Add Web searching to the list of mental activities like crossword puzzles that are thought to keep the aging mind engaged and healthy. Why? Take a look at the pictures below of two functional MRI (fMRI) brain scans. The one on the left shows brain activity while reading a book, while the one on the right shows brain activity while doing an Internet search. The differences are obvious and dramatic and the implication is that Web searching can be good for your mental health.
UCLA Newsroom - http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/srp-view.aspx?id=34812
At least that’s the conclusion of researchers at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior who studied 24 volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76. According to their press release, “[T]he study results are encouraging, that emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults,” said principal investigator Dr. […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
The antidepressant Cymbalta (duloxetine), marketed by Lilly, has received FDA approval for the treatment of fibromyalgia. While certain antidepressants are considered first-line therapy for fibromyalgia, most notably the tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline, none had been approved by the FDA for this use until now. Cymbalta belongs to a newer class of antidepressants known collectively as serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), which are somewhat similar to the serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), of which Prozac, also marketed by Lilly, is the most widely known. Cymbalta is already marketed for the treatment of depression, anxiety and for pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. It was first approved for U.S. marketing in 2004.
Cymbalta is now the second drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Almost exactly one year ago the FDA approved Pfizer’s Lyrica (pregabalin) and I alerted readers to that approval in a posting; at […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
If you take one of the “triptan” medications for migraine headaches, you could be at risk for developing serotonin syndrome, which is a potentially life-threatening neurologic condition. And your risk of serotonin syndrome increases if you also take one of the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) or SSNRI (selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) antidepressants (see below for the names of all these drugs). The symptoms of serotonin syndrome are often described as a triad of clinical manifestations:
• Mental status changes: confusion, agitation, mania, hallucinations, headache, coma
• Autonomic effects: nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, diarrhea, racing heartbeat, fever
• Neuromuscular effects: tremor, muscle twitching, shivering, overactive reflexes
There are eight triptan medications currently approved for the treatment of migraine:
• Amerge [naratriptan]
• Axert [almotriptan]
• Frova [frovatriptan]
• Imitrex [sumatriptan]
• Maxalt [rizatriptan]
• Relpex [eletriptan]
• Treximet [sumatriptan and naproxen combination]
• Zomig [zolmitriptan]
Triptans all work in […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
If you take one of the “triptan” medications for migraine headaches, you could be at risk for developing serotonin syndrome, which is a potentially life-threatening neurologic condition. And your risk of serotonin syndrome increases if you also take one of the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) or SNRI (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) anti-depressants (see below for the names of all these drugs). The symptoms of serotonin syndrome are often described as a triad of clinical manifestations:
• Mental status changes: confusion, agitation, mania, hallucinations, headache, coma
• Autonomic effects: nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, diarrhea, racing heartbeat, fever
• Neuromuscular effects: tremor, muscle twitching, shivering, overactive reflexes
There are eight triptan medications currently approved for the treatment of migraine:
• Amerge [naratriptan]
• Axert [almotriptan]
• Frova [frovatriptan]
• Imitrex [sumatriptan]
• Maxalt [rizatriptan]
• Relpex [eletriptan]
• Treximet [sumatriptan and naproxen combination]
• Zomig [zolmitriptan]
Triptans all work in the […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
May is mental health awareness month and there’s an important new PBS documentary on depression premiering on May 21 (9pm ET), which is entitled “DEPRESSION: Out of the Shadows.” The film is 90 minutes long and is followed by a 30 minute panel discussion hosted by Jane Pauley, who was herself diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2001, which is titled “ONE STEP: Caring for Depression, with Jane Pauley.” The documentary and panel discussion are part of a multi-dimensional PBS project that includes a Web site and an educational outreach campaign that is being produced by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the YMCA of the USA.
With nearly 19 million Americans suffering from some form of depressive illness (according to the National Institute of Mental Health), depression, a serious and complex disorder with many presentations, cuts across all ages, races, genders, and socioeconomic groups. It is this […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
On May 11, in the midst of Mental Health Awareness Month, The New York Times ran a provocative article entitled ‘Mad Pride’ Fights a Stigma, which reported on the burgeoning movement to destigmatize mental illness through proud, if not downright aggressive, acceptance rather than shame-based avoidance. Taking their cue from other previously marginalized groups such as gay-rights activists, some advocates are going public with their mental health stories, using books and online blog and video posts. There are websites such as the Icarus Project and MindFreedom International, with the latter recently forming the International Association for Creative Maladjustment (based on an idea by Martin Luther King!) whose first president, appropriately enough, is Patch Adams, MD, the physician/clown famously portrayed by Robin Williams in the eponymous 1998 movie.
According to MindFreedom International, the Mad Pride movement “…celebrates the right to be nonviolently different, odd, crazy, nuts, strange, weird, or whatever […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Here’s an alarming statistic: on average, every day in the United States at least one doctor dies by suicide. Every year approximately 300 - 400 doctors take their own lives – roughly one a day, and more physicians commit suicide than do members of any other profession. Moreover, suicide among women physicians is especially high with a rate between 250 and 400 percent higher than females in other professions (the rate in male physicians is 70 percent higher than in other professions). And while men in the general population successfully complete suicide four times more frequently than do women, among physicians, the completion rates for the two sexes are equal. Thus, physician suicide is all too common and women are disproportionately affected.
To help address this problem, a new one hour high-definition documentary entitled Struggling in Silence: Physician Depression and Suicide is airing this month on many public […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and today, November 12, 2007 is National Memory Screening Day, which is a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America to promote early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses, and to encourage appropriate intervention. When, in 1983, President Ronald Reagan first designated November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, fewer than two million American’s had the disease. Now that number has climbed to over five million and by 2050 there could be as many as 16 million people with Alzheimer’s.
According to an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper, “By 2050, more than a million Americans will be 100 years or older,” said Paul Solomon, a researcher and professor of psychology and neuroscience at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. “A person 65 or older has a 10 percent risk for developing Alzheimer’s. If you live to 85, your risk […]
Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com
Perhaps it’s because our readers live with chronic illnesses, perhaps it’s because we have several mental health communities, but, whatever the reasons, HealthTalk receives a disturbing number of e-mails from people discussing the possibility of their committing suicide. Did you know that suicide is the 11th most common cause of death in the U.S. and the third most common cause of death in the 15 – 24 year-old range, or that it’s often related to serious depression (including bipolar disorder), alcohol or substance abuse, chronic illness, and/or major stressful life events? People with the highest risk of suicide are white men, although women and teens report more suicide attempts.
When someone talks about suicide, it’s a serious matter, and you should listen carefully because they need help, and you may be the best person to provide it. Non-judgmental listening and offering emotional support may be critical to building trust. Suicide prevention hotlines […]
Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com
