Neurometabolic Disorders Could Contribute to Depression

Impairments in the production of neurotransmitters may lead to depression in some patients, preliminary results show, opening new avenues for research.

In 2002, psychiatrist Lisa Pan, a depression and suicide prevention researcher at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), met Kyle, a 19-year-old suffering from depression (name altered to preserve confidentiality). He was among the estimated 15 percent of depression patients in the U.S. for whom treatments such as antidepressants or therapy do not help. He “had been through every available treatment” including electroconvulsive therapy, but nothing worked, Pan recalls. “At one time, he was on 17 medications simultaneously.” The teenager had attempted suicide, and doctors determined that he was at risk for similar episodes. The next step for him would be state hospitalization.

Read more: Neurometabolic Disorders Could Contribute to Depression

STAVING OFF DEPRESSION: Deficiencies in key compounds that help the body make
neurotransmitters may contribute to the intractability of depression in some people
© ISTOCK.COM/JM1366

Source: TheScientist

Have You Woken Up At Night And Were Unable To Move And Felt Paralyzed?

The average person sleeps for around eight hours a day. Over a lifetime this amounts to spending about one third of life asleep. It’s common knowledge that a good nights rest is vitally important for maintaining health and balance, both mentally and physically.

However, for some people a good night’s sleep is hard to come by, or it ends up being ruined, by a strange phenomenon that is called sleep paralysis.

Read more: Have You Woken Up At Night And Were Unable To Move And Felt Paralyzed

Source: reason4read

Watch: Sleep Paralysis

Overcoming the Fear of Injections for Diabetes

Do you have an objection to injections? If you have type 2 diabetes, you may be afraid you’ll eventually need to give yourself insulin injections, or maybe your doctor has mentioned non-insulin injections might be in your future.

Treating diabetes with injections does not mean you have failed or did not follow your doctor’s instructions. Many diabetics will need insulin shots over time, and non-insulin injections are just a newer form of diabetes medication. However, you do need to overcome your fear and resistance if you want to get your diabetes under control. In order to do this, it’s important to determine the root of your anxiety, and identifying the problem can help you find solutions.

Get the Facts

While there have been attempts at developing an inhaled insulin, injections are currently the most common form of delivery with the technology available today.

Read more: Overcoming the Fear of Injections for Diabetes

Source: msn/health/medical

Diabetes and Stress: What's the Connection?

Diabetes is a complex disease, with varying risk factors and causes. Stress, especially long-term stress, interferes with the body's ability to manage blood sugar levels. As managing sugar levels becomes more difficult, the risk of long-term problems increases.

In this article, we will examine what stress is, how it is caused, and how it affects people living with diabetes. Since stress is a natural part of life, we will also discuss tips for managing and preventing stress.

Contents of this article:

1. What is stress?
2. How does stress affect people with diabetes?
3. Signs and symptoms of stress in people with diabetes
4. How can stress be managed and prevented?
5. Tips for reducing stress

Read more: Diabetes and Stress: What's the Connection?

Stress can cause blood sugar levels to rise in people with diabetes.

Source: medicalnewstoday

How stress increases seizures for patients with epilepsy

It is well known that stress can increase the frequency and severity of seizures for patients with epilepsy. Now, researchers have shed light on why this is, and they may have even found a way to stop it.

Published in the journal Science Signaling, the researchers reveal how epilepsy alters the way brain reacts to stress to cause seizures.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, which are sudden surges of electrical activity in the brain.

Read more: How stress increases seizures for patients with epilepsy

Researchers have shed light on why stress increases seizure frequency for patients with epilepsy.

Source: medicalnewstoday

Your Lifespan can be Reduced by Mood and Stress.

A study, published this week in Molecular Psychiatry, finds the genetic basis of a poorly understood phenomenon. Mood and stress are known to contribute to shortened lifespans, and researchers may now have identified the genes that are involved.

A team from Indiana University School of Medicine and the Scripps Research Institute, CA, conducted a multifaceted project investigating the genetic basis of premature aging in response to stress and psychiatric illness.

Using human participants and Caenorhabditis elegans, one of planet Earth's most-studied worms, the researchers delved into this intractable question.

They managed to identify a raft of genes that seem to control the impact of mood and stress responses on the longevity of an organism.

Read more: Your Lifespan can be Reduced by Mood and Stress.

An in-depth study charts the genetics involved in the shortening of life in

response to mood and stress.

Source: medicalnewstoday