well as the number of
