In a study of Christian church members who approached their church for help with a personal or family member's diagnosed mental illness, researchers found that more than 32 percent were told by their pastor that they or their loved one did not really have a mental illness.
The problem was solely spiritual in nature, they were told.
Here's the thing: Other studies have found that clergy, and not psychologists or other mental health experts, are the most common source of help sought in times of psychological distress.
A new study reveals that specific types of bacteria in the intestine trigger the generation of pro-inflammatory immune cells, a finding that could eventually lead to novel treatments for inflammatory bowel disease and other diseases.
The study by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers is published in the October 16 issue of the journal Cell Host and Microbe. The new finding adds to the growing body of research showing that the kinds of bacteria in our intestine, and in our stomach, have an impact on our health.
"There is more and more evidence that gut flora have a tremendously important influence on human health," says Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D., chief of the mucosal immunology unit in the laboratory of parasitic diseases at the National Institutes of Health "If some set of microbes induces a specific immune response, this points to a way to manipulate the immune system," says Dr. Belkaid. "This new study is the first report that has associated a defined set of gut flora with the induction of specific immune cells."
A new study sheds light on the lives of teenage boys who abuse their girlfriends. In their own words, the young men often describe facing challenges such as growing up with troubled family lives, having little or no support when they began to fail at school, and witnessing violence in their own homes and communities.
The study advocates broadening the view of abusive behaviors within dating relationships to explore the myriad environments - school, home and community - that affect boys' lives and actions.
"Until now, we did not have much information on young men who hurt their partners," said Elizabeth Miller, the study's senior author and an assistant professor of pediatrics at UC Davis Children's Hospital. "This is a critically important piece of the puzzle in terms of designing meaningful prevention and intervention programs to prevent adolescent relationship violence."
To monitor the multiple sclerosis attacking Ann Pietrangelo's central nervous system, her doctor recommends an annual MRI. Last year, the 49-year-old Winchester, Va., woman had to pay a $3,000 co-payment to get the imaging done.
This year, she's skipping the test. Even with insurance, it's more than her budget can tolerate, especially with the roller coaster on Wall Street devouring her retirement savings.
"I'm doing everything I can to avoid going to the doctor," she said.
From Park Avenue dental offices to the Arlington Free Clinic, the global economic crunch is forcing a growing number of Americans to scale back on medical care. Consumers are attempting their own form of triage, pushing off seemingly less-urgent services in the hope that their financial health will improve. But the danger, say physicians, is that the short-term savings may translate into more severe long-term health implications.
It started when I was six weeks pregnant," says Lara Basini, 28, a Bristol midwife. "I'd be in a shop and suddenly feel like there were 100 magnets dragging me to the floor. It was like being hit by a stun gun." Her dizzy episodes worsened, until she was bedridden, unable to care for her new baby. It would be a scary and debilitating three years before she was given a correct diagnosis.
Balance disorders are among the 10 most common conditions seen by GPs and over half of us will experience one at some point. While a spot of room spin may sound minor, the reality can be anything but.
People with autism-related disorders are less likely to make irrational decisions, and are less influenced by gut instincts, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust. The study adds to the growing body of research implicating altered emotional processing in autism.
© University of California - Los AngelesFunctional MRI brain scans show how searching the Internet dramatically engages brain neural networks (in red). The image on the left displays brain activity while reading a book; the image on the right displays activity while engaging in an Internet search.
UCLA scientists have found that for computer-savvy middle-aged and older adults, searching the Internet triggers key centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning. The findings demonstrate that Web search activity may help stimulate and possibly improve brain function.
The study, the first of its kind to assess the impact of Internet searching on brain performance, is currently in press at the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and will appear in an upcoming issue.
Women start careers in business and other professions with the same level of intelligence, education and commitment as men. Yet comparatively few reach the top echelons.
This gap matters not only because the familiar glass ceiling is unfair, but also because the world has an increasingly urgent need for more leaders. All men and women with the brains, the desire and the perseverance to lead should be encouraged to fulfill their potential and leave their mark.
With all this in mind, the McKinsey Leadership Project--an initiative to help professional women at McKinsey and elsewhere--set out four years ago to learn what drives and sustains successful female leaders. We wanted to help younger women navigate the paths to leadership and, at the same time, learn how organizations could get the best out of this talented group.
The key to a proper diagnosis, researchers say, is recognizing grandiose behavior. Their study finds that 44% of those who had manic episodes as children continued having them as adults.
A study of 54 people with bipolar disorder found that the illness, long considered an adult affliction, also affects children.
The research published in Archives of General Psychology this week said that 44% of those who had manic episodes as children continued having them as adults.
"Children with mania grow into adults who have mania," said Dr. Barbara Geller of Washington University in St. Louis, who led the study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
University of Kentucky animal disease experts have determined that ducks found dead at a lake in Nicholasville were killed by botulism.
The university's Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center in Lexington says the botulism is the type that occurs naturally when air temperatures rise and water and oxygen levels drop in ponds.
