Skip to main content

Decoding Schizophrenia

Scientific American provides an overview of schizophrenia incorporating the most recent discoveries in brain imaging and in neurobiology. The hope is that increased understanding of how signalling works in the brain will improve pharmacotherapy options.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The Disability Gulag NY Times magazine features a superb first person account by a lawyer who also just happens to have a physical disability. Harriet McBryde Johnson's article falls in the required reading category. What she calls "The Gulag" has relevance for all of us. It's difficult to think about these things, but most of us have parents who will age, not to mention that we all will age one day.
Read more
New Treatment for Wounds In the Hartford Courant, Hilary Waldman reports on a new paradigm for wound treatment pioneered by Dr. Kenneth Dobuler at the Comprehensive Wound Healing Center at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticutt. What's new is the use of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on intransigent cases. Routine use of Betadine and hydrogen peroxide may not be the state of the art treatment, the reason being this kills healthy tissue. Rather, use of moisturized bandages is emphasized. This article reports on a new skin treatment for non healing wounds related to lupus. But read the article to find out the details.
Read more

Does drinking water improve brain power?

Passing along this blog post about a new study suggesting an association between drinking water and an increase in performance in elementary school kids. Caroline Edmonds and Ben Jeffes of the University of East London examined whether drinking water improves performance in 6 to 7 year old children. The differences between the water and no water groups were significant, according to a paper that's been accepted for publication in the journal Appetite. They found that "even under conditions of mild dehydration, not as a result of exercise, intentional water deprivation or heat exposure" their test subjects' "cognitive performance can be improved by having a drink of water." I would offer caution about extrapolating this into an endorsement for drinking mega amounts of water. Please don't! But I think it makes sense to see this as reminder to be mindful of your body and to be aware when you are mildly dehydrated.
Read more