Breast-fed babies, so the prevailing wisdom goes, are less likely to have weight problems later in life. Introducing solid foods later — at about four or six months — is also thought to reduce the risk of being overweight later in childhood.
Alzheimer’s disease, a leading cause of dementia in the elderly, appears later in highly educated people — but once it does, it advances more quickly, scientists said.
The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) – a project developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – is seeking 800 older adults to participate in a study aimed at identifying biological markers of memory decline and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Ultimately, scientists hope that brain and biological changes can be detected before memory decline and other symptoms appear, allowing the effectiveness of drugs to be evaluated at the earliest possible time.
Some commonly used drugs by the elderly to treat illnesses like Parkinson’s or urinary incontinence may lead to mild mental impairment, says a study.
Broadly stated, cognitive-behavior therapy is based on learning theory which has shown that as we practice new behaviors and thoughts in response to familiar emotions or situations, our brain’s physical structure actually changes, too. We develop new neural pathways and, with repetition, the new behavior becomes an automatic response.
Researchers studying learning disabilities associated with neurofibromatosis type 1, or NF1, have traced the problem to excessive activity of a crucial signaling molecule and have successfully reversed the disabilities in mice by giving them an experimental drug. The findings provide hope that these learning problems may one day be treatable in humans.
Initial results of the nation’s largest clinical trial for depression have helped clinicians to track ‘real world’ patients who became symptom-free and to identify those who were resistant to the initial treatment. Participants treated in both medical and specialty mental health care settings experienced a remission of symptoms in 12 to 14 weeks during well-monitored treatment with an antidepressant medication. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), used flexible adjustment of dosages based on quick and easy-to-use clinician ratings of symptoms and patient self-ratings of side effects.
Laughter is of two types – genuine and artificial- states a new study published in the current Quarterly Review of Biology. The study, which explains how laughter has evolved over the past seven million years, found that the first type is spontaneous and stimulus-driven, while the second, is strategic and, at times, downright cruel, also nicknamed ‘the dark side of laughter’.
A University of Kentucky study finds that low-income women can be treated effectively for depression with a short course of cognitive therapy.
Following are the best health articles in August 2005, arranged as per viewed frequency: