New Hampshire Health News Digest

Mark’s Daily Apple A Case Against Cardio (from a former mileage king) A Case Against Cardio (from a former mileage king) We all know that we need to exercise to be healthy. Unfortunately, the popular wisdom of the past 40 years – that we would all be better off doing 45 minutes to an hour a day of intense aerobic activity – has created a generation of overtrained, underfit, immune-compromised exerholics. Hate to say it, but we weren’t meant to aerobicize at the chronic and sustained high intensities that so many people choose to do these days. The results are almost always unimpressive. Ever wonder why years of “Spin” classes, endless treadmill sessions and interminable hours on the “elliptical” have done nothing much to shed those extra pounds and really tone the butt? Don’t worry. There’s a reason why the current methods fail, and when you understand why, you’ll see that there’s an easier, more effective – and fun - way to burn fat, build or preserve lean muscle and maintain optimal...

Mark’s Daily Apple : The Definitive Guide to Insulin, Blood Sugar & Type 2 Diabetes (and you’ll understand it) : "The Definitive Guide to Insulin, Blood Sugar & Type 2 Diabetes (and you’ll understand it)" Very well done!

The Australian: Agency's Strangeloves altered mind of a girl aged 4 [ 28jun07 ] Agency's Strangeloves altered mind of a girl aged 4 Robert Lusetich, Los Angeles correspondent 28jun07 EASILY lost, on page 425, in the mass of the CIA's notorious "Family Jewels" files is a short paragraph outlining "potentially embarrassing Agency activities". "Experiments in influencing human behaviour through the administration of mind- or personality-altering drugs to unwitting subjects." Of all the heinous acts committed by the CIA in the name of national security, these experiments, done on the agency's behalf by prominent psychiatrists on innocent victims - including children as young as four - may be the darkest. "We have no answer to the moral issue," former director Richard Helms infamously said when asked about the nature of the projects. The release of the Family Jewels documents revealed the CIA handsomely funded these real-life Dr Strang...

First artificial life 'within months' | International News | News | Telegraph Scientists could create the first new form of artificial life within months after a landmark breakthrough in which they turned one bacteria into another. Craig Venter likened the process to 'changing a Macintosh computer into a PC by inserting a new piece of software' In a development that has triggered unease and excitement in equal measure, scientists took the whole genetic makeup - or genome - of a bacterial cell and transplanted it into a closely related species. This then began to grow and multiply in the lab, turning into the first species in the process. The team that carried out the first “species transplant” says it plans within months to do the same thing with a synthetic genome made from scratch in the laboratory. If that experiment worked, it would mark the creation of a synthetic lifeform. The scientists want to create new kinds of bacterium to make new types of bugs which can ...

Working Out Your Brain | GNIF Brain Blogger In nature’s original design plan, the brain was the leader for coordinating our physical activities: the “motor high-command.” It comes as little surprise then, that exercise strengthens the brain’s interconnections, and rejuvenates the mind. The chemical link between the mind and body is best exemplified by the brain derived neurotrophic growth factor (BDNF), a protein found in our brain which helps brain cells to stay healthy, sprout new connections, and develop plasticity (the ability to form new connections between cells). Previous experiments have shown that short-term and long-term exercise both lead to a release of BDNF from various parts of our brain, more so from the cortex, basal forebrain and hippocampus, which are areas considered vital for learning, higher thinking, and memory. A new study, published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, actually conf...

Men with ADD / ADHD Paul's Story Paul's Story Im a 43 year old male. I was diagnosed with ADD about six months ago. Ive always been challenged to stay focused and organized, but never considered ADD because I wasnt hyper or disruptive as a child. It seems a common misconception with ADD, is that it necessarily includes excessive, and usually, distracting levels of energy. Rather than being fed with the energy some describe with ADD, Im frequently exhausted and overwhelmed by details and unfinished projects. My office is typically piled with unfiled papers and half finished projects. After a few months the clutter drives me crazy, so I completely ignore everything else to get organized, promising myself that I wont let this happen again. It would be so much simpler to spend a few minutes each day keeping organized. Inevitably, within a week, the piles return. I go to work each day, knowing what needs to be accomplished, but frequently overwhelmed by simple tasks such as making a...

JAMA -- Abstract: Effects of a Low-Glycemic Load vs Low-Fat Diet in Obese Young Adults: A Randomized Trial, May 16, 2007, Ebbeling et al. 297 (19): 2092 Results Change in body weight and body fat percentage did not differ between the diet groups overall. However, insulin concentration at 30 minutes after a dose of oral glucose was an effect modifier (group x time x insulin concentration at 30 minutes: P = .02 for body weight and P = .01 for body fat percentage). For those with insulin concentration at 30 minutes above the median (57.5 µIU/mL; n = 28), the low–glycemic load diet produced a greater decrease in weight (–5.8 vs –1.2 kg; P = .004) and body fat percentage (–2.6% vs –0.9%; P = .03) than the low-fat diet at 18 months. There were no significant differences in these end points between diet groups for those with insulin concentration at 30 minutes below the median level (n = 28). Insulin concentration at 30 minutes after a dose of oral glucose was not a significant effect modifi...

Tanning is associated with optimal vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration) and higher bone mineral density -- Tangpricha et al. 80 (6): 1645 -- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ABSTRACT TOP ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION SUBJECTS AND METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION REFERENCES Background: Vitamin D is made in the skin on exposure to solar radiation, and it is necessary to optimal skeletal health. Subjects who use a tanning bed that emits ultraviolet B radiation (290–315 nm) are likely to have higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations than do subjects who do not regularly use a tanning bed. Objective: The first objective of this study was to ascertain whether subjects who regularly use a tanning bed have higher 25(OH)D concentrations than do subjects who do not use a tanning bed. The second objective was to ascertain whether higher 25(OH)D concentrations correlated positively with bone mineral density. Design: This cross-sectional analysis examined 50 subjects who u...

Basic Nutrition: The Miracle of Vitamin D Vitamin D From Sunlight Pick up any popular book on vitamins and you will read that ten minutes of daily exposure of the arms and legs to sunlight will supply us with all the vitamin D that we need. Humans do indeed manufacture vitamin D from cholesterol by the action of sunlight on the skin but it is actually very difficult to obtain even a minimal amount of vitamin D with a brief foray into the sunlight.4,5 Ultraviolet (UV) light is divided into 3 bands or wavelength ranges, which are referred to as UV-C, UV-B and UV-A.6 UV-C is the most energetic and shortest of the UV bands. It will burn human skin rapidly in extremely small doses. Fortunately, it is completely absorbed by the ozone layer. However, UV-C is present in some lights. For this reason, fluorescent and halogen and other specialty lights may contribute to skin cancer. UV-A, known as the "tanning ray," is primarily responsible for darkening the pigment in our skin. Most ta...

Exercise Changes Brain HD Lighthouse Contributing Editor's Comment: Exercise is essential for preserving brain function for everyone. For some the loss of 'executive function' is the first symptom of HD. Here is another way exercise fights HD. Executive function is strongly preserved by exercise. Older women (30+) seem to benefit the most from exercise. This may be because more women than men practice hormone replacement. Women that take replacement estrogen tend to exercise more. Some older men enjoy workouts that are boosted by testosterone. Exercise Brain Benefits Confirmed for Humans "The findings provide the first empirical confirmation of the relationship between cardiovascular fitness and neural degeneration as predicted in various academic studies on aging and cognition in both animal and human populations." Arthur Kramer, Ph.D., professor in the UIUC Department of Psychology, the Campus Neuroscience Program, and the Institute of Aviation; and a full-time...

HDLighthouse.org Conclusion Exercise is a simple and widely practised behavior that activates molecular and cellular cascades that support and maintain brain plasticity. It induces expression of genes associated with plasticity, such as that encoding BDNF, and in addition promotes brain vascularization, neurogenesis, functional changes in neuronal structure and neuronal resistance to injury. Significantly, these effects occur in the hippocampus, a brain region central to learning and memory. BDNF availability could be crucial for these mechanisms. Exercise-driven increases in the level of hippocampal BDNF are controlled by neuronal activity, neurotransmitters and interactions with peripheral factors that include estrogen, corticosterone and possibly IGF-1. The peripheral influence illustrates how exercise can relate overall body status to brain function. Exercise recruits use-dependent plasticity mechanisms that prepare the brain to encode meaningful information from the environment an...

Exercise: a behavioral intervention to enhance bra...[Trends Neurosci. 2002] - PubMed Result Exercise: a behavioral intervention to enhance brain health and plasticity. Cotman CW, Berchtold NC. Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4540, USA. cwcotman@uci.edu Extensive research on humans suggests that exercise could have benefits for overall health and cognitive function, particularly in later life. Recent studies using animal models have been directed towards understanding the neurobiological bases of these benefits. It is now clear that voluntary exercise can increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and other growth factors, stimulate neurogenesis, increase resistance to brain insult and improve learning and mental performance. Recently, high-density oligonucleotide microarray analysis has demonstrated that, in addition to increasing levels of BDNF, exercise mobilizes gene express...

Nutrition and schizophrenia: beyond omega-3 fatty ...[Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2004] - PubMed Result Nutrition and schizophrenia: beyond omega-3 fatty acids. Peet M. Swallownest Court Hospital, Aughton Road, Sheffield S26 4th, UK. malcolmpeet@Yahoo.com There are now five placebo-controlled trials of EPA in the treatment in schizophrenia, and four of these have given positive or partly positive findings. A cross-national ecological analysis of international variations in outcome of schizophrenia in relation to national dietary practices, showed that high consumption of sugar and of saturated fat is associated with a worse long-term outcome of schizophrenia. It is known that a high sugar, high fat diet leads to reduced brain expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which is responsible for maintaining the outgrowth of dendrites. Low brain BDNF levels also lead to insulin resistance which occurs in schizophrenia and is associated with diseases of the metabol...

Diet, diabetes and schizophrenia: review and hypothesis -- Peet 184 (47): s102 -- The British Journal of Psychiatry There is substantial evidence that schizophrenia is associated with abnormalities of phospholipid metabolism and cell membrane PUFA levels (Peet, 2002). Two studies have shown that levels of PUFA in the normal daily diet correlate with the severity of schizophrenia symptoms. Mellor et al (1996) showed significant negative correlations between dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids and symptoms of schizophrenia and of tardive dyskinesia. In a separate study, Stokes (2003) found that total PUFA in the normal daily diet correlated negatively with severity of schizophrenia symptoms and that this was independent of the dietary intake of other nutrients. In summary, people with schizophrenia consume the type of diet that is known to promote diseases of the metabolic syndrome (i.e. high in saturated fat, low in fibre, with a high glycaemic load). Furthermore, there is emerging e...

Know Your Fats: Gamma-Linolenic Acid The human body uses fatty acids from food for building tissues and for specialized functions such as the production of prostaglandins, localized tissue hormones. One major group of fatty acids is called essential fatty acids, which are polyunsaturated, and include two major groups, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. They are called "essential" because the body cannot make them but must get them from food. [...] GLA is found in small amounts in organ meats and in certain seed oils such as evening primrose oil, borage oil, and black currant oil. Hemp oil also contains GLA but this oil has no history of consumption by humans. The percentages of GLA in these specialty oils are as follows: Evening Primrose Oil 10% Black Currant Oil 17% Borage Oil 23% These three oils are available in capsule form. The body needs an enzyme called delta-6 desaturase (D6D) to transform linoleic acid into GLA. Under normal conditions, most people make adequate amount...

Subjective Experiences During Dopamine Depletion -- de HAAN et al. 162 (9): 1755 -- Am J Psychiatry To the Editor: A paradigm that induces acute dopamine depletion with the drug alphamethylpara tyrosine (AMPT), a reversible inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylase, has been used successfully to assess the occupancy of striatal dopamine D2 receptors by endogenous dopamine in vivo (1). Here we describe the dramatic subjective experiences induced by acute dopamine depletion in one healthy volunteer. They included a whole spectrum of psychiatric symptoms and highlighted the contribution of the dopaminergic system to diverse major psychiatric disorders. In our study, dopamine depletion was achieved by oral administration of 4.5 g AMPT in 25 hours, as described earlier (1). Striatal D2 receptors were assessed at baseline and after acute dopamine depletion by using the bolus/constant infusion [123I]IBZM technique (1). Acquisition, reconstruction, and analysis of the single photon emission computed ...

SpringerLink - Journal Article Emotion-based decision-making in healthy subjects: short-term effects of reducing dopamine levels Abstract Introduction Converging evidences from animal and human studies suggest that addiction is associated with dopaminergic dysfunction in brain reward circuits. So far, it is unclear what aspects of addictive behaviors are related to a dopaminergic dysfunction. Discussion We hypothesize that a decrease in dopaminergic activity impairs emotion-based decision-making. [...] Our results suggest a direct link between a reduced dopaminergic activity and poor emotion-based decision-making characterized by shortsightedness, and thus difficulties resisting short-term reward, despite long-term negative consequences. These findings have implications for behavioral and pharmacological interventions targeting impaired emotion-based decision-making in addictive disorders.

globeandmail.com: Health Sweeping cancer edict: take vitamin D daily MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT From Friday's Globe and Mail TORONTO — The Canadian Cancer Society plans to announce Friday that all adults should start taking vitamin D, coinciding with the release of a groundbreaking U.S. study indicating the supplement cuts the risk of cancer by an astounding 60 per cent. The move is believed to be the first time a major public-health organization has endorsed daily use of the sunshine vitamin as a cancer-prevention therapy for an entire population.

Living Well: Getting a good night's sleep can mean waking early Like many of us, Martha Lentz looks forward to weekends, especially the three-day variety. She gets a chance to sleep in. "I know better," says Lentz, laughing. "But I do it anyway. I enjoy it." What Lentz knows better is how to get a good night's sleep. She is a research associate professor at the University of Washington's School of Nursing who has specialized in sleep patterns and circadian rhythms since the early 1980s. A consistent wakeup time tops the Get More and Better Sleep list. Even if it means actually getting less sleep on a weekend, when everyone with a sociable bone in their bodies stays up later than normal. "The research is clear that waking up at the same time exposes your body to similar amounts of light each day, which in turn synchronizes your circadian rhythms," said Lentz, a Ph.D. who has performed sleep and aging studies as part of UW's Center for Women...

Dunning-Kruger effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dunning-Kruger effect From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Dunning-Kruger Syndrome) The Dunning-Kruger effect is the phenomenon whereby people who have little knowledge systematically think that they know more than others who have much more knowledge. The phenomenon was demonstrated in a series of experiments performed by Justin Kruger and David Dunning, then both of Cornell University. Their results were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in December 1999.[1] Kruger and Dunning noted a number of previous studies which tend to suggest that in skills as diverse as reading comprehension, operating a motor vehicle, and playing chess or tennis, that "ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"[1] (as Charles Darwin put it). They hypothesized that with a typical skill which humans may possess in greater or lesser degree, incompetent individuals tend to overest...

Infant Feeding Practices and Their Possible Relationship to the Etiology of Diabetes Mellitus -- Work Group on Cow's Milk Protein and Diabetes Mellitus 94 (5): 752 -- Pediatrics Infant Feeding Practices and Their Possible Relationship to the Etiology of Diabetes Mellitus Work Group on Cow's Milk Protein and Diabetes Mellitus 1. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus develops within a group of individuals who carry specific diabetes susceptibility traits. Because all of the potential diabetes "susceptibility genes" are not known, currently it is not possible to identify all individuals at risk. It appears, however, that a small percentage of such individuals will ever develop clinical diabetes mellitus. 2. The autoimmune destructive process may be triggered by a number of environmental events. 3. Early exposure of infants to cow's milk protein may be an important factor in the initiation of the cell destructive process in some individuals. It is not known whether th...

Meditation May Sharpen Attention Skills, Study Shows Meditation Appears To Train The Brain To Pay Closer Attention - CBS News Meditation may train the brain to pay close attention, a new study shows. The study comes from researchers including Richard Davidson, PhD, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. They studied 17 people who were experienced in meditation and 23 people of similar backgrounds who were novices in meditation. [...] At the end of their meditation training, the researchers tested participants' attention skills. In the attention test, participants watched a series of letters shown one by one on a computer screen. Each letter was displayed for less than a second. Every now and then, a letter was followed by a number, instead of another letter. Participants were asked to name the numbers, which (like the letters) only appeared for a split second. The researchers didn't ask participants to meditate during the tests. Compar...

ScienceDirect - Neuroscience : A high-fat, refined sugar diet reduces hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neuronal plasticity, and learning Abstract We have investigated a potential mechanism by which a diet, similar in composition to the typical diet of most industrialized western societies rich in saturated fat and refined sugar (HFS), can influence brain structure and function via regulation of neurotrophins. We show that animals that learn a spatial memory task faster have more brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA and protein in the hippocampus. Two months on the HFS diet were sufficient to reduce hippocampal level of BDNF and spatial learning performance. Consequent to the action of BDNF on synaptic function, downstream effectors for the action of BDNF on synaptic plasticity were reduced proportionally to BDNF levels, in the hippocampus of rats maintained on the HFS diet between 2 and 24 months. In particular, animals maintained on the HFS diet showed a decreas...

Diet, diabetes and schizophrenia: review and hypothesis -- Peet 184 (47): s102 -- The British Journal of Psychiatry However, evidence of a significant association between diet and the outcome and severity of schizophrenia raises the possibility that both diabetes and schizophrenia share a common pathology which is influenced by lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise. One physiological factor that could partly explain the link between diabetes, schizophrenia and diet is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This protein is required to maintain dendrites (Gorski et al, 2003), and its expression in the prefrontal cortex shows a significant increase during young adulthood at a time when the frontal cortex matures both structurally and functionally (Webster et al, 2002). The peak requirement for BDNF to preserve dendritic outgrowth thus occurs at the time of life when schizophrenia has its peak age of onset. Apart from influences on neuronal architecture, BDNF is also a neurotrans...

Cameron's bag raises a few eyebrows Actress Cameron Diaz appears to have committed a major fashion crime in Peru. The voice of Princess Fiona in the animated Shrek films may have inadvertently offended Peruvians. They suffered decades of violence from a Maoist guerrilla insurgency by touring there on Friday with a bag emblazoned with one of Mao Zedong's favourite political slogans. While she explored the Inca city of Machu Picchu high in Peru's Andes, Diaz wore over her shoulder an olive green messenger bag emblazoned with a red star and the words 'Serve the People' printed in Chinese on the flap, perhaps Chinese Communist leader Mao's most famous political slogan. While the bags are marketed as trendy fashion accessories in some world capitals, the phrase has particular resonance in Peru. The Maoist Shining Path insurgency took Peru to the edge of chaos in the 1980s and early 1990s with a campaign of massacres, assassinations and bombings. Nearly 70,000 people...

Case report: The combined use of amantadine and l-dopa/ carbidopa in the treatment of chronic brain injury - Brain Injury Abstract The frontal lobes are particularly vulnerable to injury during trauma. The syndrome commonly attributed to frontal lobe dysfunction includes problems with impulsivity, perseveration, disinhibition, amotivation, attention, planning, and problem solving. These symptoms can respond to certain phar macologic interventions, such as the dopaminergic agents. The case of a 50 year old woman who showed persistent frontal dysfunction 5 years post injury is described. After treatment with amantadine alone, she showed decreased impulsivity and perseveration and improved executive function. Further positive response was obtained with the addition of l dopa carbidopa, with additional improvements in constructional praxis, divided auditory attention, and cognitive flexibility. Her improved function ing following treatment demonstrates the potential for increasing effectiv...

Scotsman.com News - Health - Scientists discover diabetes link to Parkinson's A TEAM of scientists has discovered that keeping fit and staying clear of diabetes could help ward off Parkinson's disease. Heriot-Watt University staff have found a mechanism linking the development of Parkinson's to people who have Type II diabetes. Professor James Timmons, professor of Exercise Biology at the School of Life Sciences, led the team, which discovered that the biochemical changes brought about by diabetes switch off a gene called the PINK1 gene, and loss of function of this gene is an established cause of Parkinson's. The team compared 200 tissue samples donated by volunteers, many of whom had been diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Prof Timmons explained: "The loss of PINK1 is not the only cause of Parkinson's, but discovering this direct link between diabetes and the regulation of the PINK1 gene is the first example of a molecular mechanism potentially linking the two ...

Scientists unveil the brain's CEO-Mumbai-Cities-The Times of India MUMBAI: Why do some people who are truly smart and talented still struggle and flail through life like headless chickens? Why do they act as though they lack the rudimentary ability to plan and organise their time and space, to initiate and execute projects to fruition? And, like monkeys tearing down banana blossoms in favour of more substantive but late-arriving bonanzas, why do such people also have such a hard time resisting the temptation of more immediate gratifications? Recent research suggests that rather than being wilful or perverse, many of these puzzling underachievers may actually be suffering from neurological abnormalities involving the brain's CEO - a control centre that is really an array of executive functions that orchestrate resources such as memory, language and attention to achieve a goal, be it a fraction of a second or five years from now. Executive functions enable you to hold on to a men...

Depression and vascular disease: what is the relat...[J Affect Disord. 2004] - PubMed Result Depression and vascular disease: what is the relationship? Thomas AJ, Kalaria RN, O'Brien JT. Wolfson Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Ageing and Health, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6BE, UK. a.j.thomas@ncl.ac.uk BACKGROUND: the 'vascular depression' hypothesis proposes that vascular disease predisposes to, precipitates or perpetuates depression, and this proposal has stimulated further research into the relationship of depression to vascular disease. METHODS: We investigated the nature of the relationship between depression and vascular diseases by reviewing epidemiological, clinical, neuroimaging and neuropathology studies which have reported on the relationship of depression to coronary artery disease, stroke disease, alterations in blood pressure, vascular dementia, diabetes mellitus and cholesterol levels and by reviewing...

8 Practical Tips to Cure Your Internet ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) | zen habits 8 Practical Tips to Cure Your Internet ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) This is a guest post from Alex Brie of Hack the Day. You know you have it - every nerd does - the tickling sensation in the left hand to press Alt+Tab or Cmd+Tab to switch apps, Internet browser tabs or windows, to go from your email to Firefox, Instant Messenger, Twitter, your current work and back to Firefox. No matter what you do, it seems like nothing is important enough to prevent you from writing a brief IM message to your best bud about what the latest joke your office mates have just sent you by email. Nothing is too important that can’t wait till after you play a quick online flash game or read another blog post while your boss is out of the room. Internet Attention Deficit Disorder is the productivity killer affecting most office workers today - the stringent urge to “browse just a little more” in between your daily work ...

Troubled Teens Resources - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and the Benefits of Nature Attention deficit hyperactive disorder has recently been viewed as amenable to treatment that simply involves getting teenagers outside, away from iPods,video games,TV,and all the sedentary ways that accompany those habits. Though we mostly hear from health specialists from the American perspective, doctors in England are making similar studies. “For too long we have seriously underestimated the benefits nature has for the health of our nation. Everyone, from government to charities like the RSPB to private landowners, needs to work together to give people more access to nature.” Parents who are considering enrolling their teen in a troubled teen boarding school might want to consider the lay of the land around it. Is it located where the beauty of nature can be one of the healing elements in your troubled teen’s recovery? Does the school offer a wilderness camp type of experience? Here are som...

Addicted to the Internet? You may have ADHD A study performed at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan set out to investigate the links between emotional conditions such as anxiety, depression and ADHD and Internet addiction. Two thousand fourteen students, 1204 male and 910 female, were assessed for all of the above factors using a self-report questionnaire. The results showed that Internet addiction is associated with ADHD, depression, and hostility in males, while it is associated with ADHD and depression in females. Researchers noted that adolescent girls who had an Internet addiction didn’t display the hostility issues demonstrated by the adolescent boys. Social anxiety appeared to be a factor for both sexes.

Name that feeling: You'll feel better - Yahoo! News CHICAGO (Reuters) - Putting feelings into words makes sadness and anger less intense, U.S. brain researchers said on Wednesday, in a finding that explains why talking to a therapist -- or even a sympathetic bartender -- often makes people feel better. ADVERTISEMENT They said talking about negative feelings activates a part of the brain responsible for impulse control. "This region of the brain seems to be involved in putting on the brakes," said University of California, Los Angeles researcher Matthew Lieberman, whose study appears in the journal Psychological Science. He and colleagues scanned the brains of 30 people -- 18 women and 12 men between 18 and 36 -- who were shown pictures of faces expressing strong emotions. They were asked to categorize the feelings in words like sad or angry, or to choose between two gender-specific names like "Sally or Harry" that matched the face. What they found is that when p...

Researchers Light Up for Nicotine, the Wonder Drug Smoking may be bad for you, but researchers and biotech companies are quietly developing pharmaceuticals that are decidedly good for brains, bowels, blood vessels and even immune systems -- and they're inspired by tobacco's deadly active ingredient: nicotine. Nicotine acts on the acetylcholine receptors in the brain, stimulating and regulating the release of a slew of brain chemicals, including seratonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Not surprisingly, the first scientific work that identified these chemicals and how they affect the body came out of nicotine research -- much of it performed by tobacco companies. Now drugs derived from nicotine and the research on nicotine receptors are in clinical trials for everything from helping to heal wounds, to depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, anger management and anxiety. "Nicotine is highly stigmatized -- and for good reason, because the delivery ...

A brief review of the archaeological evidence for Palaeolithic and Neolithic subsistence A brief review of the archaeological evidence for Palaeolithic and Neolithic subsistence M P Richards Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK Correspondence to: M P Richards, Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 1DP, UK. E-mail: m.p.richards@bradford.ac.uk Abstract Knowledge of our ancestor's diets is becoming increasingly important in evolutionary medicine, as researchers have argued that we have evolved to specific type of 'Palaeolithic' diet, and many modern nutritional disorders relate to the mismatch between the diet to which we have evolved, and the relatively newer agricultural-based 'Neolithic' diets. However, what is the archaeological evidence for pre-agricultural diets and how have they changed over the four million years of hominid evolution? This paper briefly introduces the ...

The paradoxical nature of hunter-gatherer diets: meat-based, yet non-atherogenic The paradoxical nature of hunter-gatherer diets: meat-based, yet non-atherogenic L Cordain1, S B Eaton2, J Brand Miller3, N Mann4 and K Hill5 1Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA 2Departments of Radiology and Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA 3Human Nutrition Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 4Department of Food Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 5Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Correspondence to: L Cordain, Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. 80523, USA. E-mail: cordain@cahs.colostate.edu Abstract Objective: Field studies of twentieth century hunter-gathers (HG) showed them to be generally free of the signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease...

Meat, cancer and dietary advice to the public Meat, cancer and dietary advice to the public M Hill Nutrition Research Centre, South Bank University London, UK Correspondence to: M Hill, Nutrition Research Centre, South Bank University, 103 Borough Rd, London SEI OAA, UK. Abstract Background: It has been claimed for many decades that meat is a risk factor for colorectal cancer, and that it has no compensating benefits in terms of cancer risk. The evidence for this has been critically reassessed. Methods: The epidemiological evidence, particularly that produced in recent years, has been re-examined to determine whether it is sufficiently consistent to warrant giving firm advice to the general public. Results: Far from being supportive, the epidemiological data does not justify this claim. A large mass of evidence is presented from case-control studies and prospective studies, in which the data from Europe are not consistent with those from the United States. This is because of the diffe...