Public Health

,

Unhappy Birthdays

Unhappy Birthdays - جشن تولدهای تراژدیک!

New analysis reveals link between birthdays and COVID-19 spread during the height of the pandemic.

In counties with already high COVID-19 infection rates, birthday bashes may have fueled infection spread during the peak months of the pandemic, according to a new analysis led by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the RAND Corporation.

The report, published in JAMA Internal Medicine , shows that in counties with high rates of COVID-19, households with recent birthdays were 30 percent more likely to have a COVID-19 diagnosis, compared with households with no birthdays. The analysis is based on data from health insurance claims.

Release date: 21 Jun 2021
Source: Harvard Medical School

Childhood trauma can make people like morphine more

Childhood trauma can make people like morphine more - تاثیر دوران کودکی در علاقه به مواد مخدر

People who have experienced childhood trauma get a more pleasurable “high” from morphine, Addiction Biology suggests.

University of Exeter scientists compared the effects of morphine on 52 healthy people – 27 with a history of childhood abuse and neglect, and 25 who reported no such experiences in childhood.

Those with childhood trauma liked morphine (an opioid drug) more, felt more euphoric and had a stronger desire for another dose.

Those with no childhood trauma were more likely to dislike the effects and feel dizzy or nauseous.

Release date: 22 Jun 2021
Source: University of Exeter

Stress Does Turn Hair Gray

Stress Does Turn Hair Gray - فشارهای عصبی از عوامل سفید شدن موها

Hair that has already grown out of the follicle does not change color from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons is the first to offer quantitative evidence linking psychological stress to graying hair in people.

And while it may seem intuitive that stress can accelerate graying, the researchers were surprised to discover that hair color can be restored when stress is eliminated, a finding that contrasts with a recent study in mice that suggested that stressed-induced gray hairs are permanent.

The study, published in eLife.

Release date: 22 Jun 2021
Source: Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Personality traits relate to being a morning or evening person at both the phenotypic and genetic level

Personality traits relate to being a morning or evening person at both the phenotypic and genetic level - انواع شخصیت های شغلی صبح کار و عصر کار

· The relationship between personality, genes and chronotype (sleep patterns) has been studied by researchers at the University of Warwick and the University of Tartu, Estonia

· People high in Conscientiousness and low in Openness are rather morning people; lower-level personality traits such as self-discipline, excitement-seeking, and straightforwardness have also been linked to chronotype

· It is partly due to genetic factors, but there is scope to change your sleep patterns if you wanted to become a morning person but are currently an evening person for example

The link between the different hierarchies of personality, sleep patterns and even genetics has been discovered by researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick.

A typical example of a morning person is thought to be someone who wakes up naturally at 6am, goes for a jog, showers, has breakfast and is ready for a productive day at work by 9am. Whereas an evening person struggles to get up in the morning and feels more productive in the evening.

Published in the Journal of Personality.

Release date: 22 Jun 2021
Source: University of Warwick

Sports: Men and women react differently to a missing audience

Sports Men and women react differently to a missing audience - تاثیر تماشاگران بر عملکرد ورزشکاران حرفه ای

Without an audience, men run slower and women faster: The lack of spectators during the coronavirus pandemic appears to have had a noticeable effect on the performance of athletes at the 2020 Biathlon World Cup, a new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in “Psychology of Sport and Exercise” shows. According to the new analysis, women also performed better in complex tasks, such as shooting, when an audience was present while men did not.

Release date: 22 Jun 2021
Source: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

,

In many cases, multiple sclerosis starts long before the diagnosis

In many cases multiple sclerosis starts long before the diagnosis - ام اس تشخیصی تاخیری

Years before they are diagnosed, persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) make significantly more visits to doctors and hospitals than others. Specialists have recently discussed whether this might represent a preliminary phase of MS – known as a prodrome. A research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now published results of a study suggesting that, in many cases, the complaints may relate to unrecognized early clinical MS events.

Persons suffering from the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis can develop various neurological symptoms caused by damage to the nervous system. Especially in early stages, these may include sensory dysfunction such as numbness or visual disturbances. In most patients, MS starts with recurring episodes of neurological disability, called relapses or demyelinating events. These clinical events are followed by a partial or complete remission. Especially in the beginning, the symptoms vary widely, so that it is often difficult even for experienced doctors to interpret them correctly to arrive at a diagnosis of MS. Neurology

Release date: 21 Jun 2021
Source: Technical University of Munich (TUM)

Link Between Gut Microbes and Stroke

Link Between Gut Microbes and Stroke - نقش باکتریهای روده در سکته مغزی!

New findings from Cleveland Clinic researchers show for the first time that the gut microbiome impacts stroke severity and functional impairment following stroke. The results, published in Cell Host & Microbe, lay the groundwork for potential new interventions to help treat or prevent stroke.

In this study we found that dietary choline and TMAO produced greater stroke size and severity, and poorer outcomes in animal models. Remarkably, simply transplanting gut microbes capable of making TMAO was enough to cause a profound change in stroke severity.

The researchers compared brain damage in preclinical stroke models between those with elevated or reduced TMAO levels. Over time, those with higher levels of TMAO had more extensive brain damage and a greater degree of motor and cognitive functional deficits following stroke. The researchers also found that dietary changes that alter TMAO levels, such as eating less red meat and eggs, impacted stroke severity.

Release date: 16 Jun 2021
Source: Cleveland Clinic

,

Common Diabetes Drug Shows Promise as Treatment for COVID-19 Lung Inflammation

Common Diabetes Drug Shows Promise as Treatment for COVID19 Lung Inflammation - اثرات ضدکرونایی متفورمین

Metformin is a widely prescribed blood sugar-lowering drug. It is often used as an early therapy (in combination with diet and lifestyle changes) for type 2 diabetes, which afflicts more than 34 million Americans.

Metformin works by lowering glucose production in the liver, reducing blood sugar levels that, in turn, improve the body’s response to insulin. But scientists have also noted that metformin possesses anti-inflammatory properties, though the basis for this activity was not known.

In a study published in the journal Immunity, a multi-institution team led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine identified the molecular mechanism for the anti-inflammatory activity of metformin and, in mouse studies, found that metformin prevents pulmonary or lung inflammation in animals infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Release date: 08 Jun 2021
Source: University of California – San Diego

Air pollution exposure during pregnancy may boost babies’ obesity risk

Air pollution exposure during pregnancy may boost babies obesity risk - آلودگی هوا و چاقی

Women exposed to higher levels of air pollution during pregnancy have babies who grow unusually fast in the first months after birth, putting on excess fat that puts them at risk of obesity and related diseases later in life, new CU Boulder research shows.

The study of Hispanic mother-child pairs, published this week in the journal Environmental Health, is the latest to suggest that poor air quality may contribute at least in part to the nation’s obesity epidemic, particularly among minority populations who tend to live in places with more exposure to toxic pollutants.

About one in four Hispanic youth in the United States are obese, compared to about 14% of white youth and 11% of Asian youth.

Release date: 10 Jun 2021
Source: University of Colorado at Boulder

,

COVID-19 Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease-like Cognitive Impairment

COVID19 Linked to Alzheimers Disease like Cognitive Impairment - اختلالات شناختی کووید۱۹

A new Cleveland Clinic-led study has identified mechanisms by which COVID-19 can lead to Alzheimer’s disease-like dementia. The findings, published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, indicate an overlap between COVID-19 and brain changes common in Alzheimer’s, and may help inform risk management and therapeutic strategies for COVID-19-associated cognitive impairment.

Reports of neurological complications in COVID-19 patients and “long-hauler” patients whose symptoms persist after the infection clears are becoming more common, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) may have lasting effects on brain function. However, it is not yet well understood how the virus leads to neurological issues.

Release date: 10 Jun 2021
Source: Cleveland Clinic