Life Changes
Healing Through Storytelling: Lessons from The Odyssey
The journey of Odysseus in Homer's 'The Odyssey' offers profound insights into healing...
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- Written by: Lyndsey Collins-Praino, University of Adelaide
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after dementia, affecting more than ten million people worldwide. In Australia alone, more than 70,000 people have the disease – that’s one in every 340 Australians.
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- Written by: David Hill, University at Buffalo
Postmenopausal women at the highest genetic risk for fractures benefit the most from hormone therapy, research shows.
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- Written by: Mike Williams, Rice University
A set of snap-together glasses will help doctors demonstrate the effects of diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that can result from uncontrolled diabetes and lead to blindness.
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- Written by: Kara Gavin, University of Michigan
Gut bacteria could influence whether or not babies survive infections of the digestive system, new research with mice suggests.
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- Written by: Julia Evangelou Strait, Washington University in St. Louis
As people with hearing loss work to improve their speech recognition, a familiar voice may work better than a generic one, research shows.
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- Written by: University of Michigan
A small number of people—about 6 percent—who had not been taking opioids before an operation, but got them to ease post-surgery pain, are still taking painkillers three to six months later. That’s long after what is considered normal for surgical recovery.
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- Written by: Sandra Knispel, University of Rochester
People with symptoms of depression may not feel like socializing, but doing something fun with friends can improve mood, a new study shows.
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- Written by: National University of Singapore
A recent study reveals that drinking tea can significantly lower the risk of cognitive impairment, with a 50% reduction overall and up to 86% for older adults at genetic risk for Alzheimer's. This simple lifestyle change may offer a promising avenue for dementia prevention as current pharmacological treatments remain inadequate.
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- Written by: Robin Reese, Emory University
Specific patterns of activity on brain scans may help clinicians identify whether psychotherapy or antidepressant medication is more likely to help a patient recover from depression.
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- Written by: Lisa Chedekel, Boston University
Continuing or initiating cigarette use after stopping the use of illicit drugs is linked to an increased likelihood of substance use relapse, research shows.
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- Written by: David Hill, University at Buffalo
Gum disease and tooth loss may be associated with a higher risk of death among postmenopausal women, according to a new study.
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- Written by: David Orenstein, Brown University
A blood test that helps screen for prostate cancer is still common, but conversations between patients and doctors about the pros and cons of the screening are not.
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- Written by: Mike Williams, Rice University
People who feel lonely are likely to think their cold symptoms are more severe than those who have strong friendships and social networks.
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- Written by: Susan Kelley, Cornell University
Older adults who have fallen for scams by friends, relatives, or strangers behave just as their peers who have avoided rip-offs do
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- Written by: Tom Hughes,University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Food scarcity and poor oral health are the major causes that lead older adults suffering from malnutrition
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- Written by: Ziba Kashef, Yale University
Too few older adults make end-of-life medical decisions ahead of time—and even when they do identify a loved one to make decisions for them, their wishes may remain unclear.
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- Written by: Marcelle Pick, MSN, OB/GYN NP
The first person to identify the effects of chronic stress was Hungarian scientist Hans Selye. From Selye’s point of view, stress itself was neither good nor bad—it was simply challenging. He believed that without any stress at all, life would be pretty boring...
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- Written by: Nicola Jones, University of Warwick
Scientists say removing ovaries during a hysterectomy could increase a woman’s risk for heart disease, cancer, and premature death.
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- Written by: Gillian Kiley, Brown University
Public understanding of the needs of military veterans has focused largely post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, suicide rates, and poor conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
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- Written by: Julia Short, Cardiff University
Estimates suggest that patients receive topical antibiotics for 40 percent of eczema flares, but a new study suggests there is no meaningful benefit from the use of either oral or topical antibiotics for children who are clinically infected with the condition.
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- Written by: Leslie Orr, University of Rochester
Exercise and/or psychological therapy work better than medications to reduce cancer-related fatigue and should be recommended first to patients, say researchers.
