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Economic worries have made this holiday season particularly stressful for some. The holiday season can bring out the absolute worst in some kids. Some parents welcome that break from structure, and that’s OK. “Parents get to decide what works and what doesn’t work with their family,” Dr. Naumburg said. “Gratitude and savoring are the opposite.”Dr. Kurtz recommended starting a simple gratitude practice early in the holiday season. As the holidays unfold, make an effort to savor the season, Dr. Kurtz said.

Participants who were offered cash incentives for either pounds lost or for completing certain activities were more likely to lose weight compared with those who were simply offered tools, such as diet books, fitness trackers and access to a weight loss program, the study found. On average, participants in the goal-directed group earned $440.44, as compared to $303.56 in the outcome-based group. “Even if less weight is lost, adopting lifelong physical activity or better eating habits may be more important,” she said. Kushner, who was not involved with the new study, agreed that low-income people face extra challenges when it comes to weight loss. What’s not clear, however, is how the strategy of offering cash for weight loss could be implemented in a real-world setting, outside of academia.

☆ Common treatment for joint pain may be linked to faster arthritis progression, research suggests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Angela Yang | Angela Yang Is An Intern For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

One of the most common pain relief treatments for arthritis, corticosteroid injections, may actually be associated with faster progression of the disease, according to new research. There is no cure, but the discomfort is sometimes treated with corticosteroid shots. The scans, collected annually for four years, revealed worse arthritis progression among participants injected with corticosteroids compared to the other two groups. Just because imaging shows more arthritis progression doesn’t mean a patient feels more pain. And second, he said, the results shouldn’t lead people to avoid corticosteroid shots in all situations.

☆ Only a handful of psychedelics companies have gotten funding from established biotech investors. Here's what they've done right, according to a top VC.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

RA Capital is one of the few mainstream biotech VCs wading into the psychedelics space. The number of companies touting the benefits of psychedelics for healthcare is rapidly growing, but not all biotech investors are on board yet. Last year RA Capital made two investments into the psychedelics spaceIn 2021, RA made its first investments into the psychedelics space by funding two startups: GH Research and Delix Therapeutics. Dublin, Ireland-based GH Research is one of the only psychedelics companies to have garnered a flurry of interest from mainstream healthcare investors including RA Capital, RTW Investments, and BVF Partners. Lusaris' treatment is designed to be taken sublingually — placed under the tongue — for treatment-resistant depression.

For decades doctors have been telling their patients that high levels of HDL, otherwise known as “good cholesterol,” could protect them from heart disease. But a new study suggests that having a lot of so-called good cholesterol doesn’t mean a lower risk of heart attacks. The new findings surprised the researchers, who originally designed their study to understand how cholesterol levels in Black and white middle-aged adults without heart disease affected their future risks. Previous research on "good" cholesterol and heart disease consisted of mostly white adults. Low HDL levels were associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease in white participants, but not Black participants.

☆ Michelle Obama's new book puts a spotlight on multiple sclerosis and her father's late diagnosis: Here are 5 early signs of the disease
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

With the arrival of Michelle Obama's new memoir, "The Light We Carry," readers will get a closer look at the illness that changed her father's quality of life – and inevitably her family's as well. At age four or five, Michelle Obama's dad began using a cane to maintain balance while walking, which he much later found out was as a result of multiple sclerosis (MS). Her family remained resilient by viewing her father's cane as "just a tool," similar to that of her mother's spatula and her grandfather's hammer. The fear that surrounded Michelle Obama's family about her father's health is something that many families with loved ones living with multiple sclerosis face, according to Dr. Lauren B. Krupp, the Nancy Glickenhaus Pier Professor of Pediatric Neuropsychiatry and director of the Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center at NYU Langone Health. Here are some early signs to look out for and common symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

An experimental drug could eventually offer hope to millions of people struggling with uncontrolled high blood pressure, new research has found. Overall, 20% to 30% of adults experience high blood pressure, Brown said in an email. Uncontrolled hypertension accounts for 5% to 10% of all people with hypertension. Hypertension is diagnosed when a person has a blood pressure of 130/80, while a systolic measurement of 120-129 mm Hg is considered to be “elevated.” A normal range is less than 120/80 mm Hg. Those who received the highest dose of the medication saw their systolic blood pressure — the top number in the measure — drop an extraordinary 20 points during the study.

The research will look at whether the drug can effectively treat depression when other therapies have failed. COMPASS Pathways, a United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical company that focuses on psilocybin research, is conducting the study. Most psychedelics, including psilocybin, are illegal at the federal level in the U.S. No one knows for sure how it might work to treat depression. Nayak was also not involved with the COMPASS study, but does conduct research on psilocybin for other mental health conditions. A re-enactment of a COMPASS Pathways psilocybin therapy session.

It’s the first time in 50 years that a federal grant has been given to study a psychedelic drug as a possible treatment. The study, a randomized controlled trial expected to start later this year, will investigate whether psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms,” can help people quit smoking tobacco. Hopkins researchers will lead the trial, which will be done in collaboration with researchers at NYU Langone Health and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In a study published in August, researchers found that psilocybin helped drinkers reduce alcohol cravings. Typically in studies using psychedelics, participants receive the drug during a monitored session with a therapist, which can last hours.

☆ About 17 Americans die waiting for transplants each day. Scientists are trying to make more organs in 5 creative ways.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Courtesy of Leilani GrahamIf pig organs turn out to be just as effective as human organs, she added, "That is more appealing to me than using marginal donors." If the technique works for human organs in the future, it could allow clinicians to preserve many more organs for donation after death. Changing organs' blood typeEnzymes are delivered to a lung inside a perfusion machine at Dr. Marcelo Cypel’s lab. Growing synthetic organs from stem cellsResearcher Stormy Chamberlain holds a tray of stem cells at the University of Connecticut's Stem Cell Institute. Hanna started a company called Renewal Bio to pursue the possibility of turning stem cells into organs for transplants.

☆ What is rainbow fentanyl? Colorful pills drive new warnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

"Colored fentanyl pills have been around for a few years. At the time, the agency said that it and its law enforcement partners seized the brightly colored fentanyl and fentanyl pills across 18 states. While he and his colleagues are aware of rainbow fentanyl warnings, he hasn't heard any patients or parents mention it. When it comes to rainbow fentanyl, "the fentanyl itself is going to be the same issue as the counterfeit pharmaceutical fentanyl. The only difference between rainbow fentanyl and the fentanyl products of the past appears to be the coloring.

☆ 5 cutting-edge medical experiments could expand our organ supply, from gene-edited pigs to artificial embryos
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Courtesy of Leilani GrahamIf pig organs turn out to be just as effective as human organs, she added, "That is more appealing to me than using marginal donors." While much of the shortage is driven by imperfect logistics and bureaucracy rather than supply, cutting-edge research could make organs — human, pig, or synthetic — more accessible in Graham's lifetime. If the technique works for human organs in the future, it could allow clinicians to preserve many more organs for donation after death. Changing organs' blood typeEnzymes are delivered to a lung inside a perfusion machine at Dr. Marcelo Cypel’s lab. Growing synthetic organs from stem cellsResearcher Stormy Chamberlain holds a tray of stem cells at the University of Connecticut's Stem Cell Institute.

Bogenschutz and his team specifically set out to test whether or not psilocybin, in addition to sessions of therapy, could cut cravings and help people with alcohol use disorder stay sober. Earlier research from institutions around the world has indicated that psilocybin has the potential to treat a variety of addiction disorders, including alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder and addiction to smoking. Jon KostasWhen he began the psilocybin trial at age 25, he was consuming almost 23 drinks in a single bender. At the beginning of the first dose sessions, participants were given eye masks and headphones that played classical music. Bogenschutz said the rule of thumb with alcohol addiction treatment is that about one-third of patients who seek treatment will get better.

☆ Johns Hopkins, Yale, and NYU are teaming up to tackle a key bottleneck that will arise as psychedelics come to market
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-10 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, and New York University announced on Thursday they were collaborating to create a psychedelics curriculum for psychiatrists. Benjamin Kelmendi is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University and a codirector of the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science. YaleNYU's Ross told Insider it was "daunting" to think about the sheer number of therapists that needed to be trained to expand access for patients. Researchers are working to fill the gap that exists between psychedelics and the medical systemChristopher Pittenger is a codirector at the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science. YaleDr. Benjamin Kelmendi, a codirector of the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science, told Insider that he saw psychedelics as having broad applications that will attract other branches of medicine.

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