life underwriting

Brain imaging reveals ADHD as a collection of different disorders

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The study, published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, has the potential to radically reframe how researchers think about ADHD. “This study found evidence that clearly supports the idea that ADHD-diagnosed adolescents are not all the same neurobiologically,” said first author Dr. Michael Stevens, of the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford, CT, and Yale University. Rather than a single disorder with small variations, the findings suggest that the diagnosis instead encompasses a “constellation” of different types of ADHD in which the brain functions in completely different ways.

Click here for the full article.

Beware the Dangers of Benzodiazepines

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Benzos are bad.  Benzos + ETOH can be lethal.  Withdrawal symptoms are… well just read a physician’s personal story here.  The homepage for her non-profit is here.

If you are interested in more online articles and resources similar to the linked articles above go to my Wakelet page The Drug War in the United States.

 

NCI Study: MRI of the Prostate Misses Cancers

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About 16% of lesions were missed, and approximately 5% of clinically important prostate cancers (>5 mm, Gleason score > 3+3) were underestimated on MP MRI, according to Baris Turkbey, MD, of the Molecular Imaging Program at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues. Overall, prostate cancer size was underestimated by at least 30% in eight (8%) of 100 patients. Their study was published online October 20 in Radiology.

Source: NCI Study: MRI of the Prostate Misses Cancers

Lupus-Related Mortality Has Declined, but Gap Remains

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Looking at mortality patterns by race, SLE deaths did not increase significantly among whites or those in the Asian/American Indian/Alaska Native/Pacific Islander group during the study, but did increase significantly among blacks between 1975 and 1983, followed by a period of stability until 2002, after which they decreased.

Source: Lupus-Related Mortality Has Declined, but Gap Remains

Link to the study is here.

Gastric Cancer Risk Doubled With Long-term PPI Use

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Source: Gastric Cancer Risk Doubled With Long-term PPI Use

The study was published online October 31 in Gut.

The researchers point out, however, that this was an observational study, which can’t prove cause and effect.

A strength of the study is its use of data from a large population-based database with complete information on subsequent diagnoses and drug prescriptions, which minimizes selection, information, and recall biases, the researchers say. Use of strict exclusion criteria as well as propensity score adjustment to control for potential confounders and restricting the sample to patients with successful H pylori eradication are other strengths.

In terms of study weaknesses, the researchers  lacked information on some risk factors, such as diet, family history, and socioeconomic status.  And despite the large sample of more than 63,000 H pylori–infected patients, the small number of gastric cancer cases did not allow for any “meaningful evaluation of the dosage effect and role of different PPIs,” the researchers say.

The Upsides and Downsides of Telecommuting

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Workers who “telecommute” appear to have a lot more job satisfaction than folks who report to an office every day.  But that positive comes with trade-offs. Remote employees may also have a harder time separating work from their personal lives, and they can become socially isolated.

Source: The Upsides and Downsides of Telecommuting

Friends?  The wine shop manager, grocery store employees, and staff at the YMCA.

No, I’m not socially isolated.