According to an open-access article in ARRS’ American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), in lumbar spine MRI, presumptive pain generators diagnosed using symptom information from brief electronic questionnaires showed almost perfect agreement with pain generators diagnosed using symptom information from direct patient interviews. “Using patient-reported symptom information from a questionnaire, radiologists interpreting lumbar spine MRI converged
HERO-TOGETHER, a new research study, will gain insights on how COVID-19 vaccination can help keep communities healthy and free of the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-generation challenge that healthcare heroes everywhere have worked together to face. From working on the front lines to working behind the scenes, people in health care and public
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted dental education and training. The study “COVID-19 and Dental and Dental Hygiene Students’ Career Plans,” published in the JDR Clinical & Translational Research (JDR CTR), examined the short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental hygiene and dental students’ career intentions. An anonymous online survey was emailed to dental
Dealing with a global pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of millions of people. A team of MIT and Harvard University researchers has shown that they can measure those effects by analyzing the language that people use to express their anxiety online. Using machine learning to analyze the text of more than
A statistical estimation technique developed by a University of Notre Dame researcher offers public health officials a new way to build short-term forecasts of coronavirus diagnoses and deaths. It also provides additional insight into the effectiveness of earlier pandemic mitigation measures in 30 countries. As the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread globally in early 2020,
Cocaine addiction is a chronic disorder with a high rate of relapse for which no effective treatment is currently available. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, the CNRS, Inserm and the Paris Public Hospital Network (AP-HP) recently demonstrated that two gene mutations involved in the conformation of nicotinic receptors in the brain appear to play a
When it comes to mental health, there are quite a number of times when silence is gold and speech silver. Indeed, contemporary life is now littered with too many noisy distractions that we seem to have accepted it as the norm in society. To truly appreciate silence, one needs to have an understanding of the
The mental health consequences of COVID-19 can be described as the “fourth wave” of the pandemic, and are projected to result in the greatest and most enduring health footprint. Canadian data show growing mental health concerns across the country. In April 2020, the Angus Reid Institute found that 50 percent of Canadians felt their mental
Women with early stage breast cancer who test positive for an inherited genetic variant are not always receiving cancer treatment that follows current guidelines, a new study finds. An inherited gene can increase risk of developing a second breast cancer, so strategies such as removing a woman’s breasts or ovaries are intended to prevent a
For the first month and a half after receiving a modified toy car designed for children with disabilities, the kids and their families seemed motivated to use driving as a means of exploration and socialization. But in the month and a half after that, most kids’ driving time fell off to almost nothing. Sam Logan,
People around the world are living longer, and dementia has consequently become recognized as a public health priority in many countries. The Lancet Commission paper in 2017 collated a large body of medical research evidence that aims to address the dementia epidemic and following challenge for health and social care. It is estimated that as
Relatively new research findings indicating that the earliest stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD) may occur in the gut have been gaining traction in recent years. In a review published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, Tomasz Brudek, Ph.D., evaluates evidence for the association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and PD and proposes directions for future
The cover for issue 54 of Oncotarget features Figure 2, “Comparative proteomic profiling of the peptides/proteins identified from 293T, IL16lamp2b and mExo-Tat samples,” by Lu, et al. The HIV-1 Tat protein is a potent activator of viral transcription. The researcher’s previous work has demonstrated that exosomal formulations of Tat can reverse HIV-1 latency in primary
It’s sometimes thought that smokers who can’t light up are likely to reach for food in lieu of cigarettes. But new research from the University at Buffalo suggests that smoking abstinence doesn’t greatly affect the motivation for food. The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, used cues and actual money to learn
The standards and expectations to which men and woman generally conform impact health across life stages, health sectors and world regions, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. By analyzing a series of six case studies, gender norms expert Lindsay Stark, associate professor at the Brown School, and
A new computational framework has revealed key differences between four rheumatoid arthritis medications and their impact on biological pathways in mice. Niki Karagianni of Biomedcode Hellas SA, Greece, and colleagues present their new approach and findings in PLOS Computational Biology. People with rheumatoid arthritis often receive medications that target and inhibit Tumor-Necrosis Factor (TNF), a
The sight of a dog in a therapy vest trotting down a hospital hallway or being petted by a child lying in a hospital bed is familiar to many, yet the scientific research showing the impact of therapy animals is largely anecdotal, says Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Professor Mary Jo Gilmer, Ph.D., FAAN. Her
When daylight saving time ends in late fall, it is common to start experiencing an onset of mild depressive feelings and tendencies, often coined as “winter blues.” Energy levels seem to decrease with the temperature drop, people tend to feel more tired and sluggish, and there is an element of dread that occurs when one’s
Knowing who needs to be where, on what day and at what time. Buying a bigger pair of pants before a child outgrows what is currently hanging in the closet. Always having a jar of unopened peanut butter on hand. These caregiving tasks require mental and emotional effort and are examples of the invisible labor
Can you be scared to death? Fear can cause your heart to race and your body to sweat. A wave of nausea may overwhelm you as your chest tightens and breathing becomes increasingly difficult. Some may appear faint — while others start to tremble. Many who experience these overwhelming sensations describe feeling "scared to death." The
