Health & WellnessS


Question

French woman denied euthanasia found dead

A French woman who made headlines around the world, due to her battle with a disfiguring facial tumour, has been found dead at her home. Mother-of-three Chantal Sébire suffered excruciating pain from a rare inoperable cancer in her sinuses. She appealed for the legal right to end her own life.

Earlier this week a court in Dijon, in eastern France, rejected the 52-year-old former schoolteacher's request to go to her "death with dignity".

Heart

Happily Married Have Lower Blood Pressure than Singles

Marriage really can be a matter of the heart with a U.S. study finding that happily married couples have lower blood pressure than single people.

Health

Depressed Caregivers Hostile, Not Warm, to Children

A new study in the journal Family Process reveals that caregivers with moderate to severe depressive symptoms showed greater hostility and less warmth. The study focused on caregivers of low-income children with persistent asthma.

Health

Doctors warn of superbug infection in face-lifts

A dangerous drug-resistant bacterial infection has been showing up in a small number of patients who undergo face-lifts, doctors reported on Monday.

When infections do occur at surgical sites following such procedures "the facial plastic surgeon should have a high suspicion" for MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), as the source, they said.

Health

The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World out of Balance

Excerpted from The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World Out of Balance--and the Cutting-Edge Science that Promises Hope (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster).

An interview with the author follows.

Smiley

Flashback Older People Are Happy: Life Begins At 40 And 50 And 60

Growing old is a happier experience than many of us imagine - that's according to the findings of a study conducted at Queen's University, Belfast, on behalf of the Changing Ageing Partnership (CAP).

Eye 1

When predator is a woman, are rules relaxed?

Jason Eickmeyer was a 15-year-old sophomore at Hammonton High School in New Jersey the night he said he had sex with his gym teacher. From that moment on, he counted the days until he would be old enough to marry her.

Male classmates who heard the rumors would nudge him on the shoulder, he said, and give him a knowing smile. "I got respect," he said.

Two years later, after the police came to his house and took his statement against teacher Traci Tapp, Mr. Eickmeyer was shunned and mocked. He became a Jay Leno punch line.

Magic Wand

The regulation of negative emotions: Impact on brain activity

Philadelphia - Emotions play an important role in the lives of humans, and influence our behavior, thoughts, decisions, and interactions. The ability to regulate emotions is essential to both mental and physical well-being. "Conversely, difficulties with emotion regulation have been postulated as a core mechanism underlying mood and anxiety disorders," according to the authors of a new study published in Biological Psychiatry on March 15th. Thus, these researchers set out to further expand our understanding of the differential effects of emotion regulation strategies on the human brain.

Syringe

Flashback Girl's Flu Death Happened Within Hours -- And Dr. Mercola's comments

When 12-year-old Jasmine Levy woke up feeling unwell, her mother gave her Tylenol and sent her back to bed. A few hours later, she was dead.

Jasmine was the first child in Minnesota to die of the flu this season; six children died of flu last year. Jasmine had asthma and had reportedly developed a staph infection as a complication of the flu, officials said.

Snowman

His Cheating Brain

Why do powerful men risk everything for sex? It has to do with brain chemistry, evolution and, yes, testosterone.

Comment: Though it can't be said with certainty why Eliot Spitzer did what he did, and while there are many professional opinions given on the psychological appeal of prostitutes, it is interesting to note that the above mentioned characteristics are those usually attributed to psychopaths. Additionally, the mention of "lower levels of monoamine oxidase A" in the people described, is an indication of antisocial behavior.

One thing, however, is crystal clear - positions of power attract a certain 'type' of individual and these individuals end up influencing every aspect of our society - one needs to simply look around at the current decaying state of society to see the result of that influence.