Magic mushrooms might be key to quelling depression among people battling cancer. A single dose of psilocybin provided sustained reductions in depression and anxiety among cancer patients diagnosed with major depression, according to small-scale study published June 16 in the journal Cancer. “One dose of psilocybin with psychological support to treat depression has a long-term positive impact on relieving depression for as much as two years for a substantial portion of patients with cancer, and we’re exploring whether repeating the treatment resolves depression for more than half of the patients,” lead researcher Dr. Manish Agrawal, CEO and co-founder of Sunstone Therapies, said in a news release. About 25% of people living with cancer have depression severe enough it can impact their odds of survival, researchers said in background notes. For the phase 2 clinical trial, 28 patients with cancer and major depression took a single 25-milligram dose of psilocybin while being guided by a therapist. Psilocybin is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. Two years later, about half of the patients had significant and sustained reduction in their depression symptoms, results show. For a quarter of the patients, their sustained reduction in depression did not require any additional psychedelic or antidepressant medications, researchers said. About 43% also had sustained reduction of anxiety symptoms, researchers added. Previous research has noted that these sort of positive benefits…  read on >  read on >

People with severe depression who receive electroshock therapy are significantly less likely to commit suicide, a new evidence review says. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) lowered the risk of death by suicide 34% among patients with severe depression, according to findings published June 13 in the journal Neuroscience Applied. Depression patients receiving ECT also had a 30% lower risk of death from any cause, researchers said. They said these benefits might be even greater than reflected, given that ECT has improved as a psychiatric treatment. “Modern ECT appears to be more effective than it was in the past,” said lead researcher Dr. Timur Liwinski, a clinician scientist at the University of Basel in Switzerland. “Since our analysis spans many decades, it’s likely that today’s ECT offers even stronger protection against suicide than the 34% reduction we identified overall,” Liwinski said in a news release. Major depression affects an estimated 300 million people worldwide, with the number increasing about 20% between 2005 and 2015, researchers said in background notes. Each year nearly 700,000 die by suicide, and about half of these deaths are linked to depression or related mood disorders. Overall, people with mood disorders have a 20-fold higher risk of suicide, researchers said. During ECT, small electrical current pulses are sent through the brain to trigger seizures, researchers said. This essentially reboots the brain, altering levels of…  read on >  read on >

People with severe depression who receive electroshock therapy are significantly less likely to commit suicide, a new evidence review says. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) lowered the risk of death by suicide 34% among patients with severe depression, according to findings published June 13 in the journal Neuroscience Applied. Depression patients receiving ECT also had a 30% lower risk of death from any cause, researchers said. They said these benefits might be even greater than reflected, given that ECT has improved as a psychiatric treatment. “Modern ECT appears to be more effective than it was in the past,” said lead researcher Dr. Timur Liwinski, a clinician scientist at the University of Basel in Switzerland. “Since our analysis spans many decades, it’s likely that today’s ECT offers even stronger protection against suicide than the 34% reduction we identified overall,” Liwinski said in a news release. Major depression affects an estimated 300 million people worldwide, with the number increasing about 20% between 2005 and 2015, researchers said in background notes. Each year nearly 700,000 die by suicide, and about half of these deaths are linked to depression or related mood disorders. Overall, people with mood disorders have a 20-fold higher risk of suicide, researchers said. During ECT, small electrical current pulses are sent through the brain to trigger seizures, researchers said. This essentially reboots the brain, altering levels of…  read on >  read on >

A “vicious circle” might exist between screen time and troubled children, a new evidence review says. Screen time — particularly on video games — appears to contribute to emotional turmoil among children, researchers say. Those troubled kids are then more likely to turn to screens to make themselves feel better, according to a study published June 9 in the journal Psychological Bulletin. “Children are spending more and more time on screens, for everything from entertainment to homework to messaging friends,” senior researcher Michael Noetel, an associate professor in the School of Psychology at Queensland University in Australia, said in a news release. “We found that increased screen time can lead to emotional and behavioral problems, and kids with those problems often turn to screens to cope,” Noetel said. His team pooled data from 117 studies involving more than 292,000 children around the world. All of the studies included a look at children’s screen use as well as their emotional health and conduct. Results show that the more children engage with screens, the more likely they are to suffer problems like anxiety, depression, aggression and hyperactivity. In turn, children with these problems were more likely to turn to screens as a coping mechanism, researchers found. Gaming was associated with higher risk of emotional problems compared with educational or recreational screen use, results show. Likewise, kids with…  read on >  read on >

A “vicious circle” might exist between screen time and troubled children, a new evidence review says. Screen time — particularly on video games — appears to contribute to emotional turmoil among children, researchers say. Those troubled kids are then more likely to turn to screens to make themselves feel better, according to a study published June 9 in the journal Psychological Bulletin. “Children are spending more and more time on screens, for everything from entertainment to homework to messaging friends,” senior researcher Michael Noetel, an associate professor in the School of Psychology at Queensland University in Australia, said in a news release. “We found that increased screen time can lead to emotional and behavioral problems, and kids with those problems often turn to screens to cope,” Noetel said. His team pooled data from 117 studies involving more than 292,000 children around the world. All of the studies included a look at children’s screen use as well as their emotional health and conduct. Results show that the more children engage with screens, the more likely they are to suffer problems like anxiety, depression, aggression and hyperactivity. In turn, children with these problems were more likely to turn to screens as a coping mechanism, researchers found. Gaming was associated with higher risk of emotional problems compared with educational or recreational screen use, results show. Likewise, kids with…  read on >  read on >

A hallmark of accelerated aging appears to be linked to an increased risk of dementia and stroke, a new study says. Shorter telomere length in a person’s white blood cells is associated with the two brain diseases, researchers reported June 11 in the journal Neurology. However, the link was not found in people with healthy lifestyle habits, researchers added. “Our findings support the potential benefits of working to improve your risk factors such as maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol and getting enough sleep and exercise in reducing the risk of age-related brain disease even in people who are already showing signs of damaging biological aging,” senior researcher Dr. Christopher Anderson, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, said in a news release. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. Often compared to the plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces, telomeres serve a similar function — preventing chromosomes from unravelling. Telomeres shorten every time cells divide, making them useful in estimating a person’s biological age, researchers said. Biological age reflects wear-and-tear from the stresses the body endures over time, and can differ greatly from the chronological age reflected by a person’s birthday. For this study, researchers analyzed genetic data for more than 356,000 people participating in UK Biobank, a large-scale health study in England, Scotland and Wales. Researchers divided the…  read on >  read on >

A hallmark of accelerated aging appears to be linked to an increased risk of dementia and stroke, a new study says. Shorter telomere length in a person’s white blood cells is associated with the two brain diseases, researchers reported June 11 in the journal Neurology. However, the link was not found in people with healthy lifestyle habits, researchers added. “Our findings support the potential benefits of working to improve your risk factors such as maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol and getting enough sleep and exercise in reducing the risk of age-related brain disease even in people who are already showing signs of damaging biological aging,” senior researcher Dr. Christopher Anderson, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, said in a news release. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. Often compared to the plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces, telomeres serve a similar function — preventing chromosomes from unravelling. Telomeres shorten every time cells divide, making them useful in estimating a person’s biological age, researchers said. Biological age reflects wear-and-tear from the stresses the body endures over time, and can differ greatly from the chronological age reflected by a person’s birthday. For this study, researchers analyzed genetic data for more than 356,000 people participating in UK Biobank, a large-scale health study in England, Scotland and Wales. Researchers divided the…  read on >  read on >