Suppression of slow-wave sleep in healthy young adults significantly decreases their ability to regulate blood-sugar levels and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. This study found that after only three nights of selective slow-wave sleep suppression, young healthy subjects became less sensitive to insulin.
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Drugs that treat depression and schizophrenia might not be triggering the most appropriate response in brain cells, new research suggests. This study examined the early chemical events that happen when a particular serotonin receptor on brain cells is stimulated by serotonin and by a hallucinogenic agent thought to mimic serotonin. The findings show that although both compounds activate this receptor, they trigger different chemical pathways inside the cell.
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Doctors treating life-threatening emergencies such as allergy attacks may give the wrong dosage of adrenaline (epinephrine) because of confusing labeling. The amount of adrenaline contained in an ampoule is usually expressed as both a dose and a ratio on the label. The ratio requires doing arithmetic to figure out how much drug to give.
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For many, religious activity changes between childhood and adulthood, and a new study finds this could affect one’s mental health. Women who had stopped being religiously active were more than three times more likely to have suffered generalized anxiety and alcohol abuse/dependence than women who reported always having been active. Conversely, men who stopped being religiously active were less likely to suffer major depression when compared to men who had always been religiously active.
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Here’s a novel idea for unwinding after a stressful day at the office: find a happy marriage. That’s the suggestion from a new study that tracked levels of cortisol, a key stress hormone, among 30 Los Angeles married couples involved in one of our age’s trickiest juggling acts — raising kids when both parents work full time.
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A morning gargle could someday be more than a breath freshener — it could spot head and neck cancer, say scientists. Their new study of a mouth rinse that captures genetic signatures common to the disease holds promise for screening those at high risk, including heavy smokers and alcohol drinkers.
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A three-drug cocktail may one day improve outcomes in patients with glioblastoma multiforme, a scientists are working on the third — all targeted to kill or impair cancer cells and spare healthy brain.
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The duration of a child’s sleep can vary, depending on the time of day, week and year. Further, children who don’t get enough nightly sleep are more likely to be overweight and have behavioral problems.
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Bad dreams in preschoolers are less prevalent than thought. However, when they do exist, nightmares are trait-like in nature and associated with personality characteristics measured as early as five months.
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Catathrenia, or sleep related groaning, is an uncommon feature of a sleep-related breathing disorder that can be successfully treated with continuous positive airway pressure.
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