Summary: Eating dark chocolate can help reduce anxiety and improve symptoms of clinical depression. People who ate dark chocolate in two 24-hour periods had 70% reduced odds of reporting depressive symptoms than those who did not eat chocolate. However, milk chocolate did not produce the same effect. Dark chocolate contains phenylethylamine, a neuromodulator implicated in mood [...]
I understood her completely, although I could see that the audience was shocked. Most people probably wondered how she could feel that way when she was so brilliant and successful. What the general public doesn’t realize is that some of the most successful people are plagued by anxiety and feelings of inadequacy every day. Doctors, [...]
Do NOT flush your old pills! People are familiar with many of the everyday ways to live an eco-conscious life, like recycling paper, drinking out of reusable containers and taking public transportation. But other aspects of environmental responsibility can be a bit trickier. One area where many lack knowledge is the question of unused medications [...]
Zika, meet CRISPR. For what scientists say is the first time, researchers have incorporated the gene-editing system CRISPR into a diagnostic test — one that can differentiate between two strains of the Zika virus. CRISPR has been hailed for its potential to fix mutations that cause disease. It has hastened the pace of discovery in research labs around the [...]
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has recently issued draft guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. This was written together with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). They offer a public comment period until August 10, 2019. The TL:DR version for those who don’t want the [...]
‘High level of suspicion for C. auris’ in patients with history of healthcare in other countries Candida auris colonization was found in a Maryland hospital patient who was previously hospitalized in Kenya — thus emphasizing the importance of identifying risk factors for this emerging infection, CDC researchers said. Healthcare exposure outside the U.S. is an [...]
AN outbreak of cholera has claimed the lives of at least 39 people in the Lake Chad Basin since the beginning of 2019. More than 1 100 cases have been recorded, representing a fatality rate of more than 2 percent. (CC BY 2.0), flickr, DFID Read more… The post Dozens dead in Lake Chad [...]
Abstract In recent decades, epidemiological and experimental research has yielded plenty of evidence that air pollution exposure is a key risk factor for asthma flare-ups and, potentially, new cases.1,2 A study in Environmental Health Perspectives offers the first estimates of the global asthma burden that may be attributable to specific air pollutants.3 Although preliminary, the authors’ conclusions are [...]
Highlights • Near-roadway air pollution exposure is associated with altered fatty acid metabolism • Near-roadway air pollution exposure interacts with obesity and sex in the association with fatty acid metabolism. • Air pollution may contribute to the metabolic dysfunction in youth through lipolysis and altered fatty acid metabolism Image by [...]
Despite vaccination and treatment efforts, the epidemic in Central Africa has resulted in 1,700 deaths and counting This week marks the anniversary of the current Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). First declared on August 1, 2018, in the nation’s province of North-Kivu, it has sickened more than 2,500 people [...]
