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Feeling scared? Your fear is a survival tool, but sometimes, it overreacts — making us afraid of things that aren’t true threats.  A new study shows how the brain learns to let go of unnecessary fears, offering potential new ways for treating conditions such as anxiety, PTSD and phobias. Published in the journal Science, it tracked how mice responded to repeated harmless threats, such as a shadow that mimicked a predatory bird’s swoop. Over time, the mice learned the shadow wasn’t dangerous and stopped reacting. Scientists found that this “unlearning” of fear was stored in a previously overlooked part of the brain called the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN). “We’ve uncovered the mechanism by which the brain — through experience — can understand which potential instinctive dangers are actually not a danger,” study leader Sara Mederos, a neuroscientist at University College London’s Sainsbury Wellcome Center, told The Washington Post. In the study, about 100 mice were exposed to 30 to 50 simulated “swoops,” using an expanding overhead shadow to mimic a bird of prey. By inserting silicon probes in the mice’s brains, scientists discovered that while the visual cortex helped the mice recognize the harmless threat, the vLGN actually helped store the memory to disregard it. By focusing on specific molecules and neurotransmitters released in this area of the brain, researchers think it may be possible…  read on >  read on >

A diet rich in fish might slow the progression of multiple sclerosis in some patients, a new study says. The nutrients found in fish can quell inflammation and protect brain cells, and this might be of particular benefit for MS patients, researchers reported in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. MS patients who ate larger amounts of lean or oily fish had a 34% lower risk of their symptoms growing worse, researchers found. They also had about a 45% lower risk of scoring worse on a scale that measures MS disability, the results show. “The results underscore the potential role of diet, particularly fish consumption, as a modifiable factor that could complement existing therapeutic strategies for MS,” concluded a team led by Anna Karin Hedström, a senior research specialist with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. MS occurs when a person’s immune system attacks myelin, the protective sheath that coats nerve fibers. The damage to nerve cells causes the brain to shrink as well as symptoms like muscle weakness, stiffness, spasms, vision problems, thinking declines and pain. For the study, researchers analyzed data for more than 2,700 Swedish MS patients who participated in a nationwide study between April 2005 and June 2015. Upon entering the study, participants reported on many of their lifestyle habits, including their consumption of fish. Results showed that people who…  read on >  read on >

TUESDAY, Feb. 25, 2025 (HealthDay news) — Antidepressants are frequently prescribed to people with dementia for symptoms like anxiety, depression, aggressiveness and sleeplessness. But a specific class of antidepressant medications — selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) — actually might speed up brain decline among some dementia patients, a new Swedish study suggests. Heavier doses of certain SSRIs are tied to a higher risk for severe dementia, researchers reported in a new study published Feb. 24 in the journal BMC Medicine. Taking more than the average amount typically prescribed for these drugs was linked to an additional decline of 0.42 points per year in a dementia scale that runs from 0 to 30, researchers found. The SSRI drug escitalopram was associated with the fastest cognitive decline, followed by citalopram and sertraline. Mirtazapine, which works in a different way, had less negative impact on brain function, researchers found. “Depressive symptoms can both worsen cognitive decline and impair quality of life, so it is important to treat them,” said senior investigator Sara Garcia Ptacek, an assistant professor of neurology at the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden.  “Our results can help doctors and other healthcare professionals choose antidepressants that are better adapted for patients with dementia,” she added in a news release. For the study, researchers tracked the brain health of more than 18,700 patients enlisted in the Swedish…  read on >  read on >

Each hour a person spends squinting into a smartphone or staring at a screen increases their risk of nearsightedness, a new evidence review suggests. Every daily one-hour increment in digital screen time is associated with 21% higher odds of myopia, researchers reported recently in JAMA Network Open. What’s more, the risk continues to increase as more time each day is spent with screens, researchers found. “Myopia risk increased significantly from 1 to 4 hours of screen time and then rose more gradually thereafter,” the research team led by Young Kook Kim, an associate professor of ophthalmology with the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea, wrote. The risk of nearsightedness is doubled for people who spend four or more hours with a screen every day, results show. The review suggests a “potential safety threshold of less than 1 hour per day of exposure, with an increase in odds up to 4 hours,” the researchers concluded. By 2050, nearly one-half of the world’s population is expected to be nearsighted, researchers said in background notes. Nearsightedness is when close-up objects look clear but distant objects appear blurry, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.  For example, a nearsighted person can read a map but has trouble seeing well enough to drive a car without glasses or contacts. “The projected surge in myopia cases is likely…  read on >  read on >

Narcissists may seem self-assured, but new research shows they often feel excluded — and their behavior may be making things worse. Hallmarks of narcissm include an inflated sense of one’s importance, a hunger for admiration and negative response to criticism. The new research — published Feb. 20 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — found that folks with those personality traits are more likely to be left out socially than their peers. And this rejection only reinforces their narcisstic behaviors, creating what the authors described as a self-perpetuating cycle. “Ostracism — being excluded and ignored — has severe, negative consequences,” they wrote. “Many people think of narcissism in terms of entitlement and arrogance, but our research highlights that narcissists also frequently experience social pain,” lead researcher Christiane Büttner of the University of Basel in Switzerland told The Washington Post. To explore the link between narcissism and exclusion, researchers analyzed data from multiple surveys and experiments conducted in Germany, the U.S., Britain, Switzerland and New Zealand. The study focused on “grandiose narcissists.” These are folks who display dominance, rivalry and are extra sensitive to social cues. This form of narcissism differs from “vulnerable narcissism,” which is more closely linked to insecurity, researchers noted. “One of the biggest questions going into this research was whether narcissists might actually report less ostracism because their grandiose self-image…  read on >  read on >

Frequent exercise can help colon cancer survivors live longer, perhaps even outlasting average folks, a new study suggests. Colon cancer patients who were very physically active had three-year survival rates that were slightly higher than the general population, researchers report in the journal Cancer. “This new information can help patients with colon cancer understand how factors that they can control — their physical activity levels — can have a meaningful impact on their long-term prognosis,” lead researcher Justin Brown, director of the Cancer Metabolism Program with the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, said in a news release. For the study, his team pooled results from two National Cancer Institute-sponsored trials studying people treated for stage 3 colon cancer. In the trials, nearly 2,900 participants reported their levels of physical activity, which researchers translated into metabolic equivalents, or MET-hours per week.  Results showed that participants who got 18 or more MET-hours of exercise per week had an overall three-year survival rate 3% higher than the general population. To put that in perspective, health guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, which is equal to about 8 MET-hours per week. “Cancer survivors who were tumor-free by year three and regularly exercised achieved even better subsequent survival rates than those seen in the matched general population,” researchers noted in a news release. Examples…  read on >  read on >

MONDAY, Feb. 24, 2025 (HealthDay news) — Even slight weight loss spurred on by cutting-edge GLP-1 drugs can help prevent replacement knees and hips from wearing out, a new study suggests. People with new knees and hips are significantly less likely to need follow-up surgery to fix wear and tear on their artificial joint if they lose weight using Wegovy, Zepbound or other GLP-1 drugs, researchers reported in a new study published Feb. 21 in JAMA Network Open. Patients who lost 2% to 10% of their initial weight had an overall 25% lower risk of follow-up surgery, and those who lost 10% or more had a 43% lower risk. “A higher proportion of weight loss after initiating antiobesity medications within 1 year was associated with a lower risk of 5-year and 10-year revision among patients with obesity undergoing joint replacement,” concluded the research team led by Dr. Chao Zeng, an orthopedics specialist with Ziangya Hospital at Central South University in Changsha, China. “These results suggest that antiobesity medication use, with relatively safe and sustainable weight loss, may be an effective strategy for improving implant survivorship of hip and knee replacement in the obese population,” researchers added. In the U.S., about 900,000 knee replacement surgeries and 400,000 hip replacements occur each year, researchers said in background notes. Knee replacements can be expected to function well for…  read on >  read on >

A parent’s mental health appears to influence their kids’ chances of developing anxiety, ADHD and other behavioral disorders, a new study says. Children were more than four times as likely to develop severe ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) if their caregiver had poor or fair mental health, compared to kids of caregivers in excellent mental health, researchers found. Likewise, kids’ chances of severe anxiety were nearly six times higher if their caregiver reported poor mental health, according to results published late last year in the journal Pediatric Reports. “Our study highlights the lasting impact of caregiver mental health on childhood disorders,” particularly anxiety, behavioral problems and ADHD, senior researcher Lea Sacca, an assistant professor of population health and social medicine at Florida Atlantic University, said in a news release. “The COVID-19 pandemic, which increased the time children spent with caregivers, revealed a strong connection between severe childhood anxiety and lower caregiver mental health, suggesting that these effects may be long-term rather than temporary,” she added. The new study aimed to track behavioral, mental and developmental problems among 6- to 11-year-olds between 2019 and 2022, using annual federal survey data on child health. Overall, the survey gathered data on nearly 52,000 children. It found significant associations between caregivers’ mental health and children’s risk of mental or behavioral disorders. For example, 2020 survey data showed that caregivers with poor…  read on >  read on >

People taking the weight-loss drug semaglutide could be at a slightly increased risk for a potentially blinding eye condition that affects the optic nerve, a new study says. Patients on semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) had a 32% increased relative risk of developing nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) compared to people not taking the drug, researchers reported Feb. 20 in JAMA Ophthalmology. NAION typically causes sudden vision loss in one eye, according to Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  It’s thought to occur due to a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve, damaging the neurons that transmit images to the brain. Previous studies also have detected this risk. A 2024 study based at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston reported a more than fourfold increased risk of NAION with semaglutide, researchers said in background notes. That study also appeared in JAMA Ophthalmology. The new study provides “further evidence of an association between semaglutide and NAION but show a smaller risk than that previously reported,” concluded the research team led by Dr. Cindy Cai, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins. However, the new study also found that patients prescribed semaglutide did not have a significantly increased risk for NAION compared with other GLP-1 diabetes medications. More research is needed to confirm this link and to identify why semaglutide might have this…  read on >  read on >

Fainting can be scary, but it’s often harmless. Known medically as syncope, fainting happens when there’s not enough blood flow to the brain, causing a brief loss of consciousness. But how do you know if it’s just a simple faint or something more serious? Dr. Elijah Behr, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic Healthcare in London, shares five key facts about fainting: what causes it, how to prevent it and when to see a doctor. Most fainting is harmless, but not always The most common type of fainting is vasovagal syncope, often triggered by emotional stress, pain, illness or dehydration. “In some people, if they have a drop in blood pressure from emotional distress, pain, illness or dehydration, for example, or just generally have a low blood pressure, any provocation causes a reflex in the heart,” Dr. Behr explained in a news release. “Rather than the heart speeding up and pumping more forcefully to maintain the blood pressure, it starts to slow down. The blood pressure drops, the heart rate slows further, and the heart can pause for many seconds; sometimes close to a minute for some people who have more severe fainting episodes.” While simple fainting usually resolves quickly, cardiac syncope — caused by an underlying heart problem — can be more serious. “This is usually a more abrupt loss and return of consciousness than…  read on >  read on >