Some anorexic patients admitted to eating an apple per day to stay skinny.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – A team of researchers from London’s King’s College managed to discover a new method of helping patients that suffer from eating disorders. It seems magnetic pulses can help certain areas of the brain to work properly. In other words, anorexia can be treated with brain stimulation.
While it may sound like the study was taken from a horror show, or a medical journal from a century ago when people thought electroshock therapy could cure homosexuality or migraines, the procedure is painless.
The researchers already tested their magnetic pulses theory on 49 human subjects, and the results are encouraging. It seems that the individuals who received the experimental therapy were more prone to taking right decisions when it came to eating than the control group who was given a placebo.
Seeing as anorexia nervosa is killing 20 percent of patients suffering from the condition yearly, the treatment was something that physicians were waiting for a long time. On average, only 20 to 25 percent of anorexia sufferers manage to get over their eating disorder that is categorized as a mental condition.
Anorexia is not a whim, as most people believe it to be. Some patients have a hard time recovering because they meet resistance and prejudice from uninformed individuals. The illness is a severe condition that affects not only the mind but also the body.
Patients that are suffering from anorexia nervosa usually believe that their caloric intake exceeded the limit of the day, and they tend to force themselves to throw up. Others eat an apple a day and are convinced that if they eat another thing they will gain too much weight.
As opposed to bulimia, where sufferers only force themselves to regurgitate their previous meals because they feel the need to clear up their stomach for another course, anorexic patients live with the idea that they are too fat and that they need to lose weight.
In most cases patients look skeletal. At the moment, the disorder is being treated with a combination of vitamin supplements and therapy. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of patients recover completely.
But British researchers found that anorexia can be treated with brain stimulation, and the results are promising.
The “repetitive transcranial stimulation method”, or rTMS was also successfully used in cases of clinical depression. The magnetic pulses are targeted towards a particular area of the brain, stimulating it to function in normal parameters.
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Aerobics or dancing is a good way to exercise while not putting too much strain on your body.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – According to a Mayo Clinic study, cognitive decline can be slowed with regular exercise. So if you want to keep your mind sharp you should also keep your body fit. And the only side effect is that people will think you are much younger than you really are.
According to the paper that was published in the Neurology journal, moderate or increased physical activity can prevent or control serious health disorders such as heart illnesses, osteoporosis and diabetes. Furthermore, the authors suggest that cognitive decline can be slowed with regular exercise.
A healthy session of exercising that makes you sweat a little and increases your heart rate does wonders to both the body and the brain. Moderately or intensely working out on a regular basis can also treat or prevent depression and boost cognitive function. In other words, physical exercise keeps your wits about you.
In order to test whether or not exercising helps the elderly keep their minds sharp, Mayo clinic conducted a study. The average of the participants was of 71. According to the lead author of the study, Clinton B. Wright of Miami University, 60 percent of volunteers were Latinos and 20 percent were African American.
The researchers tested the brain functions and capabilities of each participant at the beginning of the study. Then, the team constantly monitored health patient health readings for about five years. At the end, the volunteers were given the same tests as in the beginning.
After analyzing all of the data, the team discovered that cognitive decline can be slowed with regular exercise. From what Wright declared, the individuals who engaged in moderate or intense physical activity appeared to be ten years younger than their non-exercising or lightly exercising peers.
This means that the elderly participants who preferred spending their last decades sipping lemonade on the porch or taking long strolls were more likely to experience cognitive and health decline than those who took exercising seriously. With no sweat comes no benefits.
Dr. Wright advises all American citizens to exercise more. For the younger segment, regular exercise is beneficial because it helps the brain to develop harmoniously. Adults will improve their cognitive abilities when hitting the gym or going out for a jog, and the elderly will prevent any cognitive decline.
The Mayo Clinic attending also says that exercising is free and it is the only thing that doesn’t interact with any medication, but that increases the odds of living a long, healthy life.
Image source: Wikimedia
Heroin abuse is killing thousands of people per year only in the United State.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Drug dealers just don’t know how to keep on pushing their products. Security is pretty tight lately on all borders, so they were obligated to get creative when it came to the method of transportation of the illegal substances. Luckily, human resourcefulness came to their aid. Keeping that in mind, doctors removed heroin bags from a man’s intestines.
A 51 years old Lynn resident was the star of the North Shore Salem Hospital this Tuesday. Miguel Rodriguez ended up in the emergency room complaining about food poisoning from a lobster that he previously ate.
But the doctors soon realized that his so call lobster was, in fact, a lethal dose of illegal drugs packed in small bags and hidden in his stomach and intestines. After administering Narcan (a special drug that reverses the effects of an overdose) to the patient, the medical staff called the proper authorities so that they could be present at the removal of the packages from the man’s abdominal cavity.
After a surgery that lasted a little under an hour, the surgeon managed to retrieve 27 bags of illegal drugs from the man’s stomach and his intestines. The packages weighed approximately 163 grams. The street value of such a large quantity of cocaine and heroin amounts to $16,000.
The doctors believe that Rodriguez got ill because of the bags that he ingested ruptured during transportation. The Lynn man was forced to give in his passport, and as soon as he is discharged from the hospital he will be taken into custody.
His bail has been set at $500,000, and he is facing criminal charges. The 51 years old man already pleaded guilty. He may serve a reduced sentence if he continues to collaborate with the police. Rodriguez just returned from a short vacation in the Dominican Republic.
The authorities believe that the “bad lobster” was ingested before he left the country. The MO is consistent with other attempts of drug smuggling.
Other strange places from where TSA agents retrieved illegal substances are the anus and the vagina. Mules, as the carriers are often named, used to insert the bags in their orifices, and remove them once the packages were safe over the US border.
Unfortunately for them, security agents from airports are now performing “cavity searches” that include checking if the suspect is carrying something in his or her anus or vagina.
Now doctors removed heroin bags from a man’s intestines, and it seems that they are running out of places where to hide the merchandise while crossing the border.
Image source: Flickr
Smoothies are not as healthy as they appear to be because they also lots of sugar.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – George Osborne, the British Chancellor, announced that Great Britain will adopt the sugar tax on all such drinks except for fruit juices and smoothies. This means that the British people will end up paying the same amount of money on fruit juice as they pay on soda, but researchers warn them that fruit juice has a high sugar content as well.
After the announcement was made, a team of scientists decided to test the sugar quantities in the exempt drinks. Their discoveries were published in the journal BMJ Open on the 23rd of March.
According to their analysis, smoothies and fruit juices that target children contain absurdly high amounts of the sweet substance. Their tests show that roughly half of the children oriented beverages were filled with sugar. Only one of those drinks was enough to satisfy the daily recommended dose.
A child must consume approximately 19 grams, or roughly 5 teaspoons of sugar in a day. But almost half of the products that were tested by the team contained that amount.
The researchers tested over 200 smoothies, fruit juices and fruit drinks from the British market. They chose their sample from products that were being sold in major supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Co-op, and Morrisons and Asda.
They searched for naturally and added sugars present in 100 ml of content. The levels of sugar were through the roof.
The average level of sugar in 21 juices was of 10.7 grams in 100 ml of content. But 24 smoothies took the lead with 13 grams of the substance present in 100 ml of juice.
Judging by the fact that the children oriented products are usually sold in small recipients, and an average juice box or smoothie bottle measures around 200 or 250 ml, and comparing with the 19 grams DRD, then it’s quite obvious that only one bottle or box of product was more than enough to satisfy an infant’s sugar crave.
A professor of clinical epidemiology at Liverpool University, and the lead author of the study, Simon Capewell, said that most people simply assume that smoothies and other fruit beverages are automatically healthy because they have a high content of fruit.
But this is not always the case seeing as the beverages contain high levels of either sugar, or aspartame. And while the latter was proved safe for consumption, parents should always consider giving real fruits to their children.
Image source: Flickr
Uncapped needles expose staff members to the risk of contracting a bloodborne pathogen.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – OSHA found 15 violations at Little Rock Veterans Hospital. Upon receiving the notice, the medical center corrected the negligence on the same day in order to avoid a penalty of up to $184,700. This is not the first time that a hospital was found to present hazardous irregularities.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration, OSHA found 15 violations at Little Rock Veterans Hospital. It seems that the transgressions were simple oversights, but they had the potential of endangering both the hospital and the staff.
According to the report of the administration, the hospital staff was not using safety mechanisms on a particular table saw, the acetylene and oxygen cylinders were not equipped with adequate valve caps, the shafts, belts and pulleys were not properly guarded, and the personnel was not recapping contaminated needles as the provisions stipulate.
Carlos Reynolds, the area director of OSHA, declare in a press release that The Veterans Hospital that goes by the name of John McClellan repeatedly and willfully exposed its staff to bloodborne pathogens, amputation, electrocution and other dangers. He mentioned that the situation was unacceptable.
Juan Rodrigues, OSHA’s regional deputy director, is convinced that the Veterans Hospital was either showing plain indifference to the health and safety of its employees or was demonstrating an intentional disregard.
In order to prove that the hospital grounds were hazardous for both the patients and the staff, they used the example of an injured employee. It seems that a member of the hospital staff was injured due to a violation and was obligated to spend the night as a patient. The employee in cause suffered a mild electrocution and was able to return to work the next day.
Melanie Sabik, the hospital’s spokesperson, declared that the institution already implemented new signage, work practices policy changes, additional staff education and modifications of the work environment.
Furthermore, she stated that the hospital already hired outside experts and engineers that could help the staff make sure that all of the findings listed by OSHA were mitigated accordingly.
Sabik also said that the Little Rock Veterans Hospital always tries to ensure the proper treatment and safety of their staff, visitor and veterans. Moreover, she is looking forward to meeting with OSHA representatives in order for them to acknowledge that all of the adequate measures were taken, and the hospital is safe again.
One other hospital in Arkansas was found to present irregularities during a routine inspection. The management of the health institution was then penalized with $7,200.
Image source: Wikimedia
An individual can live a long, healthy life with just one kidney.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Thousands of people are dying every year in the United States because they don’t receive a kidney on time. But according to a recent survey, donor numbers might boost if they receive compensation. The problem is that there are a lot of moral and ethical issues with this solution.
The United States law prohibits any form of compensation linked to organ donation. But, in a desperate attempt to find a solution to the organ shortage, a team of researchers conducted a survey study in order to see if money could determine people to save a life.
The Nephrology American Journal stated that a living donor loses about $,000 in expenses when deciding to give up on a kidney in order to save a life. And while medical expenses are covered by the insurance of the recipient, there are other additional ones, such as lodging, transportation, lost wages and childcare who must be handled by the donor.
A fix compensation could cover all of these other costs, but there are some doctors who strongly advise against any material incentives. The reason for the opposition I the fact that offering money to possible donors is the first step towards coercion, body modifications and undue influence. Moreover, some individuals may feel offended by the money.
In order to determine just how much a fix compensation would boost kidney donation, the researchers conducted a phone survey on June, 2014. There were 584 female responders and 427 male ones. All of the participants were active and registered United States voters with cell phones and land lines. Roughly 70 percent were aged 45 and more.
According to the results, 68 percent of the surveyed individuals declared that they would donate a kidney to another person no matter if it’s a family member or a complete stranger. Almost 23 percent claimed to be willing to donate a kidney only to friends and relatives and 9 percent refused the idea completely.
When a $50,000 payment came into question, 59 percent declared that the money would make them more willing to donate, 32 percent claimed that the compensation would not weigh in their decision and 9 percent considered the offer offending.
The majority of the surveyed citizens declared that they would support such an idea. But according to the same study, federal laws must be changed in order for that to happen.
Even though the research shows donor numbers might boost if they receive compensation, authorities are still skeptical when it comes to the idea.
Image source: Pixabay
Doctors recommend the American people to eat, rest, exercise and steer clear of smoking.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – A Mayo Clinic study revealed that under 3 percent of Americans are considered healthy, the rest are either suffering from underlying conditions or do not have a proper lifestyle.
According to the latest study published in the Mayo Clinic’s journal Proceedings, roughly 2.7 percent of United States citizens have a healthy routine.
In order to reach these conclusions, the team of researchers who conducted the study surveyed over 4,700 respondents. The participants were asked to complete the US National Nutrition and Health Survey. Their general stat of health was the assessed based on the responses provided by them. The team was interested in their smoking habits, diet, body fats and efforts to manage them, and exercise.
After analyzing all of the entries, the researchers discovered that a whopping 97.3 of US citizens were not living a healthy life.
According to the study’s author, OSU Human Sciences and Public Health College professor, Ellen Smit, the standards used for the measuring of health “were pretty reasonable”. She added that the team was not searching for marathon runners.
Smit also said that the health standards used by the team were nothing more than the usual recommendations that doctors offer patients. They were simple rules that help patients steer clear of any illnesses or heart diseases.
The professor was disappointed with the results, stating that there are a lot of things that could be improved and that people should reconsider their unhealthy lifestyles before they end up suffering from severe health disorders.
From Smit’s point of view, a healthy person should not smoke, exercise at least 3 hours per week, maintain an average BMI, eat well and get plenty of rest. These were the standards used by her and her team to determine the percentage of healthy individuals in the United States.
But there is more bad news. Under 3 percent of Americans are considered healthy, and a mere 16 percent are almost in good health. Only half of the entire sample used for the study met minimum two of the aforementioned standards.
Doctors are urging US citizens to take better care of their overall health and try to respect the health standards that physicians are recommending. If they do not exercise, eat and rest well and try to keep their body fats in check, they could expose themselves to serious health risks.
Image source: Pixabay
Couples trying to conceive are advised to drink less than 2 cups of caffeinated drinks per day.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – According to the latest studies, too much caffeine can lead to a miscarriage. It seems that coffee and other caffeinated beverages can affect the proper development of fetuses. More than 70 percent of failed pregnancies can be linked to the consumption of more than 2 caffeinated beverages per day.
A new study published in the Sterility and Fertility journal yesterday concluded that too much caffeine can lead to a miscarriage. According to the article, more than 70 percent of miscarriages can be linked to the consumption of more than 2 caffeinated beverages per day.
But the study doesn’t only address women. It seems that coffee and other drinks that contain caffeine can also influence the sperm. So if a couple decides to conceive, they must both regulate the intake of the beverages mentioned above.
The study’s lead author and director of the Health Research of Intramural Population at the Child Development and Health National Institute, Germaine Buck Louis declared that pre-conception consumption of caffeinated drinks in males is as risky as in females.
In order to reach these results, 501 couples in Texas and Michigan who were trying to have a baby were closely monitored. The parents to be were asked by the researchers to keep a detailed journal of their daily activities. This included behaviors like drinking alcohol, smoking and drinking coffee or any other caffeinated beverages.
Those who managed to conceive within a year of the study’s debut were asked to continue to write in their journals until the pregnancy was carried out to term, or until the mother experienced a miscarriage.
344 couples managed to conceive. Out of the total number, 98 women suffered a miscarriage. It seems that the chances of such a thing happening are twice as big in women over the age of 35 than in the younger ones.
From the 98 pregnancies that ended abruptly, 74 percent were linked to a high caffeine consumption in women, and 73 in men.
Furthermore, the research showed that the mothers to be that took a daily supplement of multivitamins before and after getting pregnant were less prone to experience a miscarriage than those who didn’t.
Even though the results point to the fact that too much caffeine can lead to a miscarriage, Buck Louis noted that the study only serves to show a link between the two. Scientists have yet to establish a cause and effect relationship between the two.
Image source: Pixabay
The scientists have spoken, blondes are not dumb.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – It is the fall of the dumb blonde myth as a team of Ohio researchers discovered that blonde women are not only not silly, but they are actually smarter than their brunette, red-haired or flaxen-haired counterparts. Blonde men also fared well in the study.
“What is IDK?” asks a blonde, “I Don’t Know,” answers the brunette. “Nobody knows,” sighs the blonde. And that is just one example of the many, sometimes very mean jokes about blonde women. Most of them focus on the fact that sun-kissed women are dumber than all other females.
But the dumb blonde stereotype is just a myth, and a team of researchers from Ohio University just debunked it.
In order to test the validity of the stereotypes that link hair color with the level of intelligence, the team gathered a sample of 10,878 participants. The volunteers were both males and females with a variety of hair colors, natural or dived.
All of the participants in the study were asked to complete the “Armed Forces Qualification Test,” which is an IQ test used by the Pentagon to test the new recruits.
Needless to say, blondes fared well. In fact, the sun-kissed females obtained better results than all of their other female competitors.
According to the published results, the average IQ of a tested blonde woman was of 103.2 points, just a bit above 102.7, the score of brown haired women. Next, on the list were the fire-kissed beauties with 101.2, followed by the brunettes with 100.5.
And that is not all, blonde women scored the most “genius” results, as all of their other female peers. Furthermore, they are even less likely to score a very low IQ score than all other hair colors. In conclusion, the myth wasn’t just debunked; it was shattered by the Ohio researchers.
The findings also favor blonde men. Their average score was of 103.9, just a tad lower than the first runners-up, the brown haired males who managed to obtain 104.4 points. The third place is occupied by the redheads and the forth, just like in the case of the ladies, by the black-haired men.
But the research serves a little more purpose than just putting a stop to cruel jokes that circulate the World Wide Web. Previous studies have shown that employers are more likely to hire a person with a hair colored different than blonde because they are subconsciously looking for an individual who inspires intelligence.
Image source: Pixabay
Postpartum depression is a fairly common syndrome between young mothers.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Postpartum depression is a real disorder that affects the lives of lots of mothers worldwide. But there was little known about the factors that trigger the mental health issue until now that is. According to a team of Belgian scientists, postpartum depression could be detected and mothers to be could start therapy before it becomes a serious issue.
Erica Jancelewitcz, a mother that struggled with the horrible mental health problem, declared that at first, she was afraid of telling anybody that something was wrong with her. The young, fresh mother, came home after giving birth and started to feel anxious and sad, not being able to sleep properly at night.
But she thought, as many other women probably do, that something is wrong with her. So she decided to live for five years with her ever changing emotions and deepened depression. Until one day when she gathered up the courage of telling her doctor how she felt.
That is when she first learned of the existence of postpartum depression. According to Jancelewitcz, she was never informed about the disorder while she was pregnant. Due to her lack of education on the subject, she was not able to seek proper treatment sooner, and she ended up suffering for quite some time.
And there may be many more women in her situation right now. But a team of Belgian researchers discovered that postpartum depression could be detected, thus improving the wellbeing of thousands of mothers to be.
According to their findings, women that show signs of having issues with their self-esteem, or that deal with mood swings during the last two trimesters are predisposed to developing postpartum depression.
They continue to say that doctors should start implementing psychological screening in their routine tests because when diagnosed early, postpartum depression is easier to manage.
The “Preventative Task Force” recently recommended that all pregnant women should get screened in the United States. And a mental health maternal therapist agrees with the government’s decision.
According to Beth Shelton, every woman just expects that everything will be perfect, a page ripped right out of a fairytale. That they will bring their newborn child home, and they will start a whole new, happy life.
But things are not always as we expect them to be. Lots of women end up not being tested, or even informed about postpartum depression. And this sort of thing happens because of a lack of awareness of the disorder, among both doctors and patients.
Image source: Pixabay