Tracking happiness in the blogosphere

Researchers from the University of Vermont have been analyzing people's blogs in an attempt to measure levels of happiness over time. They have developed a web site - www.wefeelfine.org - that combs through people's blogs analyzing sentences beginning with "I feel," or "I am feeling." Based on previous research words are assigned a score ranging from 1 to 9 with 9 being positive and 1 negative. Although the system is not accurate enough to measure individual's levels of happiness it can track changes over time and differences between age-groups and places. The election of Barack Obama led to a big increase in happiness, mostly based on the use of the word 'proud,' whereas there was a big downturn in the mood of the blogosphere after Michael Jackson's death. September 10th and 11th are also associated with a wave of negative mood each year as people remember the events of September 11th, 2001. Teenagers are the most unhappy bloggers with people generally getting happier as they get older until levels of happiness drop off slightly with old age.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090724144522.htm

Antidepressants for insomnia

It is estimated that between 50-70 million Americans suffer from either chronic sleep loss or a diagnosable sleep disorder with 10% of the population reporting not getting enough sleep to function effectively within any given month. Sleep hypnotics and benzodiazepines are the usual drugs for treating sleep problems but can have the potential to cause addiction and worse insomnia when they are withdrawn. Antidepressants can also be used to treat insomnia but not all antidepressants work in the same way and some can actually damage sleep quality. Joseph M. Holshoe from the University of Alabama reviewed the research into antidepressants and sleep. He found that the sedating tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline, nortriptyline, doxepine and clomipramine all improved sleep quality while the stimulating tricyclics trimipramine, desipramine and protriptyline made it worse. Of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) only escitalopram improved sleep quality; fluoxetine, paroxetine, citalopram, venlafaxine and duloxetine all made it worse. A category of drugs called serotonin-2 receptor antagonists/reuptake inhibtors (SARIs) had more beneficial effects with low doses of trazodone and nefazodone being found to be good treatments for insomnia. The effects of bupropion were unclear. Mirtazapine was found to improve sleep but was associated with day-time sleepiness and weight gain.

Holshoe, Joseph M. - Antidepressants and sleep: a review Perspectives in psychiatric care 45(3), 191-197

NICE issues new guidelines for needle and syringe programmes

In the U.K. the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued new guidelines for needle and syringe programmes aimed at injecting drug users.

You can find out more about the guidance at

http://www.nta.nhs.uk/news_events/events/previous_nta_events/NSP_launch_July_09/default.aspx

Young men who live with mum and dad more violent

Far from being wimpy mummy's boys young men who live at home with their parents are more likely to be violent than those who live independently. Living with one's parents has become more common in the past forty years, both in the U.K. and in the U.S. Researchers at Queen Mary, University of London surveyed 8,000 men and women who answered questions about violent behaviour over the past five years and mental-health problems. Although young men living at home make up only 4% of the U.K.'s male population they were responsible for 16% of all violent injuries in the last five years. The study found that the young men had fewer responsibilities and more money to spend on alcohol and were no longer influenced by their parents to conform to standards of behaviour expected of previous generations.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720102019.htm

Air pollution and IQ

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are pollutants released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas. Researchers from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York looked into the effect of PAHs on the IQs of children who had been exposed to them in the womb. They studied 249 children born to Black and Dominican-American women aged between 18 and 35. The women wore personal air monitors to measure their exposure to PAHs during their pregnancy and the children's IQs were measured when they were five. The study found that children exposed to high levels of PAHs while they were in the womb had IQs around 4.5 points lower than those who had been less exposed to the chemicals.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720111453.htm

Sharing, selling and the things-in-common touch

People are more likely to buy things from a salesman if they feel they have something in common with him. In one study researchers from the University of British Columbia and the INSEAD business school in Singapore found that people were more likely to enjoy a fitness programme and buy personal-training sessions from a personal trainer if they shared a birthday with him. In another study people who found that they were born in the same place as their dentist were happier with their care and more likely to book another appointment with the same clinic. Sociable people were more likely to be influenced by this effect than less-sociable ones.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720163749.htm

HIV, alcohol and memory

More than half of people infected with the HIV virus say that they also drink heavily. Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine looked into the effects of these factors on people's memory and fount that HIV and heavy drinking combined had a greater negative effect than either did separately. They studied 164 people; 40 of them had HIV, 38 had chronic alcoholism, 47 had HIV and chronic alcoholism and 39 were neither alcoholic nor HIV positive. Those participant who were both alcoholic and HIV positive had more trouble in learning new information and although their working memory was fine their episodic (autobiographical) memory was impaired. Episodic memory is linked to a part of the brain called the medial temporal lobe which is affected by both HIV and alcohol abuse.

You can read more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090723175425.htm

Survey highlights Alzheimer's ignorance

An online survey of 690 adults by researchers at the University of Connecticut has revealed surprising ignorance about the links between unhealthy lifestyles and Alzheimer's disease. 64% of the sample said that there was no link between obesity and high blood pressure and Alzheimer's, 66% did not know that high levels of stress are a risk factor and 34% did not know that physical exercise could protect against developing Alzheimer's.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090713085003.htm

New Horizons

The U.K. Government has launched its New Horizons consultation paper on the way forward for mental-health services in the U.K. over the next 10 years. The strategy's aims and objectives are that, in ten years time

• Most adults will understand the importance of good mental health and the steps they can take to look after themselves
• Children will be taught about mental well-being in school
• Lifestyle services and psychological treatments will be widely available
• Innovative technologies will be used to promote independence and effective treatment
• People with mental health problems will receive individual care packages and will be able to make decisions about their treatment and recovery plan, as well as monitoring their own condition
• Public services will recognise the importance of services and amenities that maximise the independence of older people
• Inequalities for black and minority ethnic groups, in terms of access to and experience of mental health care, will have disappeared
• The stigma associated with mental health will have declined.
• People will know more about mental health problems and understand that they can happen to anyone
• Everyone will have access to high quality care
• People with mental illness will no longer be at greater risk of health problems such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes
• The association between poverty and mental/physical health will be better understood and addressed.

You can download a copy of the New Horizons report at

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_103144

Improving attention in stroke victims

People who have had strokes often have difficulty concentrating. More than half of all stroke victims have this problem which can lead to falls and injuries. Researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand wanted to see if a training programme already used in people with traumatic brain injuries could help. The programme called Attention Process Training involves a psychologist guiding patients through a mental workout in which they practice sustaining their attention and focusing on more than one thing at a time. The researchers studied 78 stroke patients, half of whom got regular rehab and half of whom received 14 hours of Attention Process Training. Those who received the training did better on tests of attention and the training was found to have a "highly positive effect."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE56M6R220090723?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Genes, violence and learning disabilities

Between fifteen and twenty per cent of people with learning disabilities have behaviour problems. Researchers from Vanderbilt University in Tennesee have been looking at how genetics might play a part in this. They looked at a gene linked to a substance called monoamine oxidize A (MAOA) which in turn regulates the neurotransmitters serotonin (linked to appetite and mood) and norepinephrine (linked to the 'fight-or-flight' response). Previous studies have linked a variation in this gene to violent behaviour. The researchers studied 105 men between the ages of 18 and 50. Some had learning disabilities and a history of violent behaviour, others had learning disabilities but no history of violent behaviour while the remainder formed a control group of men with no learning disabilities and no history of violence. The researchers found that 43% of those with learning disabilities and a violent past had the gene variation compared to only 20% of the other two groups.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721122855.htm

Closeness, caring and cognition

People with Alzheimer's who have a close relationship with their caregivers - particularly if they are married to them - may decline less quickly than people whose relationship with their caregiver is not so close. There has been a lot of research on how looking after someone with Alzheimer's can affect caregivers but less research on how relationships with caregivers can affect the progression of the disease. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Utah State University studied 167 pairs of caregivers and Alzheimer's sufferers in Utah. They measured the physical, cognitive, functional and behavioural health of the Alzheimer's patients and interviewed their caregivers to assess the closeness of the relationship. At the start of the study all the patients scored similarly on the cognitive and functional tests. However, as time went on the participants whose caregivers remained particularly close to them retained more of their cognitive function - an effect that was particularly marked where the caregiver was a spouse and which was as marked as the effect of certain anti-Alzheimer's drugs. However, Constantine Lyketsos who worked on the study said that it might be the case that those people with milder symptoms stayed closer to their caregivers, rather than that the closeness of the relationship affected people's symptoms. The next step is to do more long-term research to see which of these alternatives is true.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722191219.htm

Autism and bowel problems

Some research has linked autism to bowel problems. Researchers at the Centre for Child and Adolescent Health in Bristol studied 78 children with autism and compared them to 12,906 unaffected children. Over the first 3.5 years of life there were no major differences between the groups in stool colour and consistency, diaorrhea and constipation, and stomach pain. Some of the autistic children had more stools per day at 30 months but the researchers thought that this "may be a secondary phenomenon related to differences in diet." The researchers also noted that some of the older children with autism did have bowel problems. Dr Alan Emonds who led the research said "it is not clear whether these symptoms are due to dietary changes or abnormalities in intestinal function associated with autism."

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE56L6OS20090722?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Lifestyle and Alzheimer's : latest research from the Alzheimer's Association conference

Four studies from the Alzheimer's Association conference in Vienna shed more light on the links between diet and exercise, and Alzheimer's disease. The first looked at the effects of a diet designed to help people with high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for Alzheimer's. The study, carried out by researchers at Utah State University, looked into the links between how closely people followed the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and their risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Over the course of an 11-year study of 3,831 people they found that those who stuck most closely to the DASH diet had better cognition. Four types of food - vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and nuts/legumes - were particularly associated with higher scores for cognition over the course of the study

A second study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco looked at the links between physical activity and cognition in 3,075 people aged between 70-79. It found that those participants who were more physically active had better cognition and that people who were sedentary at the start of the 7-year study but who then took more exercise showed an improvement in cognitive function.

A third study looked into the links between activity levels and cognition in women who had just been through the menopause. Researchers from the University of Toronto studied 90 women between the ages of 50 and 63. After adjusting for factors such as age, education, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption they found that while moderate exercise was associated with improved cognitive function long-term strenuous exercise was associated with a decline in cognitive function. This could be because strenuous exercise reduces levels of ovarian hormones; something associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer but an increased risk of cognitive impairment.

Finally researchers at Howard University in Washington, D.C. looked at how genes affect the links between exercise and cognition. They studied 1,799 people over 60. They found that after adjusting for age, ethnicity, chronic illness, body fat and education exercise still had a significant association with improved cognitive function. However, among people with the APOE-E4 gene - which increases the risk of Alzheimer's - there was no statistically-significant association between exercise and Alzheimer's risk.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090714103519.htm

Anti-epilepsy drugs and children's IQs

Sodium valproate is an anti-epilepsy drug taken by people to control their seizures. Around 5,000 women with epilepsy become pregnant every year in the UK and antiepilepsy drugs have been linked to an increased risk of birth defects such as heart malformations, dysmorphic features and minor limb deformities. Researchers from Liverpool University, Emory University in the U.S. and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust tested more than 300 3-year-olds whose mothers had taken anti-epilepsy drugs. They found that those women who took sodium valproate while they were pregnant had children with IQs six to nine points lower than those women taking other anti-epilepsy drugs. The researchers stressed that although anti-epilepsy drugs carry a slightly-increased risk of birth defects the risk is still very small and less than the risks to mothers and children from uncontrolled seizures. They advised women concerned about their anti-epilepsy medication to contact their GP before stopping taking the drugs.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721090224.htm

MT+ and 3D vision

Researchers at the University of Texas, in Austin, have been looking into the way the brain deals with 3D motion. They studied people watching 3D visualizations while lying motionless for 1-2 hours in an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner. They found that the images were processed in parts of the brain just behind the left and right ears called MT+. The area had been thought to be only responsible for 2D motion (up and down, left and right). Because the view from one's left and right eyes is different the brain can use the disparity in these images over time to calculate movement; processing which comes together in the MT+ region.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721091831.htm

Spinal tap and diagnosing Alzheimer's

Researchers devote a lot of time to finding ways of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease early; something that allows for prompt treatment to slow down the effects of the disease. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg have been looking at the levels of three proteins, associated with Alzheimer's disease, in the cerebrospinal fluid. They studied 750 people with mild cognitive impairment, 529 with Alzheimer's and 304 healthy people. The people with cognitive impairment were monitored for two years to see whether they went on to develop Alzheimer's. The scientists found that the three proteins (or levels thereof) accurately identified 62% of those who would go on to develop Alzheimer's and were 88% accurate at ruling it out; an accuracy level insufficient for use as a diagnostic tool.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE56K5Z520090721?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true

Social support, terrorism and depression

Teenagers who live in areas affected by terrorism can often become depressed. Researchers from Ben-Gurion University in Israel studied teenagers who had been indirectly affected by a suicide bombing. None of them had directly witnessed the bombing but some had heard it, others knew people who had suffered physical or emotional damage, or had seen media reports of the attack. Before the bombing the teenagers had already completed a questionnaire as part of another study and the researchers were able to use this data to see which factors existing before the bombing helped to prevent depression after it. The researchers found that the more socially happy the adolescents were before the bombing the less depressed they became afterwards.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720134554.htm

Immunotherapy and Alzheimer's

Immunotherapy is the addition of good antibodies into the bloodstream with the intention of boosting the body's defences. It is used as a treatment for immune deficiencies, leukaemia and other types of cancer, anaemia and other diseases. The therapy is thought to have an indirect effect on Alzheimer's disease by targeting beta-amyloid, a protein which forms plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York looked at the medical records of 847 people given at least one treatment of IVIg (intravenous immunoglobulin) and of 84,700 people not given the treatment over a four-year period. They found that those participants who had received IVIg had a 42% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than those who had not received IVIg. Only 2.8% of those who had had IVIg developed Alzheimer's compared to 4.8% of those not treated.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720163536.htm

13th biennial Mental Health Act Commission report

In the U.K. the Mental Health Act Commission's 13th biennial report has now been published. The report claims that staff looking after people detained under the Mental Health Act are putting them at risk because they lack proper training in restraint methods. The report calls for an accredited training programme on restraint, something first recommended in 1998 after the death - following restraint - of service user David 'Rocky' Bennett. The report also says that staff need further training in observing patients at risk of sucide and self-harm; nearly 40% of suicides on wards between 2001-2008 occured while patients were under continuous or frequent observation. The report found that 80 under 18s were admitted to adult mental-health units between October 2008 and February 2009, four of whom were under 15. The report also looked at community treatment orders. It found that they were placing a strain on mental health services and that ethnic minorities were over-represented among people subject to the orders.

You can download the full report at

http://www.cqc.org.uk/_db/_documents/MHAC_Biennial_Report_0709_final.pdf