Mental Health

New hope for Alzheimer’s patients may come from the tiny Colombian village of Angostura, high in the Andes. Scientists plan to study 5,000 members of a family in the Antioquia region, to see if Alzheimer’s can be prevented with early treatment. Members of the Colombian clan calling themselves Paisas share Basque heritage. Over the past…

New research shows an important link between physical fitness and mental fitness. A study reported yesterday suggests that, for college students, daily intense exercise can lead to improved grades. The findings were presented by researchers from Saginaw State University at a conference of the American College of Sport Medicine this week. Their findings suggest new…

Many regular coffee drinkers think that their daily dose of java makes them more alert and improves their ability to function and their memory.  A new study published in the June 2010 issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology  suggests that the extra boost of energy we think we get from coffee, and even the increased anxiety…

Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a substance in the brain that helps protect against stress and reduce susceptibility to depression. Identification of the gene regulating substance, called deltaFosB, is a major step forward in analyzing the brain wiring that can help or hinder our ability to cope with stress and…

With the rising epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease cases all over the world, scientists are racing to find a way to slow the mental and physical decline caused by this debilitating form of pre-senile dementia that is characterized by loss of memory and a slowing of thinking and reasoning skills.  Families of those suffering from the…

Researchers from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom have uncovered evidence to support the conclusion that mothers with high weight gain during pregnancy, and mothers who were overweight before conceiving, may attribute their weight issues to weight gain and cardiovascular problems for their children later in life. Dr. Abigail Fraser, Ph.D. led the…

With reports of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) seemingly on the rise, researchers in a recent study analyzed the theory that household pesticides and those present in food may account for a great majority of new ADHD cases in the United States. Statistics from a nationally representative sample of American children aged 8-15 who were…

A recent study has investigated the likelihood of young people who smoke marijuana to experience delusions, hallucinations or other signs of psychosis.  Findings reveal intriguing connections between long-term use of cannabis and episodes of psychosis. The study was lead by researcher John McGrath, M.D., of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia and followed 3,801…