Category: Health

Simple test can tell if you’re stressed out

Tom Patriot

Stress is often called “the silent killer” because of its stealthy and mysterious effects on everything from heart disease to mental health. Now researchers at the University of Cincinnati have developed a new test that can easily and simply measure common stress hormones using sweat, blood, urine or saliva. Eventually, they hope to turn their ideas into a simple device that patients can use at home to monitor their health. The results were published this month in the journal American Chemical Society Sensors. “I wanted something that’s simple and easy to…

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Soy foods linked to fewer fractures in younger breast cancer survivors

Tom Patriot

A new paper in JNCI Cancer Spectrum, published by Oxford University Press, is the first study to find that diets high in soy foods are associated with a decreased risk of osteoporotic bone fractures in pre-menopausal breast cancer survivors. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States, with 1 in 8 women diagnosed with it during their lifetime. Many treatments for breast cancer can cause premature menopause and decrease bone mineral density. This leads to a higher incidence of osteoporosis-related fractures among survivors compared to…

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Why Your Blackhead Pops Up in the Same Spot

Tom Patriot

No matter how many times you wash, scrub, or begrudgingly pop (eek!) that blackhead, which has so sweetly claimed real estate across your nose, it’ll resurface weeks (maybe even days) later, as it if were an extra in The Walking Dead. What gives? Turns out, that zombie blemish isn’t as uncommon as you’d think. “It is an interesting and common occurrence to have a pimple or blackhead pop up in the same spot,” says Ava Shamban, a Los Angeles-based dermatologist. As for the cause of said alive-again blemish, well, experts aren’t really sure — but they…

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Growing up high: Neurobiological consequences of adolescent cannabis use

Tom Patriot

About one in five Canadian adolescents uses cannabis (19% of Canadians aged 15-19), and its recent legalization across the country warrants investigation into the consequence of this use on the developing brain. Adolescence is associated with the maturation of cognitive functions, such as working memory, decision-making, and impulsivity control. This is a highly vulnerable period for the development of the brain as it represents a critical period wherein a regulatory connection between higher-order regions of the cortex and emotional processing circuits deeper inside the brain are established. It is a…

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Walking and strength training may decrease the risk of dying from liver disease

Tom Patriot

Physical activity, including walking and muscle-strengthening activities, were associated with significantly reduced risk of cirrhosis-related death, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2019. Chronic liver disease is increasing, partly due to the obesity epidemic, and currently there are no guidelines for the optimal type of exercise for the prevention of cirrhosis-related mortality. Researchers hope these findings will help provide specific exercise recommendations for patients at risk for cirrhosis and its complications. “The benefit of exercise is not a new concept, but the impact of exercise on mortality…

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