In what is believed to be the first study of its kind to examine the relationship between pre-existing depression (with and without anxiety) and the amount of time to diagnostically resolve an abnormal mammogram and/or Pap test, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found suffering from depression was not associated with a prolonged time to diagnostic resolution in a vulnerable p ...

This study suggests an innovative psychological treatment called 'concreteness training' can reduce depression in just two months and could work as a self-help therapy for depression in primary care. Led by the University of Exeter and funded by the Medical Research Council, the research shows how this new treatment could help some of the 3.5 million people in the UK living with depression. ...

As we get older, our cognitive abilities change, improving when we're younger and declining as we age. Scientists posit a hierarchical structure within which these abilities are organized. There's the "lowest" level -- measured by specific tests, such as story memory or word memory; the second level, which groups various skills involved in a category of cognitive ability, such as memory, perceptual speed, o ...

Using advanced imaging techniques and cognitive tests, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, have shown that repeatedly heading a soccer ball increases the risk for brain injury and cognitive impairment. The imaging portion of the findings was presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Soci ...

Nicotine replacement therapy and smoking cessation intervention programs are associated with positive outcomes among current smokers, according to two studies in the November 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. “Despite advances in clinical care and policy, rates of smoking cessation have held constant in the past decade, indicating a need for novel approaches,” the ...

Experienced meditators seem to be able switch off areas of the brain associated with daydreaming, as well as psychiatric disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, according to a new brain imaging study by Yale researchers. Meditation's ability to help people stay focused on the moment has been associated with increased happiness levels, said Judson A. Brewer, assistant professor of psychiatry and lead au ...

A survey of more than 33,000 Italian high school students reveals that both underweight and overweight teens consume 20 to 40% more illegal drugs than their normal-weight peers. The work, led by Sabrina Molinaro and Francesca Denoth of the Italian National Research Council, is reported in the Nov. 16 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. Check the end of this report for a link to download the full-text arti ...

The lack of evidence on multivitamin health benefits is no impediment to their widespread popularity, with over half the U.S. population popping such pills. This translates into a $27 billion industry, which lures consumers with the illusory promise of better health. But shocking new research suggests taking multivitamins might have the opposite effect - not simply on the metabolic level, but on a metaphysi ...

Images of prisoners’ brains show important differences between those who are diagnosed as psychopaths and those who aren’t, according to a new study led by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers. The results could help explain the callous and impulsive anti-social behavior exhibited by some psychopaths. ...

Long-term coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk for endometrial cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, said coffee is emerging as a protective agent in cancers that are link ...