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Posted on Monday, September 19, 2011 9:20 PM
 Omega 3 and Depression in the elderly Recent observations showed that long chain omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids could represent a potential treatment for elderly depression. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial study was conducted over a two month period, in a Nursing Home in Pavia, Italy. The study included 46 depressed females, aged 66-95 years old. The dosages given were 1.67 grams of EPA and 0.83 grams of DHA. The results after the 2 month period showed that the use of supplement essential fatty acids was helpful and significantly alleviated the symptoms of depression (assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale). |
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Posted on Saturday, June 04, 2011 3:39 PM
The Neuroscience of the Gut  Strange but true: the brain is shaped by bacteria in the digestive tract
People may advise you to listen to your gut instincts: now research suggests that your gut may have more impact on your thoughts than you ever realised. Scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Genome Institute of Singapore led by Sven Pettersson recently reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that normal gut flora, the bacteria that inhabit our intestines, have a significant impact on brain development and subsequent adult behaviour. |
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Posted on Friday, June 03, 2011 2:13 PM
 Are Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Regimens Causing Depression? Low cholesterol is a risk factor for depression, according to integrative psychiatrist James Greenblatt, MD, of Waltham, MA. Speaking at the recent iMosaic conference, Dr. Greenblatt said there are 11 studies showing strong correlations between low total cholesterol and increased depression and suicidality.
The brain is the most cholesterol-rich organ, and cholesterol is a building block for many important hormones. This doesn’t mean that high cholesterol levels are healthy, but neither are levels that are too low. |
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Posted on Monday, May 30, 2011 1:24 PM
 Blueberries May ReverseAge-Related Mental Decline
A new study with lab rats suggests that supplementing with blueberries for one month may slow and even reverse the decline in mental function associated with age. Cognitive performance declines naturally with age, but new results published in Nutrition indicate that for elderly rats, one month's supplementation with blueberries was associated with an improvement in the memory scores, as measured in a maze. In addition, data showed that two months of consuming the blueberry-enriched diet was associated with a prolongation of the benefits after the diet was stopped, and the performance of the aging rats was similar to that of younger rats. |
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Posted on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 10:38 AM
 When menopause is a diseaseMenopause has never been a disease that needed to be treated until our 'modern' age. Additionally, primitive cultures of the world don’t even have a word to describe ‘menopause’. They view a woman that is not menstruating any more as a more powerful being, that possesses wisdom and knowledge, someone to be respected and revered. The medical establishment, generally speaking, considers a menopausal woman as a patient deficient in this or that drug. But, the drug will make you deficient in another drug, and the multiple uses of drugs create other states that are unknown and not even studied yet. |
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Posted on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 12:25 PM
 Elimination diet for ADHD The study by Lidy Pelsser and colleagues (Feb 5, p 494)attempted to determine whether a restricted elimination diet is an effective treatment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although the design had some methodological strengths, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Unfortunately, the study's design was severely flawed since none of the outcome assessments was blind to treatment status. The investigators should have included at least one objective, independent assessment of attention, impulsivity, or activity level. |
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Posted on Monday, May 16, 2011 1:54 PM
Mentally-ill doctors failing to get treatment  Doctors are under so much pressure to keep-up the image of a “super-person” that those struggling with a mental-illness are failing to access healthcare, a new study suggests. A survey of doctors including GPs reveals that “unrealistic expectations” are preventing those with a mental illness from seeking help. “Several described self-treating with medication, exercise, relaxation, etc until a point of crisis or desperation was reached.” |
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Posted on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 9:05 PM
Photographs Of Loved Ones  Can Be Effective Painkillers You may remember being calmed by your mum the first time you had blood drawn in the doctor’s office, or a loved one helping you feel like you’re not alone. The benefits of other people have been obvious to us for awhile, but new research is showing that a reminder as small as a photograph can have the same effect. Ferris Jabr, writing for Scientific America, elaborates: A Psychological Science study in 2009 first showed the effect. |
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Posted on Saturday, April 30, 2011 6:15 PM
How Self-Control WorksThe scientific community is increasingly coming to realise how central self-control is to many important life outcomes. We have always known about the impact of socioeconomic status and IQ, but these are factors thatare highly resistant to interventions. In contrast, self-control may be something that we can tap into to make sweeping improvements life outcomes.
If you think about the environment we live in, you will notice how it is essentially designed to challenge every grain of our self-control. |
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Posted on Monday, March 21, 2011 4:58 PM
 Diabetes linked withincreased Parkinson’s risk Evidence is mounting for a link between diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, although the jury is still out on whether the association is causal. Patients with a diagnosis of diabetes were at 36% increased risk of Parkinson’s disease compared with those without diabetes,according to a case-control study involving almost 2000 Danish patients with Parkinson’s disease. The effect was found to be stronger in women, and with respect to early-onset Parkinson’s disease. |
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Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 5:31 PM
 SPICE UP YOUR BRAIN
Tumeric may not just add a little spice to your next Indian dish. The popular spice is now being used to regenerate brain cells after stroke.
The research by the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, was recently presented at the American Heart Association International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles. Researchers expect the drug to enter human clinical trials soon.
Currently there is only one drug that is now approved for ischemic stroke, which occurs when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain. |
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