Stress News and Research

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Mice offer clues to the roots of human resilience

When faced with adversity, some people succumb to debilitating psychological diseases including posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, while others are able to remain remarkably optimistic.

19 Oct 2007

Review of PTSD treatments

Many people, including significant proportions of active duty military personnel and veterans, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often in conjunction with other injuries or illnesses.

19 Oct 2007

Ability to cope with stress, depression linked to variations in brain structure and function

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in mice that the ability or inability to cope with stress is linked to specific differences in the way brain cells communicate with each other.

19 Oct 2007

Honey for wound healing

Surgeons are being advised to consider the supermarket as well as the drugs cupboard when it comes to effective wound healing, according to a research review published in the October issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

18 Oct 2007

Children who are obese or who are at risk for obesity show early signs of heart disease

Childhood obesity in the United States is an epidemic -- nationwide, 19 percent of children ages 6 to 11 and 17 percent of those 12 to 19 are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those who are overweight during childhood also have an increased risk of obesity in adulthood and are at greater risk for complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, because obesity increases total blood volume, which leads to extra stress on the heart.

18 Oct 2007

Pine bark extract boosts nitric oxide production

A study to be published in the October edition of Hypertension Research reveals Pycnogenol, (pic-noj-en-all), an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, helps individuals by enhancing healthy nitric oxide (NO) production which leads to an increase in blood flow and oxygen supply to muscles.

18 Oct 2007

Study looks at inhaled corticosteroid use post 9/11 in NYC firefighters

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), anti-inflammatory treatments often prescribed for asthma, may be beneficial in preventing respiratory illness, according to a new study.

18 Oct 2007

Researchers take on E. coli 0157 and salmonella

Understanding the ecology of two dangerous foodborne pathogens and devising ways to combat them is a big job.

17 Oct 2007

Bypass surgery more likely than angioplasty to relieve coronary artery disease pain

Patients with mid-range coronary artery disease are more likely to get relief from painful angina and less likely to have repeat procedures if they get bypass surgery rather than balloon angioplasty with or without a stent, according to a new report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

17 Oct 2007

Carnegie Mellon, Pitt team use wrist-mounted instrument to measure psychosocial stress

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, led by Pitt Psychology Professor Thomas Kamarck, are studying the effectiveness of a wrist-mounted instrument for measuring psychosocial stress exposure during the course of daily life.

17 Oct 2007

Homocysteine appears to be play a part in retinal damage and vision loss

Homocysteine, an amino acid believed to contribute to heart attack, stroke and dementia, likely also is a player in retinal damage and vision loss, researchers say.

16 Oct 2007

Depression among patients with coronary artery disease

Depression has long had a popular link to cardiovascular disease and death. However, only during the last 15 years scientific evidence supporting this common wisdom has been available (Glassman et al., 2007a).

16 Oct 2007

20% of bariatric surgery candidates not psychologically cleared for surgery

A new study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reported that 18 percent of 500 candidates for bariatric surgery did not receive the initial psychiatric clearance for the surgery.

16 Oct 2007

Breast cancer radiation does not affect women's immune system

A new study shows that neither of two commonly used radiation treatments for early-stage, node-negative breast cancer has any effect on a woman's immune system, even though women who receive five-day partial-breast radiation therapy (MammoSite brachytherapy) (PBRT) have improved energy and quality of life compared to women who undergo six weeks of whole-breast radiation therapy (WBRT).

15 Oct 2007

Picking the right stress test for heart disease risk analysis

Stress tests are good front-line tests indicators of heart disease, but just how good depends on ordering the right one, researchers say.

12 Oct 2007

Discovery of protein that plays a key role in the recycling of iron from blood

Scientists working in the only lab at MIT doing hematology research have uncovered a protein that plays a key role in the recycling of iron from blood. Their work, described in the October 11 Journal of Clinical Investigation, could lead to new therapies for certain inherited blood disorders such as beta-thalassemia, a condition that causes chronic anemia.

12 Oct 2007

Legal needs of cancer patients not being met

Cancer patients have significant concerns about legal-medical issues that are not being adequately addressed and impact the quality of their lives, according to a study conducted by Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Results of the study were published in a recent issue of Cancer and presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.

12 Oct 2007