Tag: depressive symptoms

9 Ways to Tame Your Chronic Pain

When it comes to chronic pain, there’s usually a limit to how much relief medications and procedures can bring. That’s where changes to your daily life can help bridge the gap. Cleveland Clinic pain and wellness specialists Daniel Leizman, MD, and Mladen Golubić, MD, PhD, offer nine “pain wellness” tips to make sure you’re following for maximum pain management.

Take deep breaths. The average adult takes eight to 16 breaths per minute. Slowing that down to five or six deep breaths that really fill your lungs will help you relax, which can lessen your discomfort.

Investigators Discover a Glucose-Controlling Enzyme

Researchers have zeroed in on a neural mechanism that is key to sensing and controlling blood glucose levels.

The investigators, from the Yale School of Medicine, said that the finding could eventually lead to new treatments for diabetes.

Watch: Can You Sunburn in The Car?

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Restarting Your Sex Life

Normal aging brings physical changes in both men and women. These changes sometimes affect the ability to have and enjoy sex. A woman may notice changes in her vagina. As a woman ages, her vagina can shorten and narrow. Her vaginal walls can become thinner and also a little stiffer. Most women will have less vaginal lubrication. These changes could affect sexual function and/or pleasure.

Mobile Health Apps Need More Oversight

Although people often assume that mobile health apps have been “approved,” in fact there is very little oversight of the multibillion-dollar industry, according to health-law researchers.

How to Fight Prediabetes

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most serious chronic illnesses in existence; it puts people at risk for everything from heart and kidney disease to amputation of limbs. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), it is shockingly widespread 29.1 million Americans have the illness. And the ADA estimates that 86 million more Americans have prediabetes, a condition that indicates a high risk of developing the illness.

Here, from the federal National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse and the ADA, is what you need to know about prediabetes:

Exposure To Nighttime Light Could Be Dangerous for Breast-Cancer Patients

The breast-cancer drug tamoxifen is useless if a patient is exposed to even dim overnight light, according to a new study. But it can become effective during the same period in combination with the hormone melatonin.

Researchers from Tulane University School of Medicine published the study in the journal Cancer Research. It is the first study to show that melatonin, which regulates sleep and wake cycles, is essential to tamoxifen’s success in treating breast cancer. But melatonin doesn’t work if it’s shut off by exposure to light at night.

Alcohol and Aging

Although we often associate drinking too much with younger people (parties, bars, spring break vacations), alcohol abuse is a problem at any age. And while it’s true that younger people drink more than older people, alcohol abuse presents some age-specific issues for seniors. Here, from the SeniorHealth division of the National of Health (NIH), is an explanation of the damaging effects, and how you or a loved one can get help if it’s needed.

The Latest Approach to Anti-Aging

Instead of fighting chronic diseases one by one as they develop, researchers suggest, medicine should focus instead on preventing several of these illnesses at once. That approach, the investigators say, could help extend healthy lifespans.

Are You A Stress Eater?

From the Mayo Clinic
Editor’s note: Whether you’re trying to lose some weight, or maintain the weight you have, stress-related eating can be one of the most discouraging obstacles. For many people, stress-related eating can happen out of the blue, making you feel out of control. Here, Edward T. Creagan, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., offers some strategies for dealing with stress-related eating.

New Clue to Development of Diabetes

Researchers have discovered a mechanism that can eliminate excess quantities of a harmful protein in people with Type 2 diabetes.

The discovery sheds light on the accumulation of the protein called islet amyloid polypeptide, or IAPP. That accumulation is linked to the loss of pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin.

Researchers from UCLA appear to have found why that happens.

When It’s More Than Just Anxiety

Although there’s a lot of talk about depression, another condition – Generalized Anxiety Disorder – doesn’t get nearly as much attention. And that can make it harder for friends and family to understand what’s happening when someone they love has GAD. Here, from the National Institute of Mental Health, are some things you should know:

What Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Warm-Weather Food Safety

It’s the height of picnic and barbecue season, but these festivities can quickly go sour if your food isn’t safe. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), each year about 1 in 6 Americans get sick from tainted foods. Most foodborne illnesses last only a short time. At the same time, foodborne diseases kill about 3,000 people nationwide each year. Those especially at risk include infants, older people, and people with weakened immune systems.

Study: AMD Isn’t Always Age-Related

Age-related macular degeneration, until now seen as a condition of people in their 50s and beyond, is more prevalent in younger people than previously thought, according to new statistics.

The findings comes from researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. The investigators found that just under 4 percent of 35- to 44-year-old people in their study were affected by AMD.

The illness is the most common cause of visual impairment and blindness in industrialized countries.

Watch: The Doctors Get Vaccinated

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The Science of Therapy: More Progress Needed

Although it’s well known that therapy helps patients with psychological disorders, researchers aren’t clear what changes occur in the brain to relieve some of the disorders, according to a newly published paper.

How To Avoid Ulcers

Over the counter pain relievers may seem harmless enough, but take enough of a certain type and you could find yourself with a peptic ulcer, a potentially serious abdominal disorder.