Sleep and Health Journal

By Dina Golbin, RPSGT, Med Stud 2.

We got used to thinking that disorders are always bad, they are our enemies, and we should always fight against them. But there are more and more data that some disorders are not so bad. They could actually be helpful sometimes. Recall, for example, vaccinations. They are artificially induced infections that could prevent a few "big" diseases. It might also be true for other medical symptoms.

Since Charles Darwin's book in 1872 about emotional expressions in humans and animals, genetic foundation of emotional expressions was postulated, but recently this concept got a solid scientific foundation. Researchers from Haifa University (Israel) analyzed mimic expressions in a young man who was blind from his birth and in a few dozen of his relatives. Observations were performed under the controlled conditions and followed spontaneous expressions during the carefully prepared surprised events.

Laboratory findings have suggested that oxidative stress may contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Research results published in the August issue of Nature appear to show that the human brain has a remarkable capacity to modulate bad memories. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, found that the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) plays an important role in diminishing aversive memories.

Researchers have found that having a spouse who is hospitalized for a serious illness increases a partner’s risk of death. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2006;354:719-730) and sponsored by NIH’s National Institute on Aging, the study of half a million couples of older than 65, conducted from 1993 to 2001, was the first to measure a link between a spouse’s hospitalization and increased mortality.

When craving for chocolate sometimes feels like it is coming from deep in your gut, that's because maybe it is.

A comment by Alex Volf, MD

Recently, I came across of an interesting article “Reinvention at any Age” by Marsha A. Temlock, a freelance writer. The article raised the vitally important issue of to be or not to be competitive. I remember my 13 old daughter replied to my comments to study hard – she stated that her school teaches children to take things easy, to be like every one, do not be weirdly (meaning to be a too good student), etc Fortunately, later on she changed her view and became a competitive learner.

For a lot of people, Labor Day means two things:
A day off and the end of summer.
But why is it called Labor Day?

Labor Day is a day set aside to pay tribute to working men and women. It has been celebrated as a national holiday in the United States and Canada since 1894. Labor Day is a United States federal holiday that takes place on the first Monday of September. Labor unions themselves celebrated the first labor days in the United States. Historians credit Peter McGuire, a leader of the carpenters union, with the original idea of a day for workers to show their solidarity. The first Labor Day parade occurred September 5, 1882, in New York City. The workers' unions chose the first Monday in September because it was halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving. The idea spread across the country, and some states designated Labor Day as a holiday before the federal holiday was created.

Jeanna Bryner
LiveScience Staff
LiveScience.com
Psychiatrists are the least religious of all physicians, a nationwide survey reveals. The study, published in the September issue of the journal Psychiatric Services, also found that religious physicians are more likely to refer patients to a clergy person than a psychiatrist or psychologist. "Something about psychiatry, perhaps its historical ties to psychoanalysis and the anti-religious views of the early analysts such as Sigmund Freud, seems to dissuade religious medical students from choosing to specialize in this field," said lead study author Farr Curlin, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.

By Mark Jacobs, RPh

Welcome to the first “Conney’s Comments”, a column addressing contemporary and possibly polarizing topics that relate to medications, either prescription or over he counter.. Our aim is to give the reader some insight in advances in medicine and therapeutics.