Results of a large scale study indicate a considerable link between inherited depression and brain cortex thinning that occurs in the hemisphere.

Dr. Myrna Weissman led that study which published in the online journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Dr. Bradley Peterson was the first author of that study who is director of MRI Research in Psychiatry department at Columbia University Medical Center.

Peterson, Weissman and colleagues noticed the people with higher risk of becoming the victim of depression had 28% thinner brain cortex than those who didn’t have any known risk for the disease.

According to the researchers these results were quite amazing for them” “This rate of brain thinning is equal to brain loss amount that could be seen in the people with schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease,” Peterson says.

“The amount of difference was so great that we couldn’t even believe it, so we checked it again and again to find out all the alternative explanations, but the same difference occurred again and again.”

Explaining about how thinner cortex has link to depression, Peterson says that this thinness seems to affect a person’s ability to pay proper attention and make sense of emotional and social responses from other people.

In their study, Peterson and colleague also tested the levels of inattention of the participants of the study

Affordable Healthcare is one of the most critical health issues in American society today. It has been found that many American citizens are compromising on their health issues because of the economical crisis and rising prices of basic commodities of life. The situation becomes more critical when people opt to skip doses and neglecting health issues. What every American is looking forward to is an affordable healthcare solution.

In this regard many campaigns are ongoing with Teva Pharmaceuticals USA on the front line by launching its first awareness campaign all over the U.S. Whilst the U.S is going for possible healthcare reforms in 2009, Teva aims at making people understand generic drugs’ economical value. Generic drugs are quite valuable because of the savings they provide, said senior director of corporate communications, North America, Teva, Denise Bradley.

‘Year of Affordable Healthcare’ is a nationwide campaign headed by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA which is in coherence with Hatch-Waxman Act. Hatch-Waxman Act holds a turning point position in American healthcare history, as it gave birth to the today generic drug industry which has helped and is helping saving billions of dollars in health care.

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Results of a new US study show that different workout can be very helpful to improve the quality of life in postmenopausal women, although they are not effective in losing weight.

In their study, the researchers included 430 postmenopausal women (aged 57.4 on average basis) and they assigned 4 kilocalories per kg, 8 kilocalories per kg or 12 kilocalories per kg as exercise expenditure randomly for these groups. These levels show 50%, 100% and 150% of the present recommendations of public health physical activity.

Corby K. Martin, the lead author of the study, says, “It was found that 4-KKW, 8-KKW and 12-KKW groups were 95%, 88.1% and 93.7% adhere to exercise respectively and every group spent 73.9%, 138.3% and 183.6 min/week for exercise.”

It was found that control group had 2.07lbs average weight loss, 2.95 lbs in 8-KKW group 2.07 and 2.90lbs in 12-KKW group.

“Nearly on every aspect of life quality dose response was noted and it was also found that the health perception was quite improved in 4-KKW group and similarly there was a considerable boost in their mental health and vitality if compared to control group,” the researchers explained.

The study has been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine Feb. 09 issue.

The results of an Australian study shoes that zinc may prove effective to decrease birth defect risk, which is associated with alcohol consumption, during pregnancy.

The study has been carried on mice and it will be published in print issue of the Journal Clinical & Experimental Research on Alcoholism in April.

Peter Coyle, the co-author of the study, says: “it is amount and the period of alcohol consumption on which damage to the fetus depends. Similarly, the exposure time related to the development of tissues and cells also plays an important role in this connection.”

“The results of some previous studies have shown that exposure to alcohol or some other toxins during pregnancy can cause zinc deficiency in the fetus, as they induced zinc-binding protein in the liver of the pregnant woman.”

In their study, the researchers gave saline or an alcohol solution to the pregnant mice on their eight day of gestation (equivalent to 3-8 weeks on a human pregnancy). The researchers gave these mice either zinc supplemented or a regular diet during from the beginning to 18th day of gestation. Then the researchers assessed some of the fetuses to find out any birth defect and monitored the growth of the offspring for 60 days after birth.

The researchers concluded that fetal defects because of alcohol exposure could be prevented by the use of dietary zinc supplementation. However, the researchers say that their finding doesn’t mean that alcohol consumption becomes safe during pregnancy only by taking sufficient amount of zinc.

Six pack and washboard abdomens are phrases used to describe ripped muscles. Many people want ripped muscles but are not sure how to get them in ways that do not involve actually tearing muscle tissue. All it takes to develop the ripped muscle look is determination and doing the right things.

1. Weight Training –Weight training improves muscle tone and reduces flabby limbs and stomachs. Despite the name weight training can be performed without dumb bells. A person looking to develop the ripped muscle look should do weight training three times a week. …Click here to read more