http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Could the impact of chronic stress explain why American black girls are more likely to be overweight than white girls? According to Dr. Tomiyama of the University of California, Los Angeles in the U.S., and her colleagues, higher levels of stress over 10 years predict greater increases in body weight over time in both black and white girls. However, the experience of chronic stress appears to have a greater negative effect on black girls' weight, which may explain racial disparities in obesity levels. The work is published online in Springer's journal, Annals of Behavioral Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-weight-gain-stressed-black-girls.html Health Wed, 19 Sep 2012 12:06:21 EST news267275175 Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a potential medical treatment for the cognitive effects of stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, conducted in a PTSD mouse model, shows that an experimental drug called S107, one of a new class of small-molecule compounds called Rycals, prevented learning and memory deficits associated with stress-related disorders. The findings were published today in the online edition of Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-potential-treatment-cognitive-effects-stress-related.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 30 Aug 2012 12:00:05 EST news265546491 [Is psycho-physical stress a risk factor for stroke? A case-control study Online First doi 10.1136/jnnp-2012-302420] http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-chronic-stress-linked-high.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:30:04 EST news265479490 Depression takes a substantial toll on brain health. Brain imaging and post-mortem studies provide evidence that the wealth of connections in the brain are reduced in individuals with depression, with the result of impaired functional connections between key brain centers involved in mood regulation. Glial cells are one of the cell types that appear to be particularly reduced when analyzing post-mortem brain tissue from people who had depression. Glial cells support the growth and function of nerve cells and their connections. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-brain-growth-depression.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 15 Aug 2012 11:11:52 EST news264247905 Major depression or chronic stress can cause the loss of brain volume, a condition that contributes to both emotional and cognitive impairment. Now a team of researchers led by Yale scientists has discovered one reason why this occurs — a single genetic switch that triggers loss of brain connections in humans and depression in animal models. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-stress-depression-brain.html Psychology & Psychiatry Sun, 12 Aug 2012 13:00:24 EST news263813511 (Medical Xpress) -- Childhood adversity is linked to chronic stress in adolescence, setting the stage for a host of physical and mental health problems, finds a new Cornell study published online in July in Psychological Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-teens-chronic-stress-linked-poverty.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 10 Aug 2012 05:07:55 EST news263794056 (Medical Xpress) -- Such behavior problems in adolescence as aggression and delinquency are linked to chronic stress in early childhood, which interferes with children's development of self-control, reports a Cornell study published online in April in Developmental Psychology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-teen-behavior-problems-linked-childhood.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:40:19 EST news263536802 Six months ago, researchers at UCLA published a study that showed using a specific type of yoga to engage in a brief, simple daily meditation reduced the stress levels of people who care for those stricken by Alzheimer's and dementia. Now they know why. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-yoga-stress.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:27:29 EST news262362442 Caregivers of stroke survivors are at risk for developing depression and complications from chronic stress, according to a study published by researchers at the Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON) in the latest issue of Biological Research for Nursing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-caregivers-depression.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:30:58 EST news262006251 (Medical Xpress) -- Research teams from the US and Korea have together been studying depression and other mood disorders and have found that chronic stress can block a gene whose job it is to maintain healthy neuron connections in the brain, which in turn can lead to mental ailments. In lab experiments they have found that rats show lowered levels of neuritin gene activity when driven to depression, and that rats with depression tended to do better when given treatment that boosted neuritin activity, suggesting that another means of treating people with mood disorders might be on the horizon. The team has published a paper describing their experiments and results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-link-neuritin-gene-stress-depression.html Neuroscience Wed, 27 Jun 2012 06:40:01 EST news259996077 Chronic stress is being investigated in a new Alzheimer's Society funded research project as a risk factor for developing dementia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-stress-link-alzheimer-spotlight.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 26 Jun 2012 02:02:27 EST news259894936 A study spearheaded by a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist has tracked the trajectories of key immune cells in response to short-term stress and traced, in great detail, how hormones triggered by such stress enhance immune readiness. The study, conducted in rats, adds weight to evidence that immune responsiveness is heightened, rather than suppressed as many believe, by the so-called "fight-or-flight" response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-stress-boost-immune.html Immunology Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:00:01 EST news259518484 Even when brain injury is so subtle that it can only be detected by an ultra-sensitive imaging test, the injury might predispose soldiers in combat to post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-links-ptsd-hidden-injuries-combat.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:26:28 EST news258215181 Repeated stress triggers the production and accumulation of insoluble tau protein aggregates inside the brain cells of mice, say researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in a new study published in the March 26 Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-chronic-stress-spawns-protein-aggregates.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:00:11 EST news251981811 Chronic stress has a more powerful effect on the brain during adolescence than in adulthood and now there's proof at the molecular level, according to findings published in Neuron by University at Buffalo researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-chronic-stress-adolescence-molecular.html Neuroscience Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:29:57 EST news250345777 If stress is giving you high blood pressure, blame the immune system. T cells, helpful for fighting infections, are also necessary for mice to show an increase in blood pressure after a period of psychological stress, scientists have found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-stress-blood-pressure-blame-immune.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:12:24 EST news250161129 The ability to anticipate future events allows us to plan and exert control over our lives, but it may also contribute to stress-related increased risk for the diseases of aging, according to a study by UCSF researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-stressful-situations-cellular-aging.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:11:15 EST news249063064 Stress has numerous detrimental effects on the human body. Many of these effects are acutely felt by the sufferer, but many more go 'unseen', one of which is shortening of telomere length. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-depression-contribute-aging.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:23:20 EST news249045788 Acupuncture significantly reduces levels of a protein in rats linked to chronic stress, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have found. They say their animal study may help explain the sense of well-being that many people receive from this ancient Chinese therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-acupuncture-protein-linked-stress-kind.html Medical research Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:09:34 EST news243533344 (Medical Xpress) -- A new study indicates that many humans might be “self-medicating” when faced with chronic stress, by eating more comfort foods containing sugar and fat. In the long term, the habit may dampen down the body’s stress response, governed by the hormone cortisol, according to UCSF researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-comfort-food-self-medication-stress-dialing.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 08 Dec 2011 07:50:02 EST news242551619 (Medical Xpress) -- A nurse refuses to help an ailing alcoholic who is upset to find a hospital detox unit closed. A hospital clerk brushes off a deceased woman's grieving family as they try to pay her bills and claim her belongings. A charge nurse keeps the mother of a gunshot victim from seeing her son, saying the emergency room is "too busy." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-empathy-fatigue-workplace.html Health Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:00:02 EST news242465862 (Medical Xpress) -- One of the first studies to examine, in animals, how depression in fathers may impact their offspring will be presented by the study's researchers from the University at Buffalo and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine at 10 a.m. on Nov. 16 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-depressed-fathers-depression-offspring-behavioral.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:26:10 EST news240737164 (Medical Xpress) -- Chronic stress in childhood can hurt children and teens physically, mentally and emotionally. However, having a sensitive, responsive mother can reduce at least one of these harmful effects, reports a new Cornell study. It shows that such moms can help buffer the effects of chronic stress on teens' working memories. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-mom-buffer-effects-stress-teen.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:45:47 EST news239348678 In the best of circumstances, raising a toddler is a daunting undertaking. But parents under long-term stress often find it particularly challenging to tap into the patience, responsiveness, and energy required for effective child rearing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-chronic-stress-short-circuits-parenting.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:35:26 EST news237036912 It's a common belief that there's a link between chronic stress and an increased risk of cancer. In new research published online by the International Journal of Cancer, scientists at The University of Western Ontario have taken a step toward confirming that belief. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-stress-breast-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:04:00 EST news235738987 Does Dad's stress affect his unborn children? According to the results of a new study in Elsevier's Biological Psychiatry, it seems the answer may be "yes, but it's complicated". http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-stressed-dad-depressed-children-paternal.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:26:37 EST news234001588 A higher proportion of female nurses among intensive care teams may decrease individuals' risk of professional burnout, according to Swiss researchers who studied the factors related to burnout in the high-stress setting of the intensive care unit (ICU). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-importance-team-composition-icus.html Health Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:40:22 EST news233314787 For years, researchers have published papers that associate chronic stress with chromosomal damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-stress-dna.html Medical research Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:01:07 EST news233149852 Chronic stress has long been linked with neurodegeneration. Scientists at USC now think they may know why. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-scientists-uncover-mechanism-chronic-stress.html Neuroscience Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:40:09 EST news228562790 We are one step closer to deciphering why some stressed people indulge in chocolate, mashed potatoes, ice cream and other high-calorie, high-fat comfort foods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-ghrelin-involved-comfort-foods-stressed.html Medical research Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:16:32 EST news228053779