http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Local chemical signals released by fat cells in the mammary gland appear to provide a crucial link between exposure to unrelenting social stressors early in life, and the subsequent development of breast cancer, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the July 2013 issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-fat-cells-breast-social-stress.html Cancer Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:22:04 EST news290780516 Depression is the leading cause of disability with more than 350 million people globally affected by this disease. In addition to debilitating consequences on mental health, depression predisposes an individual to physiological disease such as heart disease, and conversely heart disease increases the risk of depression. According to the World Health Organization by the year 2020 heart disease and depression will be the number one and number two leading causes of disability in developed countries. While the co-occurrence of these disorders is well recognized, an understanding of the underlying mechanisms that lead to this relationship are lacking. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-social-stress-inflamed-brain.html Psychology & Psychiatry Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:00:01 EST news285788608 Fear of public speaking tops death and spiders as the nation's number one phobia. But new research shows that learning to rethink the way we view our shaky hands, pounding heart, and sweaty palms can help people perform better both mentally and physically. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-reframing-stress-stage-fright-friend.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:06:49 EST news284699182 (Medical Xpress)—Before examinations and in critical situations, we need to be particularly receptive and capable of learning. However, acute exam stress and stage fright causes learning blockades and reduced memory function. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have now discovered a mechanism responsible for these cognitive deficits, which functions independently of stress hormones. In animal studies, the researchers show that social stress reduces the volume of Homer-1 in the hippocampus – a region of the brain that plays a central role in learning. This specific protein deficiency leads to altered neuronal activity followed by deterioration in the animals' learning performance. In the experiments, it was possible to prevent the cognitive deficit by administering additional volumes of the protein to the mice. This suggests that Homer-1 could provide a key molecule for the development of drugs for the treatment of stress-induced cognitive deficits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-homer-stress-induced-cognitive-deficits-lack.html Neuroscience Thu, 28 Feb 2013 07:48:10 EST news281260079 Your risk of dying from a heart attack may increase after your adult sibling dies, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-heart-death-adult-sibling.html Cardiology Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:00:02 EST news281193363 Children who overreact to stressors may be at risk of becoming overweight or obese, according to researchers at Penn State and Johns Hopkins University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-poor-stress-responses-obesity-children.html Overweight and Obesity Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:20:02 EST news280146298 A specific pattern of neuronal firing in a brain reward circuit instantly rendered mice vulnerable to depression-like behavior induced by acute severe stress, a study supported by the National Institutes of Health has found. When researchers used a high-tech method to mimic the pattern, previously resilient mice instantly succumbed to a depression-like syndrome of social withdrawal and reduced pleasure-seeking – they avoided other animals and lost their sweet tooth. When the firing pattern was inhibited in vulnerable mice, they instantly became resilient. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-stress-resilience-susceptibility-neurons-reward-circuit.html Neuroscience Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:50:46 EST news274553424 Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Institute on Aging are studying how adults overcome social and economic challenges and whether it matters for their health, with a special focus on human resilience in the face of adversity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-uwmadison-human-resilience.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 28 Aug 2012 07:41:09 EST news265358460 Rather than gaining "liquid courage" to let loose with friends, teenage drinkers are more likely to feel like social outcasts, according to a new sociological study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-alcohol-abuse-effect-social-isolation.html Health Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:17:34 EST news258714938 Teens who received emotional intelligence training in school had improved scores on several measures of emotional well-being, including less anxiety, depression and social stress, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Improvements from the training lasted up to six months after the program ended. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-teens-emotions-mental-health.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:03:45 EST news254135012 A team of researchers is beginning to see exactly what the response to threats looks like in the brain at the cellular and molecular levels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-picture-threat-brain-neuroinflammation.html Neuroscience Tue, 03 May 2011 11:27:11 EST news223640808