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Deep Brain Stimulation Shows Promise Treating Depression

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Brain implants that deliver electric pulses can ease depression in people who aren’t responding to psychiatric drugs, a new study says. Half of a small group of people who received brain implants experienced significant improvement in their depression symptoms, researchers reported Nov. 18 in the journal Nature Communications. Further, more than one-third wound up virtually depression-free following the treatment, which is called deep brain stimulation. “Deep brain stimulation shows real promise at tackling treatment-resistant depression, which can have a huge impact on people’s lives,” senior researcher Dr. Valerie Voon, a professor of neuropsychiatry and neuromodulation at the University of Cambridge in the UK, said in a news release. Deep brain stimulation involves inserting electrodes deep into a person’s brain, where they transmit mild electrical pulses. It’s being used to treat a range of neurological conditions, most successfully among people with Parkinson’s disease, researchers said in background notes. This is one of the largest studies to show that deep stimulation of specific brain regions can treat depression, said researcher Dr. Bomin Sun, a neurosurgeon at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China. “This study not only tells us how the brain is impaired in depression, it also highlights potential of DBS for depression,” Sun said in a news release. For the new study, researchers recruited 26 patients in China with treatment-resistant depression and implanted…  read on >  read on >

Deep Brain Stimulation Shows Promise Treating Depression

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Brain implants that deliver electric pulses can ease depression in people who aren’t responding to psychiatric drugs, a new study says. Half of a small group of people who received brain implants experienced significant improvement in their depression symptoms, researchers reported Nov. 18 in the journal Nature Communications. Further, more than one-third wound up virtually depression-free following the treatment, which is called deep brain stimulation. “Deep brain stimulation shows real promise at tackling treatment-resistant depression, which can have a huge impact on people’s lives,” senior researcher Dr. Valerie Voon, a professor of neuropsychiatry and neuromodulation at the University of Cambridge in the UK, said in a news release. Deep brain stimulation involves inserting electrodes deep into a person’s brain, where they transmit mild electrical pulses. It’s being used to treat a range of neurological conditions, most successfully among people with Parkinson’s disease, researchers said in background notes. This is one of the largest studies to show that deep stimulation of specific brain regions can treat depression, said researcher Dr. Bomin Sun, a neurosurgeon at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China. “This study not only tells us how the brain is impaired in depression, it also highlights potential of DBS for depression,” Sun said in a news release. For the new study, researchers recruited 26 patients in China with treatment-resistant depression and implanted…  read on >  read on >

Morning Workouts Steal Sleep From Student Athletes, Study Finds

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Early morning practices may cost college athletes valuable zzz’s, according to a new study. Researchers at The Ohio State University analyzed more than 27,500 nights of sleep from 359 varsity athletes over a five-year period. Using wearable Oura Rings, the team tracked how practice schedules affected sleep time and sleep quality. The results were clear: Athletes slept less and slept worse when they had practices starting at or before 8 a.m. Male athletes slept about 30 minutes less, while female athletes slept about 20 minutes less the night before an early practice. They also took longer to fall asleep and had more fragmented sleep, researchers said. “The strength of our study is that we have objective data on a large sample of athletes showing the impact of early practices on sleep,” lead author Emaly Vatne, a PhD student in kinesiology at The Ohio State University in Columbus, said in a news release. The findings, published in the November issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, could help coaches better understand how practice timing affects recovery. “Coaches and others may have this intuition that early practices are not optimal for sleep, but now we have the data to quantify that,” co-author Joshua Hagen, faculty director of the Human Performance Collaborative at The Ohio State University, said in a news release. “There may be times…  read on >  read on >

Morning Workouts Steal Sleep From Student Athletes, Study Finds

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Early morning practices may cost college athletes valuable zzz’s, according to a new study. Researchers at The Ohio State University analyzed more than 27,500 nights of sleep from 359 varsity athletes over a five-year period. Using wearable Oura Rings, the team tracked how practice schedules affected sleep time and sleep quality. The results were clear: Athletes slept less and slept worse when they had practices starting at or before 8 a.m. Male athletes slept about 30 minutes less, while female athletes slept about 20 minutes less the night before an early practice. They also took longer to fall asleep and had more fragmented sleep, researchers said. “The strength of our study is that we have objective data on a large sample of athletes showing the impact of early practices on sleep,” lead author Emaly Vatne, a PhD student in kinesiology at The Ohio State University in Columbus, said in a news release. The findings, published in the November issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, could help coaches better understand how practice timing affects recovery. “Coaches and others may have this intuition that early practices are not optimal for sleep, but now we have the data to quantify that,” co-author Joshua Hagen, faculty director of the Human Performance Collaborative at The Ohio State University, said in a news release. “There may be times…  read on >  read on >

Traces Of Bacteria Found In Brain Tumors

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The brain is thought to be a sterile environment, free from germs. But unexpected deposits of bacteria have been found inside brain tumors, apparently affecting how the cancers grow and behave, a new study says.   “This work opens a new dimension in our understanding of brain tumor biology,” senior researcher Dr. Jennifer Wargo, a professor of surgical oncology and genomic medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said in a news release. “By mapping how microbial elements influence the brain tumor microenvironment, we may be able to identify new therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes for patients facing these devastating diseases,” Wargo said. For the new study, researchers analyzed 243 brain tissue samples from 221 patients. The samples included 168 from brain tumors and 75 from healthy brain tissue. Using detailed imaging, genetic sequencing and bacterial culturing, researchers unveiled the first evidence of bacteria found within brain tumors, researchers said. The bacteria were found inside both primary brain cancers as well as brain tumors that resulted from a cancer that started elsewhere in the body, results show. Bacteria had previously been found in GI cancers like colon cancer, but there’s been debate about whether such germs are present in tumors found elsewhere in the body. These bacteria appeared to be influencing the cancer’s behavior, potentially helping tumors grow and avoid detection…  read on >  read on >

Traces Of Bacteria Found In Brain Tumors

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The brain is thought to be a sterile environment, free from germs. But unexpected deposits of bacteria have been found inside brain tumors, apparently affecting how the cancers grow and behave, a new study says.   “This work opens a new dimension in our understanding of brain tumor biology,” senior researcher Dr. Jennifer Wargo, a professor of surgical oncology and genomic medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said in a news release. “By mapping how microbial elements influence the brain tumor microenvironment, we may be able to identify new therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes for patients facing these devastating diseases,” Wargo said. For the new study, researchers analyzed 243 brain tissue samples from 221 patients. The samples included 168 from brain tumors and 75 from healthy brain tissue. Using detailed imaging, genetic sequencing and bacterial culturing, researchers unveiled the first evidence of bacteria found within brain tumors, researchers said. The bacteria were found inside both primary brain cancers as well as brain tumors that resulted from a cancer that started elsewhere in the body, results show. Bacteria had previously been found in GI cancers like colon cancer, but there’s been debate about whether such germs are present in tumors found elsewhere in the body. These bacteria appeared to be influencing the cancer’s behavior, potentially helping tumors grow and avoid detection…  read on >  read on >

Cheetos & Doritos Get Dye-Free Makeover With New ‘Simply NKD’ Line

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Bright orange fingers may soon be less common for some snackers. PepsiCo announced that it will begin selling new versions of Cheetos and Doritos that contain no artificial colors or flavors. The line, called “Simply NKD,” hits store shelves Dec. 1 and includes four products: Doritos Simply NKD Nacho Cheese Doritos Simply NKD Cool Ranch Cheetos Simply NKD Puffs Cheetos Simply NKD Flamin’ Hot The company said these snacks will offer the same taste people expect, just without synthetic dyes. “We are reinventing our iconic — and most famous — brands to deliver options with the bold flavors fans know and love, now reimagined without any colors or artificial flavors,” Hernán Tantardini, CMO of PepsiCo Foods U.S., told CBS News. The change follows growing pressure from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has urged food companies to remove synthetic dyes from products sold in the United States. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked manufacturers to stop using artificial dyes voluntarily, but it has not banned them just yet. PepsiCo emphasized that NKD snacks aren’t replacing the classic versions. “NKD is an additive option, not a replacement, introduced to meet consumer demand,” Rachel Ferdinando, CEO of PepsiCo Foods U.S., told CBS News. Many existing versions of the chips contain dyes like Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red…  read on >  read on >

Cheetos & Doritos Get Dye-Free Makeover With New ‘Simply NKD’ Line

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Bright orange fingers may soon be less common for some snackers. PepsiCo announced that it will begin selling new versions of Cheetos and Doritos that contain no artificial colors or flavors. The line, called “Simply NKD,” hits store shelves Dec. 1 and includes four products: Doritos Simply NKD Nacho Cheese Doritos Simply NKD Cool Ranch Cheetos Simply NKD Puffs Cheetos Simply NKD Flamin’ Hot The company said these snacks will offer the same taste people expect, just without synthetic dyes. “We are reinventing our iconic — and most famous — brands to deliver options with the bold flavors fans know and love, now reimagined without any colors or artificial flavors,” Hernán Tantardini, CMO of PepsiCo Foods U.S., told CBS News. The change follows growing pressure from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has urged food companies to remove synthetic dyes from products sold in the United States. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked manufacturers to stop using artificial dyes voluntarily, but it has not banned them just yet. PepsiCo emphasized that NKD snacks aren’t replacing the classic versions. “NKD is an additive option, not a replacement, introduced to meet consumer demand,” Rachel Ferdinando, CEO of PepsiCo Foods U.S., told CBS News. Many existing versions of the chips contain dyes like Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red…  read on >  read on >

FDA Limits Duchenne Gene Therapy After Two Teens Die of Liver Failure

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tightening restrictions on a gene therapy used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy after two teenagers died from liver failure linked to the medication. The FDA decision limits the use of Elevidys, made by Sarepta Therapeutics, to boys who are 4 years and older who can still walk, the agency said. It will no longer be allowed for boys who have already lost mobility, something that typically happens around age 12 for patients with Duchenne. Officials said a safety review confirmed that the two teens developed severe liver damage after receiving the infusion. Both later died. The FDA is also adding its strictest boxed warning to highlight the risks of serious liver injury, acute liver failure and death. Sarepta, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts with offices worldwide, told regulators earlier this year that it had already stopped shipping the therapy to non-ambulatory patients. The company also said Elevidys has been used in 1,100 patients worldwide. These labeling changes “will ensure that families and health-care professionals have clear information,” to help guide decisions, Louise Rodino-Klapac, Sarepta’s president of research and development told The New York Times. Elevidys is a one-time infusion designed to slow Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a disease that causes muscles like the heart to weaken over time. Most patients are boys and many do not survive beyond age…  read on >  read on >