Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, appears to ease depression symptoms at least as well as one of the most commonly used antidepressants, a new clinical trial shows. Patients showed significant improvement in their depressive symptoms after taking either a single dose of psilocybin or a six-week course of the SSRI antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro), researchers reported Sept. 21 in the journal Lancet eClinicalMedicine1. They also presented the findings at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s annual meeting in Milan. However, patients given psilocybin also reported additional long-term benefits, including a greater sense of meaning in life and better psychological connectedness to others. “Both treatments led to comparable improvements in alleviating symptoms of depression at the six-week mark, such as sadness and negative emotions,” said lead researcher Tommaso Barba, a doctoral candidate with Imperial College London in the U.K. “However, this work shows that psilocybin outperformed escitalopram in several measures of well-being, meaning in life, work and social functioning,” Barba said in a journal news release. “These results appeared to be maintained over a six-month follow-up period.” SSRI antidepressants like Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft are one of the main types of drugs used to treat depression, researchers said. However, about a third of patients don’t respond to treatment. “SSRIs work well, but not for everyone. They are also associated with some side effects,” Barba said. “This…  read on >  read on >

Having a husband or boyfriend with adult ADHD can harm a woman’s mental stability, a new study suggests. About 3 in 5 women (59%) with male partners with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had symptoms of depression, a rate on par with caregivers who help loved ones deal with health problems like autism, heart rhythm disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and kidney failure, researchers report. The women also had lower quality of life scores than folks whose partners suffer from health challenges like schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and stroke, results showed. “Our findings emphasize the importance of viewing ADHD as a condition that impacts not only the individual but also their close relationships,” concluded the research team led by Adina Maeir, a professor of medicine with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s School of Occupational Therapy in Israel. “By addressing the well-being of partners, we can take a more holistic approach to treatment, offering both individuals and couples the tools they need to improve their quality of life,” the researchers wrote in a university news release. For the study, the team recruited 100 heterosexual Israeli couples in which the man had been diagnosed with ADHD. On average, couples had been together for about nine years, with 65 married and 35 living together. Both the men and the women filled out questionnaires related to the man’s ADHD symptoms. Women also were screened…  read on >  read on >

SATURDAY, Sept. 21, 2024 (Healthday News) — Workplace anxiety. Who hasn’t experienced it? However, if that anxiety is so strong that it hurts your performance or lingers for months, you might have a problem, one expert says. Dr. Asim Shah, executive vice chair in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor Colege of Medicine in Houston, explains what can trigger workplace anxiety, how to manage it and when to seek professional help. “The goal is not to suffer and not let your anxiety affect work performance. About 60% of people experience workplace anxiety. It is common, which means you can do something about it,” Shah said. Workplace anxiety can be caused by surly co-workers, a demanding supervisor, small, annoying tasks or overwhelming major projects. If you have workplace anxiety, you might notice signs like: Feeling overly anxious or nervous Experiencing excessive sweating or trembling Obsessing about a task Having a lack of interest in your work “The anxiety becomes so overwhelming that you are unable to focus and concentrate,” Shah noted in a Baylor news release. “These feelings can impair your daily work functions.” If that continues for more than six months, Shah said it might be time to seek professional help. “Some employers might offer an employee assistance program where you can go for help. You can also start talking to…  read on >  read on >

A cavalry of sorts can come to the rescue of combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new study says. Combat veterans who regularly care for horses experience an easing of their PTSD symptoms, as well as an overall improved mental outlook, researchers found. Focusing on a horse’s welfare can help a veteran shed the hypervigilance that often accompanies PTSD, explained researcher Andrea Quinn, assistant director of the Center for Psychological Services in the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. “When I think about what our veterans with PTSD struggle with, the results make sense,” Quinn said in a Rutgers news release. At some point, seven out of 100 veterans will develop PTSD, researchers said in background notes. Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan have the highest rates of PTSD, with 29% experiencing it at some point, researchers noted. Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq have a 21% rate of PTSD. For the study, published recently in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, researchers asked six combat veterans to participate in an eight-week horsemanship program. In 30-minute weekly sessions, veterans were instructed on basic horse safety and horse behavior, then asked to groom a horse and lead it around an arena. “In the study, the veterans had to perform tasks requiring them to be very much in the moment,” Quinn…  read on >  read on >

Doctors sometimes turn to antidepressants as a means of easing older people’s physical pain, but a new expert review finds there’s little evidence to support the practice. Antidepressants may even come with hazards for seniors who don’t need them, said researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia. “Harms of antidepressant use in older people are well documented,” said study senior author Dr. Christina Abdel Shaheed. Her team found that, compared to older folks using other methods to ease pain, those on antidepressants had higher risks for falling, dizziness and injury. “These medicines are being prescribed to remedy patients’ pain, despite the lack of evidence to adequately inform their use,” said Abdel Shaheed, an associate professor in the university’s School of Public Health and the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health. The findings were published recently in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. According to the researchers, over the past 40 years there have been only 15 trials worldwide that focused on the use of antidepressants for physical pain in people over the age of 65. Poring over the data from these studies, the Sydney team found little evidence to support the use of the drugs to ease pain in seniors. Standard international guidelines do support the use of antidepressants for chronic pain generally, but the data those guidelines are based on did not focus on patients…  read on >  read on >

Would-be dads don’t have to worry that taking the epilepsy drug valproate will result in children with birth defects, a new review concludes. Valproate, an anti-seizure drug, is known to cause birth defects and developmental disorders when taken by pregnant women. But the drug does not appear to have the same impact on the fetus when taken by men hoping to become fathers, researchers report. “Our systematic review shows that evidence for any risk to the offspring resulting from paternal exposure to anti-seizure medications is scarce and inconsistent, with most studies showing no increased risk compared with unexposed controls,” wrote the research team led by co-senior author Piero Perucca, a professor of adult epilepsy with the University of Melbourne in Australia. “Therefore, the available evidence does not justify major concerns,” the team concluded. Experimental animal studies have linked anti-seizure drugs to male infertility, birth defects and developmental delays, sparking concerns that human males might run the same risks. In fact, one major government regulatory body — the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency — has gone so far as to prohibit valproate use for anyone under the age of 55 who might become a new parent. For the new review, researchers pooled data on 10 studies evaluating the effects on pregnancy of valproate taken by men. Although the data were limited, researchers found no…  read on >  read on >

Therapy dogs can help boost the spirits of health care workers in the same way they brighten the moods of hospital patients, a new study shows.  The furry, four-legged friends reduced emotional exhaustion and job stress among a small group of workers at two surgical and two intensive care units in the Midwest, researchers report. “We brought the dogs to the units and many times we had staff in tears sitting with the dogs, telling them about their day,” said lead investigator Beth Steinberg, a senior researcher with Ohio State University’s Center for Integrative Health. “For the most part, people have an affinity to a non-judgmental, warm, furry animal that can come and just sit with them and listen,” Steinberg said in a university news release. “Dogs don’t care what you look like, how you’re feeling that day; they just know that when you need them, they’re there.” Steinberg is co-founder of Buckeye Paws, a therapy dog program initially aimed at improving the mental and emotional health of staff at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Buckeye Paws launched in March 2020, shortly before the pandemic began taking its toll on overtaxed health professionals. To see whether the program is making a difference, researchers focused therapy dog sessions with a group of 64 health care workers. The group included doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory…  read on >  read on >

Folks who are content with what they’ve got could be less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke, a new study suggests. “Our findings support a holistic approach to health care, where enhancing a person’s mental and emotional well-being is considered an integral part of preventing heart disease and stroke,” said senior study author Dr. Wen Sun, associate director of the Stroke Center at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, China. “Health care professionals might consider including strategies to improve life satisfaction and happiness as part of routine care, such as recommending regular physical activities, social activities or stress management techniques as effective ways to enhance personal well-being,” Sun added. For the study, researchers analyzed data gathered from more than 120,000 participants in the U.K. Biobank, a large-scale medical database. Participants filled out questionnaires that assessed their well-being in terms of satisfaction with family, friendships, health, finances and general happiness. Researchers compared people’s well-being with their risk of four major heart-related diseases. Results show that people with the highest well-being scores had: A 44% lower risk of clogged arteries. A 45% lower risk of stroke. A 51% lower risk of heart failure. A 56% lower risk of heart attack. Further analysis suggested that people who feel more content tend to adopt healthier lifestyles and suffer less inflammation, researchers said. “These…  read on >  read on >

Deprivation, neglect and abuse during childhood can increase a person’s long-term risk of health problems, a new study warns. “Stress is implicated in nine of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States today,” said senior researcher Dr. George Slavich, director of the UCLA Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research. “It’s about time we take that statistic seriously and begin screening for stress in all pediatric and adult clinics nationwide.” For the study, published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, researchers analyzed data on more than 2,100 participants in a long-range study funded by the National Institute on Aging. The team looked at different childhood traumas reported by the participants — financial distress, abuse, neglect, frequent moves, living apart from parents and receiving welfare. The participants also provided samples that allowed researchers to calculate 25 different disease biomarkers, and said whether they’d been diagnosed with 20 different major health conditions. Results showed that the risk of health problems in men and women increased with the amount of childhood stress they endured. Researchers also found that the effects of stress differed between men and women. Childhood stress tended to have greater effects on the metabolism of women than men, results show. On the other hand, emotional abuse and neglect appear to have greater health effects on men than women when it comes to…  read on >  read on >