Fun With Blog Insônia

Science fiction is now science for everyone
You've seen the old movies. A terrified victim elaborately wired up with electrodes on the head, strapped down in the lab of a mad scientist. He is about to steal the brain with the flip of a switch. Visibl e electrical impulses zap through air as the loud buzzing confirms that, YES, it is WORKING! And then the poor captive's brain is emptied. That is what many p eople envision when the process of “neurofeedback” is described.

However, de spite placing some electrodes on the patient's head, actual neurofeedback is q uite gentle. It is often a very effective way to either reduce symptoms or elimi nate them altogether for a wide range of brain-related issues.

And instead of s ome wild-eyed scientist in a dirty lab coat maniacally throwing a switch, the re al control rests entirely with the patient's own thoughts.

Neurofeedback is a more sophisticated cousin of biofeedback that specifically alters the brainwave s of the patient in order to alleviate brain-spawned symptoms. The technique has been researched and closely studied for 30 years. New research is showing promi se for previously untreatable conditions.

Even critics of mainstream brain stud ies have endorsed neurofeedback therapy. Mark Waldman is an author from Camarill o who specializes in the brain-related benefits of meditation and prayer. Waldma n is a vocal skeptic of many traditional medical practices and studies, yet sees great potential in neurofeedback.

“Neuroscience is in such a state of infancy that I like to say that we're mostly doing neuro-speculation,” Waldman said . “But I am very impressed with the research on neurofeedback.”

Simply put, neurofeedback is performed the same way as biofeedback, by being hooked up to a monitor of one's own body functions, only it focuses on the patient's brainw aves. With biofeedback, the patient watches heartbeat, blood pressure and other functions that are normally out of his or her awareness, and attempts to regulat e them.

Neurofeedback is similar but often begins with a quantitaive electroenc ephalogram (QEEG), which is used to create a map of the brainwaves. Using this m ap, the therapist diagnoses what is going on in the brain, pinpoints the exact b rainwaves that are irregular, and designs a treatment program for teaching the p atient to regulate his or her own brain waves. Once the brainwaves are altered, the patient feels a lessening of symptoms and a boost in the brain functions. Assim metimes, the results can be permanent.

The benefits of neurofeedback are many. T he treatment is noninvasive, it does not affect any other part of the body in th e way that medication affects the whole body, and there are no reported negative side effects.

But neurofeedback has its problems, too. For many conditions, th e therapy is a long-term and continuous comittment that demands great motivation and participation by the patient. This often requires two or three visits to th e therapist each week, often for several months. The equipment is expensive and is usually only available in the doctor's office, although some therapists hav e developed mobile treatment.

And the biggest hurdle for many people is the cost of neurofeedback therapy. If a pill is available that is designed for that cond ition, insurance providers would prefer the cheap and easy road of medication. P atients who may be time-constrained or who are looking for immediate relief gene rally find taking a pill to be a lot easier than going to the therapist two to t hree times a week.

Also, while medication is usually covered by insurance, neur ofeedback is still labeled as experimental by most insurance companies. But some insurance plans will pay for part of the treatment, depending on both the plan and the cooperation of the patient's primary care physician.

Clinical psycholo gist Barbara Blume of Ventura has been using neurofeedback in her practice for a luta de 12 anos e diz que as empresas de seguros, por vezes, ajudar a pagar o tratamento. "Se o médico do paciente é um advogado, ele pode ajudar a obter alguns insuran cobertura ce", disse ela. "Cerca de metade dos meus pacientes obter algum tipo de ement reimburs".

A ilusão de pílula
De acordo com Blume, as empresas farmacêuticas podem ter tremenda influência sobre tanto do médico quanto do paciente. Muitos médicos s até aceitar "freebiesâ € das empresas de drogas, que vão desde canetas para catered almoços escritório para all-out "educacional" junkets. Ocasionalmente, a droga fabricantes cantes pode reembolsar um médico para fornecer aos pacientes a participar de uma droga julgamento, por vezes, sem que o paciente estar consciente de que o médico está sendo pago pelo fabricante da droga.

€ œIt não é um caminho fácil ", disse Blume. "Eu recebo um monte de pessoas em minha prática que têm sido a medicação antes, às vezes por décadas, especialmente as pessoas com depressão, onde eles podem ir de uma medicação a um nother. Um monte de médicos não pensar fora da caixa ".

No entanto Studie, recentes s têm apontado para um problema crescente com o tratamento da depressão unicamente através medi cação. Primeiro, os pesquisadores descobriram que dois terços dos médicos de família e o ne trimestre de psiquiatras não usam o protocolo estabelecido para determinar a existência de depressão maior. Isto poderia levar a doentes com modo de taxa de depressão sendo prescritos antidepressivos caro, às vezes por décadas.

O segundo problema é que agora vem à tona é que os antidepressivos mesmo medicamentos, sendo bastante eficaz para depressão maior, são menos apropriado e eficaz ve para a depressão leve e moderada. Isto poderia explicar porque alguns pacientes tentam ma antidepressivos ny diferentes em busca de um que realmente ajuda-los.

Outro problema é o efeito placebo, o que pode distorcer os resultados do estudo. Waldman acredita que foi intencionalmente minimizado nas conclusões estudos científicos ao longo dos anos. "Muitos dos medicamentos que já passaram a aprovação da FDA não passaria hoje, devido ao efeito placebo ", disse ele. "O efeito placebo é intri nsically crença de seu interior e fé em si mesmo, o médico eo tratamento. Se você acredita que funciona, funciona. Mesmo que seja uma pílula de açúcar, mesmo se você k agora você está sendo dado um placebo. "

Ao mudar sua mente realmente funciona
Quando i s neurofeedback uma terapêutica adequada e eficaz? Que condições é que ele lp melhorar ou curar? E que os pacientes são os mais adequados para este tipo de treatmen t?

Um paciente que decide explorar necessidades neurofeedback para saber o que esperar em termos do processo atual e as expectativas razoáveis ​​de sucesso.

Gabriell e (nome fictício) é um estudante universitário de 21 anos de idade que planeja se tornar um chá cher. Mas a batalha dela com enxaqueca, a ansiedade e atendente de quando o próximo vai bater, fez passar o dia mais e mais difícil. Loquacidade Rielle disse medicação foi útil, mas foi apenas uma solução temporária. Ela wan ted para parar completamente as dores de cabeça e seguir em frente com sua vida.

"Neurofeedback é um grande compromisso, mas os resultados têm sido tão bem sucedido que tem sido uma n decisão fácil para mim ", disse Gabrielle. "Eu sou um estudante e eu trabalho, e eu uma m ainda capaz de receber dois tratamentos por semana, que duram apenas cerca de meia hora . Dentro de uma semana de tratamentos, minhas dores de cabeça tinham ido embora e eu não tinha nenhum pecado ce ".

Gabrielle disse que a dor de cabeça teve seu sentimento oprimido pela vida diária. "Minha atitude mudou em relação ao futuro", disse ela. "Estou tão animado que eu nunca vou ter que sofrer de dores de cabeça novamente. Por que temporariamente r elieve o problema quando você pode corrigi-lo? "

Terapeutas estão relutantes em garantir uma cura para qualquer condição no entanto décadas de pesquisa demonstraram que neurofeedb ack pode reduzir os sintomas e melhorar a qualidade de vida do paciente.

Além de dores de cabeça e distúrbios do humor, como depressão, ansiedade e (OCD obsessivo com desordem compulsivos), neurofeedback pode ser usado para tratar ADD (déficit de atenção d isorder) e TDAH (Transtorno do déficit de atenção e hiperatividade), de condições que ten presentes durante a infância. As crianças que são incapazes de se concentrar ou que estão hiperativas são geralmente tratadas com drogas. Estes medicamentos têm sido muito eff tiva para muitas crianças, mas, como com todas as soluções temporárias, que vestem fora e a condição permanece. Muitos pais se preocupam com os efeitos colaterais destas drogas , E no passado, os médicos de família, por vezes, ter sido acusado de ser demasiado qu ick a receitar os medicamentos psiquiátricos sem um completo trabalho de acompanhamento e diagnóstico.

Bl ume disse que há evidências científicas de que neurofeedback pode melhorar ADD / ADHD sy mptoms. "Nós agora temos estudos preliminares que sugerem que pessoas com ADD mudanças hav e subcorticais no cérebro como resultado do treinamento de neurofeedback como me asured por ressonância magnética pré e pós-funcional ", disse ela.

Blume explicou a maneira ne urofeedback funciona. "Parece ignorar a componentes genéticos de uma pessoa é fiação e treinar o cérebro ", disse ela. "Com a repetição do treinamento, a chuva b detém a correção."

Outras difíceis de tratar condições como fibrom yalgia, síndrome da fadiga crônica e síndrome pós-pólio têm respondido a neuro feedback. Blume disse que todas essas síndromes realizar uma incapacidade de dormir profundamente. Mapeamento do cérebro de pacientes com estas condições indicou a presença de um n excesso de ondas cerebrais alfa, mesmo durante o sono.

"Há uma constante em marcha lenta ritmo de ondas cerebrais alfa ", disse Blume. "Quando você não entrar em profunda sle ep, o sistema imunológico não cicatriza. Se você donâ ™ t do sono, você não curar. Eu não estou indo dizer definitivamente que a dor se foi com fibromialgia, mas ne urofeedback melhora a qualidade de vida. "

Outra condição que muitas vezes é ove rlooked é lesão cerebral traumática. Blume chama lesão cerebral traumática leve "um epidemia silenciosa ", porque o dano não é visível com os testes tradicionais, tais como CT (tomografia computadorizada) scans ou ressonância magnética (ressonância magnética). Dois gro ups de pacientes que sofrem de maneira desproporcional este tipo de lesão cerebral ar veteranos e militares retornando do Oriente Médio e do futebol profissional pla yers. Mas pode acontecer a qualquer um.

Linda (nome fictício) é mãe de um filha adolescente que sofreu um ferimento na cabeça, quando ela era um bebê. Linda disse que seu filha tinha caído uma tabela quando ela tinha três meses de idade, atingindo sua cabeça . O pediatra acenou-la, dizendo que já que não havia nenhum ferimento aparente , Ela seria muito bem. Mas a filha de Linda lutou com throu escolares está hoje generalizada na sua infância.

Aqueles que poderiam ter visto o problema continuou a ponto Linda na direção errada. A professora da segunda série disse a ela que ela Daught er tinha ADD. Linda disse que há seis anos, ela levou a filha para médicos e especialistas, em busca de respostas. Ela disse que o médico de família oferecido somente medic ções que Linda evitado para evitar os efeitos colaterais. Uma visita a um neurologista wa s também desanimador.

"O neurologista não acredito que ela sofreu estruturais danos ", disse Linda. "Ele disse que ela simplesmente não gostava da escola porque ele fez um teste de computador para a atenção e minha filha passou. "

Linda sentiu impotente para ajudar a sua filha. "Todos os anos, ela caiu para trás na escola e suffere d baixa auto-estima, frustração e fadiga severa ", disse ela. "Eu me senti lá não ajudou, e foi extremamente frustrante. "Linda suspeita que sua filhas ter não estava ficando bom sono. Um dentista descartou apnéia do sono e disse que seu b reathing parecia ser normal.

Só quando teve sua filha Linda-cérebro mapeado di d a lesão cerebral traumática aparecer. "Sua ondas cerebrais estavam mais próximos de dormir mos t do tempo ", disse ela. "Ela também teve ondas cerebrais que causam ansiedade e sintomas de insônia durante a noite e impedi-la de receber um sono reparador. "At 14 anos de idade, filha de Linda finalmente teve um diagnóstico e tratamento e dentro de 10 s essions foi visivelmente melhor.

Um avanço possível
Neurofeedback é também usar d para tratar vícios, acidentes vasculares cerebrais, epilepsia, incontinência urinária, controle de peso, equilíbrio problemas e demência. Mas a maior novidade agora é o recém-su documentado cesso com autismo.

Dr. Tom Sorensen de Westlake Village é um psi clínica ist que tem vindo a utilizar a terapia neurofeedback por 10 anos como adjuvante da tradição terapia da conversa internacional. Ele disse que não limitar estritamente neurofeedback terapia t visitas ao consultório o.

"Eu uso um monte de dispositivos para levar para casa assim que os pacientes podem receber tr atamento sete dias por semana quando necessário. "Sorensen disse que também conta com o de técnica de mapeamento tailed cérebro.

Um artigo recente sobre o autismo tem agarrou sua atenção ção. "Uma das ideias de investigação mais excitante a surgir este ano é uma artic le sobre a capacidade de mapear o cérebro de crianças autistas ", disse Sorensen. â € œThis é feito como neurofeedback está sendo aplicada. O pesquisador então traçado t ele o crescimento dos neurônios do lobos parietal e temporais para a frente para a frente direita al córtex. Os dados indicam uma melhoria dramática na cognição e skil sociais ls. Isto é muito emocionante porque uma vez que as ligações foram feitas e os tr atamento é interrompido, as conexões continuam a crescer por conta própria. "

Jogos da mente
O potencial para a utilização de técnicas de neurofeedback é tão aberta como a própria ima muito tacto, imaginação. Ser capaz de manipular um objeto com sua mente, na verdade, uma menor para rm de telekenesis, parece divertido. Mattel e Uncle Milton Industries concorda e que cada um tinha um jogo de grande sucesso no mercado no último inverno. Ambos usaram o mesmo formato: jogadores usam um fone de ouvido que pode monitorar as ondas cerebrais. Por concentratin g ou foco, os jogadores controlam um fã que se move pequenas bolas através de um curso de obstáculos. Mindlflex pela Mattel custa US $ 80 e Force Trainer pela Uncle Milton co sts 130 dólares. Sega Toys e Toshiba recentemente se uniram para desenvolver cálculo r jogos com um tema telecinéticos.

Mas o uso de ondas cerebrais não pára por aí. Honda e Toyota são ambos pesquisando maneiras possíveis de usar a técnica de ambos os i n automóveis e cadeiras de rodas. E um braço de pesquisa do Departamento de Defesa h como dado $ 34,5 milhões para Johns Hopkins University em Baltimore para desenvolver hetics prost que respondem ao controle da mente para os pacientes tetraplégicos.

Mudar seu br ain sem neurofeedback
Waldman tem escrito livros e palestras extensamente sobre c UDANÇAS dentro do cérebro e como melhorar a sua função sem neurofeedback. H e estudou os efeitos da meditação e da oração estendida sobre o cérebro, o que pode ser visto por SPECT (single photon tomografia computadorizada por emissão) scans e ressonância magnética . Tanto olhar mais profundamente no cérebro do que as áreas que apresentam ondas cerebrais.

"Como para os efeitos sobre o cérebro, a meditação é semelhante ao orando por até ಌ minutos um dia, concentrando-se intensamente em algumas conceito positivo ou qualquer objeto que dá yo ua sensação de bem-estar ", disse Waldman. "Depois de fazer isso durante oito semanas, y OU começará a ver mudanças estruturais e funcionais no cérebro. Para os meditadores avanço d, você vai encontrar mudanças nas áreas funcionais do cérebro como de alta como 25 por cento, e as mudanças estruturais por tanto como 10 por cento. Isso é huge.â

Waldman disse que este tipo de meditação não tem nada a ver com religião. "É d oesn't parecem importa qual religião ou espiritualidade vem ", disse ele. "Você pode tira-lo de seu aspecto sectário e ensiná-la a um nível secular, pl ug em uma teologia totalmente diferente, e é tão eficaz. "

Íons Waldman mento mais uma forma de melhorar o seu cérebro. "Há um garanhão de 30 anos longitudinal y da Clínica Mayo e um estudo longitudinal de 40 anos da Universidade de Duke sho ala que ter um quadro optimista e de crença literalmente adiciona dois anos para sua vida ", disse ele. "Todas as pesquisas sobre fé, esperança e otimismo mostra tha t é provavelmente a melhor coisa que você pode fazer para seu cérebro. € Â

joanbien @ sb clgobal.net

BARRIE, Ont. - Se o ministério da saúde federal e da Organização Mundial de Saúde dizem que a tecnologia WiFi nas escolas é segura, as crianças do n o estão bem, o ministro de Ontário educação diz.

Leona Dombrowsky, que visitou a região na quarta-feira, disse t tecnologia sem fio, ele não vai a lugar algum, apesar das preocupações levantadas por alguns Simcoe County par entos que ela provoca efeitos negativos à saúde, os sintomas que os pais alegam hav e desapareceu durante as férias de verão.

Não há planos para o ministério da província de educação para realizar as suas próprias indep endent testes sobre o assunto, Dombrowsky disse, embora a tecnologia é "comum" na maioria das escolas de Ontário .

"Se Health Canada diz que é seguro, então estou confiante de que é", disse Dombrowsky durante uma entrevista com QMI Agency.

Alguns cientistas e pesquisadores dizem que o negativ e efeitos da exposição prolongada a radiação eletromagnética e microondas incl dores de cabeça ude, perturbação do sono e fadiga.

Dombrowsky recebeu uma carta dos pais em causa, que wa s, em seguida, repassados ​​ao governo federal ministro da Saúde, Leona Aglukkaq, que espera-se que r espond para a questão diretamente.

"Esta é a sua área de especialização", disse Dombrowsky.

"Como ministro da educação, eu confio naqueles órgãos governamentais que têm responsabilidade de consi der essas coisas ", acrescentou. "Isso seria o ministério federal da saúde e também a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS). "

O pai levou-Simcoe County Seguro Escolas Committee (SCSSC) quer que a diretoria para retornar ao velho hard-wir ed conexões Internet.

No entanto, a diretoria da escola também diz que se diz Health Canada exposição WiFi é f seguro ou crianças, ele não vê razão para mudar.

O SCSSC diz que havia um "cluster doença" de 14 estudantes em Mountain View Elementary Sch ool em Collingwood, Ontário., incluindo quatro crianças que desenvolveram doenças cardíacas . Outros sintomas incluíram dores de cabeça crônicas, tonturas, sintomas de insônia e ra shes.

As quatro escolas elementares, onde Barrie problemas de saúde foram relatados para SCSSC incluem Terry F boi, Holly Meadows, Ferndale Woods e Mapleview Heights.

Susan Clarke, que estuda a rádio-frequência radiati em bioeffects, falou em Thornbury na semana passada sobre os efeitos da tecnologia WiFi . O consultor de pesquisa anterior para a Escola Harvard de Saúde Pública disse WiF i implanta radiação de microondas na mesma frequência que a de um forno de microondas.

"O cérebro de uma criança absorve essa radiação máxima", disse ela. "As crianças também absorvem a radiação de microondas mais facilmente do que os adultos porque têm crânios mais fino . "

Físico britânico Barrie Trower, que aconselhou o serviço secreto britânico na soviéticos uso de armas de microondas durante o Wa Fria r, também diz WiFi afetará jovens estudantes.

"Se você colocar um sistema de micro-ondas WiFi em uma escola, você está definitivamente indo g ver crianças a adoecer ", disse Trower.

Os dias quentes e úmidos do verão e longo move muitas famílias
encontros e socia l eventos para a noite mais agradável.
O índice de calor e os tempos de cama tarde, no entanto, pode causar problemas para
pessoas mais velhas.

O tempo pode provocar falta de ar, e muitos idosos
está cansado de 07:00 A boa notícia? Ambos estes sintomático ms são
tratável e não devem ser baixados como sinais de envelhecimento, os médicos
dizem.

W anting para ir para a cama cedo é chamado de "fase do sono avançadas
síndrome ", que ocorre quando o relógio de uma pessoa interna, ou
cerca de dian ritmo, é perturbado. Ele leva as pessoas a ir para a cama
em qualquer lugar 6-9 p. m., e acordar cedo, às vezes horas
antes do amanhecer.

"Eles acordam às 5 da manhã me sentindo como eles tem sintomas de insônia ", disse
Dr. Raman Malhotra, co-diretor do St. Louis University SLUC são
Centro de Distúrbios do Sono. "Seus relógios internos não estão definidas para o
sociedade é. "

Malhotra disse que apenas cerca de 1 por cento adultos o f tem a síndrome,
mas a prevalência cresce com a idade, levando muitos a pensar que é
normal que as pessoas mais velhas para ir para a cama tão cedo.

"As pessoas pensam que eles estão aposentados e não tem um monte de agir ivities
planejado. Mas os adultos mais velhos reclamam que não conseguem ficar acordados para qualquer
atividades laços com netos ou filhos ou amigos ", disse ele.

O tratamento é fácil, porque a exposição à luz pode alterar o sono
padrões, Malhotra explicou. Quando os idosos começam a sentir sono y,
devem abrir as cortinas e passar algum tempo fora. Quando acordam
até a 5 a. m., eles devem manter as cortinas fechadas e não deixar a luz
A luz é dentro tratamento especialmente oportuna nesta época do ano, quando
dias são longos, disse ele. Tr repetido atamento devem reajustar suas
relógio interno.

Tratamento da síndrome de sonolência ng comprimidos não irá fazer o truque,
Malhotra added, because they would have to be taken when waking u p
and could cause drowsiness during the day.

Respiratory problems are also misun derstood among the elderly,
according to Dr. Raymond Slavin, professor of intern al medicine at
SLU and SLUCare allergist. Asthma — which can be triggered by h comer
and humidity — is often misdiagnosed as allergies or mistaken for
other co nditions such as bronchitis.

“Oftentimes, it's undiagnosed because both the patient and
physician feel that getting short of breath is just part of the
aging process,” he said. “You can't do the things at 74 that you
did at 45.”

Plus, asthma is perceived as a young person's disease, Slavin
said. Many people don't know that 40 percent of first-time as thma
cases occur in those age 40 or older.

Asthma's major symptoms are cough and shortness of breath, often
in the middle of the night. It's exacerbated by physical exertion;
or exposure to pollen, mold or pet dander, Slavin said.

“The importance of making the diagnosis is that asthma is
tre atable with appropriate medications,” he said.

Asthma that goes undiagnosed is dangerous. Slav in said 60
percent of asthma deaths occur in patients older thanು, and older
um dults are the only age group in which the disease is getting
pior.

Even in the dog days of summer, grandma and grandpa can breathe
easier. They can even sleep in on weekends. “Patients can lead a
very normal life,” Slavin said.

Editorial: NASA should pay more attention to astronauts' health

FROM blackout-inducing g fo rces to withered muscles and bones, there aren't many tougher physical challenges than going i nto space.

This has been highlighted by the release of medical records from astr onauts who worked on board the Russian space station Mir , which detail the gruel ling effects space travel has on human health before, during and after a mission . Along with research on muscle wastage in astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), the records demonstrate the need for better countermeasures agai nst the hazards of living in space before any interplanetary missions are attemp ted.

The records were collected by Gilles Clément of the International Space University in Toulouse, France, and colleagues, who oversaw th e selection, flights and rehabilitation of six European astronauts who worked on board Mir between 1988 and 1999. They have only just been released because the astronauts requested a 10-year delay.

Prior to take-off, the researchers used st ringent tests to rule out anyone susceptible to health problems (see “So you want to be an ast ronaut?”) . Even so, three of the astronauts experienced motion sickness. Overall, however, the screening was successful: during seven missions lasting between 14 and 189 days , there were only a handful of minor health problems, such as headache, insomnia symptoms and congestion, all treatable with drugs kept on board.

The real probl ems began when the astronauts returned home. Their bodies had adapted to weightl ess conditions, so returning to Earth was a shock to the system. For example, in space, the heart adapts to low gravity, no longer having to work as hard to pum p blood to the upper body. Returning to Earth put extra strain on the astronauts' hearts: all had low haemoglobin levels and blood pressure, which made it difficult for them to stand up without fainting.

Even more worrying were the effects of microgravit y on bone and muscle, which are known to break down when not bearing the body's weight. In an effort to combat this, the astronauts exercised on treadmills and bikes, but the y still lost up to 2 per cent of their bone mass each month ( Advances in Space Research , DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2010.05.023 ).

Such problems would pose a serious hazard to astronauts travelling to other planets. It would take around nine months to travel to Mars, for example, and once in the Martian gravity astronauts would be too weak to work, and susceptible to blackouts and broken bones.

Several stu dies of astronauts who worked on the ISS have confirmed the problem of muscle wa stage. Bob Fitts of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and colleagues took calf-muscle biopsies from nine astronauts and cosmonauts before and after six-month-long missions on the ISS. On their return, the crew were visibly frail . “They all had trouble standing for any period of time,” says Fitts.

Although the ISS astronauts had done r esistance training and aerobic exercise while in orbit, they still experienced m uscle wastage. On average, their calf muscles generated 30 per cent less power. There was also a switch from slow-twitch muscle fibres, which normally bear the constant weight of the skeleton, to fast-twitch fibres, responsible for shorter bursts of movement. Fitts measured a 35 per cent decrease in the force of the sl ow fibres and a 40 per cent drop in power – equivalent to having the muscles of an 80-year-old ( Journal of Physiology , DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2010.188508 ).

So how can humans s urvive a trip to another planet? Suggestions range from using a giant centrifuge to simulate gravity to developing a pill that would block bone and muscle loss. However, keeping space travellers in shape may just be a matter of improving th eir exercise regimes.

Short bursts of high-intensity resistance training, at aro und 70 per cent of the muscles' maximum capacity for 15 minutes, twice a day, should help, say s Fitts. A range of studies in animals and volunteers confined to bed rest sugge st this will protect muscles better than long periods of low-intensity aerobic e xercise. It may also guard against bone loss. Dan Bikle of the University of Cal ifornia, San Francisco, who has studied bone loss in rats whose hindquarters are suspended off the ground, recommends intense weight-bearing exercise for 1 seco nd in 10, for a few minutes each day.

The problem is that in space, weights are, of course, weightless. The astronauts on the ISS pulled against bungee cords bu t complained it was “like lifting barbells with no weights attached”. NASA is now testing a device that uses vacuum cylinders to provide greater resistance .

For the biggest benefits, astro nauts must start their exercise regime as soon as they get into space. In work t hat is yet to be published, Ken Baldwin of the University of California, Irvine, found that once rats' muscles stop bearing body weight, the genes that code for the proteins myosin and actin – key components of muscle – shut down within 12 hours. Once this degeneration starts, it i s hard to reverse. This is bad news for astronauts, who tend to be busy with mis sion tasks when they first arrive, or feel too sick to train. “They take too long to get into their training mode,” says Baldwin.

Finally, space travellers must eat all the food assigned t o them. Astronauts tend to lose their appetites, which contributes to their loss of fitness: if you don't eat enough calories you can't build muscle. High-protein meals immediately after t raining should keep their muscles ticking over until they feel the pull of an al ien planet.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Sc ientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department fi rst for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

Solo takes a double dose of Xanax (alprazolam) for his nerves during the 4 July festivities in the United States. That is in addition to the antidep ressant, fluoxetine or amitriptyline, that the 11-year-old border collie takes y ear-round. Fireworks just set him off, as do thunderclaps, gunshots — practica lly any explosive sounds â ” sending him into nervous fits. Panting and drooling with eyes dilated, he desperately searches for a place to hide. If another dog is nearby, he might attack. “It's called anxiety redirection,” says Melanie Chang, Solo's owner and an evolutionary biologist at the Uni versity of Oregon in Eugene.

As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of C alifornia, San Francisco, Chang helped to collect hundreds of border-collie DNA samples, including Solo's, as part of a project studying the genes for noise phobia. She estim ates that at least 50% of collies suffer from it, with 10% severely affected, so metimes injuring themselves or others in response to loud noises. Steven Hamilto n , a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, who runs the p roject, says that he sees parallels between the dogs' panic and human anxiety. And the same dr ugs work in about the same proportion of cases for man and beast. “It is easy to see similarit ies,” he says. A growing number of projects like Hamilton's are underway to both help suffering dogs and unt angle the roots of human neuropsychiatric disease.

The hunt for genes causing ps ychiatric problems in humans has been “hard work with slim pickings”, says Jonathan Flint, a geneticist at t he Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford, UK. This is partly becaus e human genomes are complex and these disorders are hard to diagnose consistentl y. But owing to 2Ǡ years of selective inbreeding, dogs have a bevy of breed-spe cific behaviours, and their genomes make it relatively easy to track down the ge nes responsible. “They are the only naturally occurring models of psychiatric disorders, and p erfect for genetic mapping and cloning. It's just beautiful,” says Guoping Feng, a mouse geneticist at the M assachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, who is setting up collaborati ons with dog researchers.

Border collies were bred to herd grazing animals and to hear the calls of their masters from great distances. This, some have rea soned, might have produced hearing so sensitive that loud noises overwhelm some of the animals — inducing something akin to an anxiety disorder in humans. “In general, a lo t of anxiety probably resulted from a long period of selection for dogs that can respond to human social cues,” says Chang. The provenance of other traits is less clear. Dobe rmann pinschers, for example, were bred to be faithful watchdogs but often have fixations and quirks akin to obsessive–compulsive behaviour. And Dalmatians, b red for speed and endurance — probably so they could run with horses — tend to be aggressive.

Whether certain canine conditions arose by chance or are an u nintentional outcome of selection for a specific quality is a matter of speculat ion. But behaviour problems are definitely frequent. Nicholas Dodman, an animal- behaviour specialist at Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts, estima tes that, at minimum, 40% of the 77.5 million dogs owned in the United States ha ve some kind of behavioural disorder. Pet pharmaceuticals, including psychotropi c drugs, are a thriving market. And sadly, many dogs with such problems are euth anized as a result of their temperament.

Researchers have good reason to believe that dogs will give up their genetic secrets more easily than humans. A study t his year, for example, showed that variants at six locations in the dog genome c ould explain 80% of the variation in dog body size ¹ . In contrast, 294,831 common human variants, considered simultaneously, explained only 45% of height differe nces between humans ² .

But if the genetics of height is so different in dogs and humans, one might wonder why the genetics of anxiety, compulsion or aggression w ould be similar. Patrick Sullivan, a geneticist at the University of North Carol ina in Chapel Hill, says that “behaviour that appears intriguingly similar in human and anothe r species could have a completely different genetic architecture”, meaning that the same trait could map to different genes or to different parts of the brain. Proponents of canine studies suggest, however, that dog genes might hint at the pathways invol ved in human disease, and that might be enough.

Sleeping dogs don't lie

At least one succes s story shows that studies in dogs can lead to answers in humans. For decades, r esearchers vainly sifted through the DNA of human narcoleptics to find the genes behind the sleep disorder. But many genes were involved, environmental factors were inconsistent and no clear mechanism emerged. “People were arguing whether it was an autoi mmune disease, but no one knew what to do next. It was too difficult,” says Emmanuel Mignot, a sleep researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Redwood City, California, with a background in molecular pharmacology.

But Dobermann pinscher s are often susceptible to narcolepsy, and they held the key. In 1989, Mignot st arted to use classical genetic techniques to breed narcoleptic Dobermanns and tr ace the inheritance pattern of the disorder. Without the benefit of modern genet ic and genomic tools it took him ten years to zero in on the mutation that cause d the disease, in a gene called hypocretin receptor 2 (ref. ³ ), which regulates the brain's uptake of the neurotransmitter hypocretin, also known as orexin.

Mignot did not f ind the same mutation in the corresponding human gene, but he did find changes i n the hypocretin pathway ⁴ . “We started to measure hypocretin in cerebrospinal fluid. In narcol eptics, it was gone. It was striking,” says Mignot. Researchers are homing in on human gene mu tations that lead to hypocretin depletion and to narcolepsy ⁵ , and drug companies are targeting hypocretin as a possible lead in the search for insomnia symptoms treatments.

Same dogs, new tricks

Since Mignot published his studies, the ca nine genome has been sequenced ⁶ . That has ultimately allowed researchers to quic kly and easily compare the genomes of hundreds of dogs by looking at single nucl eotide polymorphisms (SNPs) — single-letter changes in the genome that act as markers for inherited blocks of DNA.

The genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that researchers can carry out using these markers are much simpler in dogs than in humans. Most dog breeds are extremely homogeneous; individual animals in the same bree d share significantly larger DNA blocks than are shared by any two humans. Que means that researchers can look at fewer SNPs and fewer individuals to find a bl ock of DNA that associates reliably with a disease ⁷ . According to Kerstin Lindbl ad-Toh of the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, human GWAS might req uire 5,000 individuals with a trait of interest and 5,000 controls without it to show that the trait is convincingly associated with a particular genome region. Dog studies can sneak by on as few as a hundred cases and a hundred controls. A nd a study requiring hundreds of thousands of SNPs in humans might need only 15, 000 in canines.

GWAS have proved successful in finding the genes for several dog traits that are relevant to human diseases, including the bone disorder osteoge nesis imperfecta — pinned to the gene causing stubby legs in dachshunds ⁸ — a nd the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus, which was shown in a stu dy published this year to be controlled by five separate genes in Nova Scotia du ck-tolling retrievers ⁹ . E mais estão por vir. Anne-Sophie Lequarré, a veterinari an at the University of Liège in Belgium, coordinates the European dog-genetics initiative LUPA . The project, started in 2008 with a €12-million (US$15.4-mil lion) budget, brings together some 100 researchers to study single-gene and comp lex disorders — including cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurological diso rders — by genotyping 10,000 dogs. Researchers involved will soon publish find ings on two mutations in dog genes that cause disorders corresponding with human disease, says Lequarré: “The first results really show that once you find a mutation [relate d to a disease] in dogs, 90% of the cases involve the same gene in humans.”

Compulsive disorde rs may be among the first successes in unravelling human behavioural conditions through dogs. More than 60 studies on genes in mice thought to have a role in hu man obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) have so far failed to find significant , reproducible associations ¹⁰ . But there are lots of dogs with obsessive behavio ur. A high proportion of bull terriers, for example, chase their tails relentles sly. Many large-breed dogs, such as Dobermanns, German shepherds, Great Danes an d golden retrievers, chew their flanks or lick their legs until they lose hair, develop lesions and in some cases cripple themselves — a habit some compare wi th obsessive hand washing and other rituals of people with OCD.

In January, Lin dblad-Toh and Dodman reported a link between canine compulsive disorder and a re gion on the dog's chromosome 7 (ref. ¹¹ ). Their study was based on an analysis of 14,700 SNPs in the genomes of more than 90 compulsively chewing Dobermanns and about 70 cont rols. It linked the behaviour to variations in a 4Ǡ-kilobase-long stretch of DN A. The connection between the variant that confers risk and the compulsive behav iour is not airtight, but it is good: 60% of the dogs that chewed their flanks, blankets and anything else they could get their teeth on had the variant, compar ed with 43% of those with milder chewing compulsion and just 22% of those with n o signs of compulsive behaviour.

One gene in the targeted region has already cap tured the imaginations of other researchers. CDH2 encodes the protein cadherin 2, which is involved in forming connections between neural cells. Deanna Benson , a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, says the possi bility that cadherins are involved in OCD has inspired others.

Feng, who makes m ouse models for OCD, is exploring the link. Last autumn, he and Lindblad-Toh str uck up a collaboration to find brain circuitry related to compulsion that is sha red by mice, dogs and humans. Feng is now knocking out Cdh2 function in specif ic brain regions of mice to test whether that produces OCD-like behaviours.

Do gged progress

Lindblad-Toh is now seeking a tighter genetic fit to human OCD. R esearchers approach dog genetic studies in two steps: first narrowing in on a la rge DNA chunk within one breed and then looking for overlap with that region in the DNA of dogs of other breeds with the same disease. Mignot used narcoleptic d achshunds to home in on the mutation expressed by his sleepy Dobermanns. And by comparing DNA loci in flank-sucking German shepherds and tail-chasing bull terri ers, Lindblad-Toh hopes to narrow the implicated region on chromosome 7 to a mor e manageable Ǫ kilobases. Similarly, Hamilton intends to broaden his noise-phob ia studies from border collies to bearded collies and Australian shepherds that show similar anxieties.

But canine genetics is challenged by some of the sa me issues that have foiled researchers studying human illnesses. Diagnoses for n europsychiatric disease are slippery. Schizophrenia, for example, could represen ta collection of many different disorders, each with separate genetic and envir onmental triggers. And if the subjects grouped by symptoms have different underl ying diseases, GWAS can become confused. “A few dogs can spoil a cohort,” says Lequarré. She cites an epile psy study that was not delivering any significant correlations. The researchers later found that some of the dogs in the disease group actually had a form of la te-onset epilepsy that was different from that being studied. “Phenotyping is crucial. You nee d to have dogs that have exactly the same disease,” she says.

LUPA is making an effort to clar ify diagnosis. To identify neurological disorders consistently, the group select ed veterinarians who follow standard procedures in parsing dog temperament. Stan dardization is the right approach, says Hamilton. For his work on collies, he le ads owners through a 24-page questionnaire that elicits objective observations. “We don't ask, 'Is your dog aggressive?' We ask, 'When there is a thun derstorm, what does your dog do?'”

LUPA's neurological-disorder division is focusing on aggression in the English cocker s paniel and English springer spaniel, both given to sudden fits of rage. The rese archers hope that the studies will identify mutations in genes related to human bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mental disorders involving aggression.

Excitement over dog models has been spreading. At the University of Tokyo's Laboratory of Ve terinary Ethology, Yukari Takeuchi has collected DNA samples from 200 Japanese s hiba inu and 200 labrador retrievers to look for the genes underlying the former's aggression and latter's lapses in concentration. It could help solve a practical problem, she says. Distr acted retrievers do not make good guide dogs, and knowing the gene variant respo nsible could help breeders to limit the trait in their stocks ¹² .

Whether or not the dog studies live up to their promise for understanding a nd relieving human suffering, they are sure to benefit pets. Breeders are alread y taking notice of some of the gene variants that ravage certain breeds. For bet ter and, in terms of scientific research, for worse, through screening and more selective breeding, the next generations of border collies will probably have fe wer anxiety-ridden dogs such as Solo who can be studied.

But Elaine Ostrander, d og geneticist at the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryl and, is confident that dogs have much to offer human health beyond the pleasure of warm fur and a cold, wet nose. “For 10,000 years, dog has been man's best friend. When we transitioned to hunter-gatherer, when we switched to agrarian, they were there. Now, in the gen omic era, dog is serving man again by helping us identify genes,” she says.  

David Cyranoski is Nature 's Asia–Pacifi c correspondent.

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Prevenção do suicídio

Suicide is the act or an instance of taking ones own life voluntarily and intenti onally. In the United States, tens of thousands of Americans take their own liv es every year. These are only the successful attempts. This article is about d iscussing suicide. It may make us uncomfortable, but it can save lives.

Suicide is a tragic, permanent act to what is often a temporary problem. Those who actually attempt suicide have lost hope – they no longer believe they can solve their problems or ease their p ain and see suicide as their only answer.

Signs and symptoms of depression

Its normal for people to experience any one or more of these symptoms. However, concern should be raised when the behavior lasts for more than two weeks. A person experiencing a chronic symptom(s) may not realize they need help. Family, friends, and co-workers should intervene and ensure as sistance is obtained. Sign include:

insomnia symptoms; excessive sleeping, daily fatigue, loss of ener gy; headache, stomachache; changes in appetite and weight; weakness, dizziness; changes in personal appearance, attitude or personality; difficulty concentrating or making decisions; unwillingness to communicate; frequent use of a lcohol or other drugs depression, moodiness; loss of interest in activities; spending time alone; running away from hom e; aggression, violence, emotional outburst; constant complaints of minor aches and pains; giving away possess ions; participating in risk-taking or self-destructive behavior; talk of suicide.

For the complete a rticle see the 08-25-2010 issue.

Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 08-25-2010 paper.

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Top Alternative Treatments for Fibromyalgia

“It would be great if we could just give people a pill to fix their fibromyalgia,” says Mark J. Pellegrino, MD, o f Ohio Pain and Rehabilitation Specialists and author of 13 books on fibromyalgi a. “But there's no magic pill. A balanced approach is important.”

For some people with fibromyalgia, that balanced approach includes trying complementary and alternati ve medicine (CAM) in addition to medication, exercise, and physical therapy.

There hasn'tb een a lot of formal research on the effectiveness of alternative treatments for fibromyalgia. But many people with fibromyalgia and some doctors believe some al ternative treatments can help ease pain, fatigue, and other symptoms, especially when combined with conventional approaches.

Here are some of the most popular alternative tr eatments and their track records.

Dietary Supplements for Fibromyalgia

Supplements commonly used to treat fibromyalgia symptoms Include:

• 
  5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan). This is a building block for the brai n chemical serotonin. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, so it's believed that raising serotonin levels can lead to a better mood. One st udy found that 5-HTP supplements may also help ease anxiety, insomnia symptoms, fibromyalgia pain, and morning stiffness. In the 1980s, 5-HTP supplements were a ssociated with a serious illness called eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS). Como ever, it's believed that a contaminant in some products caused those EMS episo des.
• 
  SAMe (S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine). This amino acid derivative may boost levels of serotonin and dopamine, another brain chemical. Limited research suggests SAMe may improve moo d and sleep.
• 
  Magnesium. Low levels of this element may be linked to fibromyalgia. However, researc h has not turned up solid evidence that taking magnesium supplements improves sy mptoms.
• 
  Melatonin. This hormone is often used in supplements to improve sleep. It may also ease fi bromyalgia pain.
• 
  St. John's wort . Though this herb is sometimes used to treat certain fibromyalg ia symptoms, there's no solid evidence that it works. A few studies suggest it may help with mild depression. But it can also limit the effectiveness of som e medications.

Pellegrino, who has fibromyalgia and is a physician speaker for pharmaceu tical companies that make medications used to treat fibromyalgia, considers the “three pillars of treatment” to be medicine, physical therapy, and supplemen ts. He says that some supplements, along with other treatments and lifestyle cha nges, have helped his patients experience less pain, more energy, and better sle ep.

The idea behind using supplements is to boost levels of certain substances in your body t hat may reduce the symptoms of fibromyalgia. “If there's a deficiency you ca n measure,” says Pellegrino, “it makes sense to replace that deficiency.”

Supplements a nd Fibromyalgia: Proceed With Caution

If you are considering supplements, talk with your doct ou. Some supplements can have harmful interactions with prescription medications . Some are unsafe if you have certain medical conditions. Pellegrino also advise s being wary of products that promise fibromyalgia relief or contain supplements not commonly used.

“When it comes to supplements, we're learning more and more,” he te lls WebMD. “But unlike drugs, we don't have rigorous research. It's import ant for a person with fibromyalgia to work with a doctor who is knowledgeable ab out supplements.”

New York – Who needs more sleep, women or men? And how could playing videog ames help cure nightmares? A list of five more recent sleep-related findings

Inteligência h the new school year about to begin, researchers are warning that getting enoug h sleep is among the “ most powerful predictor[s] of a child's academic performance.” But that's not the only conclusion that those who s tudy bed behavior have drawn about sleep in 2010. Here are five more ( see our fi rst list here ) noteworthy recent findings:

1. Women require more sleep than men
It's been the subject of a thousand domestic arguments: Who needs more rest, men or women? O answer, according to British sleep expert Jim Horne ( Sleepfaring: A Journey Thr ough The Science Of Sleep ), is that women's brains typically require an extra 20 minutes of sl eep each night to “recover” from additional stresses — a reflection of the fact that women generally multi task more than men.

2. Videogamers can control their dreams
If you can't tear your teen (or yourself) away from the Xbox, don't worry: the habit might offer protection against nightmares and mental trauma. Canadian psychologist Jayne Gackenbach says hardcore gamers are more likely to have lucid dreams (those which the dreamer feels he can “control”). Although lucid dreams often take the form of nightmares, gamers are better able to turn bad dreams in to more positive experiences. Gackenbach hopes her theories can help sufferers o f post-traumatic stress disorder overcome their symptoms.

3. Too little sle ep may shrink your brain
insomnia symptoms may have alarming neurological affects , according to a study recently published in the journal Biological Psychiatry . Dutch researchers found that chronically sleepless subjects tended to have less gray matter in their left orbitofrontal cortex than those who sleep more soundly — a condition that's also associated with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

4 . Heavy sleepers have special brain wave patterns that block noise
Ever wonder w hy some people can sleep through anything, while others can be jolted awake by a falling leaf? Harvard researchers attribute sound sleeping to “brain spindles,” bursts of rapid brain activ ity produced by the thalamus that apparently block the neurological signals whic h noise triggers. The more spindles your brain produces, reports HealthDay 's Melissa Lee Phill ips , the more likely you are to sleep heavily. Next step: Learning how to ramp u p spindle production.

5. Your sleep position reveals your personality
How you sn uggle up (or sprawl) says more about you than you might think, reports Jessica A shley at Yahoo Shine . British researchers say the six main sleep positions corre spond to personality traits. The most common, the fetal position, indicates some one with a “tough exterior” who is, nevertheless, “still sensitive.” The rare few who sleep in the “starfish” position are “good listeners, helpful, and are uncomfortable being t he center of attention.”

Sources: ABC News , Science Daily , LiveScience , Daily Mail , Yahoo Sh ine , BusinessWeek

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