Exercise stimulates the growth of new brain cells, a new study on rats finds. The new cells could be the key to why working out relieves depression.
Previous research showed physical exercise can have antidepressant effects, but until now scientists didn't fully understand how it worked.
Walt Bogdanich
NY TimesThu, 28 Jun 2007 13:59 UTC
After federal health officials discovered last month that tainted Chinese toothpaste had entered the United States, they warned that it would most likely be found in discount stores.
In fact, the toothpaste has been distributed much more widely. Roughly 900,000 tubes containing a poison used in some antifreeze products have turned up in hospitals for the mentally ill, prisons, juvenile detention centers and even some hospitals serving the general population.
Dan Olmsted
UPIThu, 28 Jun 2007 09:08 UTC
A new, privately funded survey finds vaccinated U.S. children have a significantly higher risk of neurological disorders -- including autism -- than unvaccinated children.
USDA & Industry try to sneak banned conventional ingredients into organic beer, sausage, & processed food
The USDA has announced a controversial proposal, with absolutely no input from consumers, to allow 38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the "USDA Organic" seal. Most of the ingredients are food colorings derived from plants that are supposedly not "commercially available" in organic form. But several of the proposed ingredients, backed by beer giant Anheuser-Busch, and pork and food processors, represent a serious threat to organic standards, and have raised the concerns of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA).
XinhuaMon, 25 Jun 2007 16:04 UTC
Germany confirmed the H5N1 bird flu virus in three more wild birds in the southern state of Bavaria on Monday, bringing the total infected cases to six since last weekend.
Since three wild bird found dead in Nuremberg in northern Bavaria tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain on Sunday, three more cases have been confirmed, with five swans and one goose infected, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, a veterinary institution, said on Monday.
An analysis released today critically examined a recent industry-sponsored study ruling out a link between autism and Rh immune globulin (RhIg) injections, some of which contained the mercury-based preservative thimerosal. Besides extensive design flaws, the analysis uncovered manipulation of the study sample, so that earlier data revealing a positive autism-RhIg association was concealed.
Elderly patients who take anti-depressants run a higher risk of getting osteoporosis, it has emerged.
Two studies found that patients who used drugs such as Prozac and Seroxat developed thinner bones.
Researchers have reported that breast masses shown on ultrasound that are diagnosed as "probably benign" can be safely managed with imaging follow-up rather than biopsy, according to a study appearing in the July issue of Radiology.
"These findings indicate that ultrasound follow-up can spare women from unnecessary, invasive biopsies," said Oswald Graf, M.D., from the Department of Radiology, Ambulatory Care Center in Steyr, Austria.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that 212,920 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States this year. Early detection through screening is the best way to combat cancer at its early, most treatable stage. While mammography is the standard breast cancer screening exam, the sensitivity of mammography for identifying breast cancer decreases in women with dense breast tissue. Some studies have shown that ultrasound may provide useful information in detecting cancer in women with dense breasts. However, screening with ultrasound also identifies a large number of breast lesions that are suspicious but may or may not be cancerous. Often, these masses are recommended for biopsy. ACS reports that 80 percent of breast lesions biopsied are found to be benign.
Non-Hispanic white youth have the highest rate of diabetes of all racial/ethnic groups for children in the U.S., with type 1 being the predominant kind of diabetes among youth, according to a study in the June 27 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on chronic diseases of children.
Dana Dabelea, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing in New York.
Estimates of the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) show an increase in incidence worldwide during the past two decades, according to background information in the article. Type 2 DM has traditionally been viewed as a disorder of adults, most likely persons who are middle-age or elderly. But as the prevalence of obesity has increased in recent decades, some studies have reported an increasing proportion of youth with type 2 DM, especially among racial/ethnic minority populations. However, data are limited regarding the types and incidence of DM among U.S. youth of different racial/ethnic backgrounds.
It is estimated that between 10 and 17% of the population has suffered tinnitus at some time in their lives, according to a number of international studies. Tinnitus is understood as the perception of noise in the ears or inside the head although there is no external source of sound, without any vibratory cochlear activity taking place (which occurs when an external noise is produced). Depending on the intensity of the symptom, the patient may have their everyday life affected. In extreme cases the discomforts may make working routines impossible or negatively affect normal daily life.
Doctor Heitzmann has recommended TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy) treatment - based on the neurophysiological model - for those suffering from tinnitus. She points out that it is a treatment the aim of which is to get the patient to become accustomed to the "noise". To achieve this, therapeutic advice and sound therapy are used. The father of TRT is professor Pawel J. Jastreboff, who has defined tinnitus as a phantom auditory perception perceived only by the person. On applying the neurophysiological model in the University Hospital (of Navarre), Ms Heitzmann concluded that getting used to the tinnitus and thereby, achieving the cessation of discomfort, occurred in between 80 and 84% of patients, including, at times, a higher proportion. It is the treatment that has the highest success rate currently.
