Growing public fascination with “magic” psilocybin mushrooms as a trendy treatment for depression had led to increased interest in another type of psychedelic mushroom, a new study reports. Unfortunately, this second sort of shroom — known as Amanita muscaria — can be more toxic than fentanyl, cocaine and PCP, researchers say. Marketing the two types of mushrooms as essentially the same is not only wrong, but potentially dangerous, said senior researcher Eric Leas, an assistant professor in the University of California, San Diego’s Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science. “Companies who are making these products are pushing the limits of our regulations. They are getting away with making a buck until someone tells them they can’t,” Leas said in a university news release. “Given the substantial risks associated with using Amanita muscaria products, it is a buyer-beware marketplace where consumers are at risk and are not accurately informed,” Leas added. “The time for a public health first response is now.” Google searches for Amanita muscaria mushrooms skyrocketed 114% between 2022 and 2023, researchers reported June 10 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Gummies and chocolates containing compounds derived from Amanita muscaria mushrooms — muscimol and ibotenic acid — are being marketed as aids to reduce anxiety, depression and other conditions, researchers say.  Amanita muscaria mushrooms have psychedelic effects similar to…  read on >  read on >

Depression and memory declines may be closely linked in older people, new research suggests. “Our study shows that the relationship between depression and poor memory cuts both ways, with depressive symptoms preceding memory decline and memory decline linked to subsequent depressive symptoms,” said senior study author Dr. Dorina Cadar, of University College London. The study suggests that effective depression treatment could help preserve memory function with age, she added in a university news release. The new findings come from an analysis of data from the ongoing English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, where people are tracked by questionnaires every two years. In this sample, 16 years of data were collected from nearly 8,300 adults averaging 64 years of age. In contrast to the finding that memory and depression were closely intertwined, the research did not show a strong relationship between depression and another marker of brain health, verbal fluency. Cadar, who is a research fellow in dementia at UCL, said it’s not surprising that battles with depression could affect memory over time. “Depression can cause changes in brain structures, such as the hippocampus, which is critical for memory formation and retrieval,” she explained. “Chronic stress and high levels of [the stress hormone] cortisol associated with depression can damage neurons in these areas.” The researchers also believe that depression upsets the balance of serotonin and dopamine in…  read on >  read on >

Winston Churchill once said, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” It’s one of countless platitudes claiming that failure leads to success. But there’s strong evidence that such a notion is wrongheaded and can lead to terrible real-world consequences, researchers said in a new report. In fact, many people do not learn from their failures, and it’s folly to expect otherwise, according to findings published June 10 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. “People often confuse what is with what ought to be,” lead researcher Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, an assistant professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University, said in a news release. “People ought to pay attention and learn from failure, but often they don’t because failure is demotivating and ego-threatening.” A series of 11 experiments involving more than 1,800 participants found that people often don’t gain wisdom from failure, and that expecting them to do so can have potentially terrible consequences: People vastly overestimated the percentage of prospective nurses, lawyers and teachers who pass licensing exams after previously failing them. Nurses tended to overestimate how much colleagues would learn from a past error. People assumed that heart patients would embrace a healthier lifestyle, when many don’t. “People expect success to follow failure much more often than it actually does,” Eskreis-Winkler said. “People usually assume that past behavior predicts…  read on >  read on >

Lung cancer patients who underwent screening were more apt to be diagnosed at earlier stages and have better outcomes than patients who were not screened, new research shows. The findings — from a study of close to 58,000 patients diagnosed through the U.S. Veterans Health Administration — underscore the importance of early detection through screening.  Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer worldwide. Current recommendations urge annual screening for 50- to 80-year-olds with a history of smoking a pack a day or more for the last 20 years or two packs a day for the last 10. Clinical trials have shown screening with computed tomography (CT) scans to be beneficial, but real-world data have been scarce. This study of U.S. veterans gauged the impact of screening prior to a lung cancer diagnosis. Researchers found that patients who were screened had higher rates of early stage cancer diagnoses than those who were not screened — 52% versus 27%.  Over five years, they also had lower rates of premature death from any cause (49.8% versus 72.1%) as well as death from cancer (41% versus 70.3%). “It is incredible to witness how dedicated national efforts to increase lung cancer screening from the Lung Precision Oncology Program can lead to substantial improvements in lung cancer outcomes,” said co-author Dr. Michael Green of the University of Michigan and the…  read on >  read on >

Only a fraction of Americans are getting recommended lung cancer screenings, new research shows. While rates overall are up slightly, fewer than 1 in 5 people who are eligible for screening are up-to-date with it, according to the American Cancer Society-led study.  The society and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend a yearly computed tomography (CT) scan for people who are at high risk for lung cancer. Those include current smokers between the ages of 50 and 80 as well as those who quit less than 15 years ago. “We, clearly, still have a long way to go,” said Priti Bandi, scientific director of cancer risk factors and screening surveillance research at the American Cancer Society (ACS). She said screening is critical because lung cancer often has no symptoms in the early stages. “When diagnosed and treated early, survival is markedly improved,” Bandi added in an ACS news release. For the study, researchers analyzed data from close to 26,000 Americans who were eligible for lung cancer screening. More than 61% were smokers, 54% were men and 64% were over 60. Nearly 8 in 10 were white people. Overall, 18% had been screened for lung cancer. Rates varied from state to state, with lower rates in the South, where seven states have not expanded eligibility for Medicaid. Screening rates rose with age — from 6.7%…  read on >  read on >