| People with low self-esteem are more likely stay in unhappy relationships, suggests new research from the University of Waterloo. Sufferers of low self-esteem tend not to voice relationship complaints with their partner because they fear rejection. "There is a perception that people with low self-esteem tend to be more negative and complain a lot more," says Megan McCarthy the study's author and a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology. "While that may be the case in some social situations, our study suggests that in romantic relationships, the partner with low self-esteem resists addressing problems." The study is important for understanding how intimate partner communication can help improve the love lives of people around the world. "If your significant other is not engaging in open and honest conversation about the relationship," says McCarthy, "it may not be that they don't care, but rather that they feel insecure and are afraid of being hurt." In her research focused on intimate partner communication, McCarthy tests the impact on a relationship when one partner suffers from low self-esteem. "We've found that people with a more negative self-concept often have doubts and anxieties about the extent to which other people care about them," she says. "This can drive low self-esteem people toward defensive, self-protective behaviour, such as avoiding confrontation." The study was presented this week in California at The Society for Personality and Social Psychology's 16th Annual Meeting. The research suggests that people with low self-esteem's resistance to address concerns may stem from a fear of negative outcomes. Sufferers may believe that they cannot speak up without risking rejection from their partner and damage to their relationship, resulting in greater overall dissatisfaction in the relationship. "We may think that staying quiet, in a 'forgive and forget' kind of way, is constructive, and certainly it can be when we feel minor annoyances," says McCarthy. "But when we have a serious issue in a relationship, failing to address those issues directly can actually be destructive." McCarthy, along with her research colleagues, have plans for a second study that will look at how increasing a low-self-esteem partner's sense of power or influence in a relationship can promote more open disclosure. "We all know that close relationships can sometimes be difficult," says McCarthy. "The key issue, then, is how we choose to deal with it when we feel dissatisfied with a partner." Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by University of Waterloo. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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domingo, 1 de março de 2015
Intimate partners with low self-esteem stay in unhappy relationships
Chicago in Winter
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From the International Space Station (ISS), European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took this photograph of Chicago and posted it to social media on Feb. 19, 2015. She wrote, "How do you like #Chicago dressed for winter?" Crewmembers on the space station photograph the Earth from their unique point of view located 200 miles above the surface as part of the Crew Earth Observations program. Photographs record how the planet is changing over time, from human-caused changes like urban growth and reservoir construction, to natural dynamic events such as hurricanes, floods and volcanic eruptions. Astronauts have used hand-held cameras to photograph the Earth for more than 40 years, beginning with the Mercury missions in the early 1960s. The ISS maintains an altitude between 220 - 286 miles (354 - 460 km) above the Earth, and an orbital inclination of 51.6˚, providing an excellent stage for observing most populated areas of the world. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/Samantha Cristoforetti
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Astronaut Barry Wilmore on the First of Three Spacewalks
| NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore works outside the International Space Station on the first of three spacewalks preparing the station for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew spacecraft, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015. Fellow spacewalker Terry Virts, seen reflected in the visor, shared this photograph on social media. The spacewalks are designed to lay cables along the forward end of the U.S. segment to bring power and communication to two International Docking Adapters slated to arrive later this year. The new docking ports will welcome U.S. commercial spacecraft launching from Florida beginning in 2017, permitting the standard station crew size to grow from six to seven and potentially double the amount of crew time devoted to research. The second and third spacewalks are planned for Wednesday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, March 1, with Wilmore and Virts participating in all three. Image Credit: NASA  |
New compounds protect nervous system from the structural damage characteristic of multiple sclerosis
| February 27, 2015 Mount Sinai Medical Center A newly characterized group of pharmacological compounds block both the inflammation and nerve cell damage seen in mouse models of multiple sclerosis, according to a study. Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain and spinal cord, where for unknown reasons, the body's immune system begins an inflammatory attack against myelin, the protective nerve coating that surrounds nerve fibers. Once myelin is stripped from these fibers, the nerve cells become highly susceptible to damage, which is believed to underlie their destruction, leading to the steady clinical decline seen in progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. A newly characterized group of pharmacological compounds block both the inflammation and nerve cell damage seen in mouse models of multiple sclerosis, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published online this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain and spinal cord, where for unknown reasons, the body's immune system begins an inflammatory attack against myelin, the protective nerve coating that surrounds nerve fibers. Once myelin is stripped from these fibers, the nerve cells become highly susceptible to damage, which is believed to underlie their destruction, leading to the steady clinical decline seen in progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. "The compounds identified in this study, when administered orally, both reduced the inflammation that is a hallmark of multiple sclerosis and protected against the nerve cell damage seen in mouse models of the disease," said Jeffery Haines, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow at Mount Sinai and the study's lead author. "The multiple sclerosis drugs currently on the market and being tested elsewhere seek to reduce the immune attack on cells, but none target neurodegeneration nor do they work to restore nerve cell function. The findings of this new study represent an exciting step in the process of advancing new oral treatment options." Previous research conducted at Mount Sinai found that the trafficking of protein molecules between the nucleus (the cellular compartment containing the genetic information of the cell) and the cytoplasm is altered in neurodegenerative disease. The molecule that shuttles proteins between the nucleus and cytoplasm, XPO1 (also called CRM1,) has been implicated in multiple sclerosis and a number of other diseases. Specifically, the Mount Sinai study was designed to test whether pharmacological compounds designed to block the function of XPO1/CRM1 could stop disease progression in mouse models that exhibit some of the characteristics of MS. Researchers found that two chemical agents (called KPT-276 and KPT-350) prevented XPO1/CRM1 from shuttling cargo out of the nucleus of nerve cells, which protected them from free radicals and structural damage. The compounds also stopped inflammatory cells from multiplying, thereby reducing inflammation. Mice showing hindlimb paralysis were able to regain motor function within two weeks after KPT-276 or KPT-350 were orally administered. "The study results elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying disease progression in multiple sclerosis models, providing a basis for future clinical trials to determine safety and efficacy of these chemical agents in humans with demyelinating disorders," says Patrizia Casaccia, MD, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience, Genetics and Genomic Sciences at Mount Sinai and senior author of the study. Because traffic of molecules between the nucleus and the cytoplasm of nerve cells is altered in several other neurodegenerative disorders, targeting nuclear transport may have broader therapeutic implications in diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's disease. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by Mount Sinai Medical Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference:
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Psychology of food choice: Challenging the status quo
| Researchers are challenging conventional beliefs about the effectiveness of traditional strategies for encouraging healthy eating. The symposium, "Challenging Misconceptions About the Psychology of Food Choice," includes four presentations that tackle issues such as the harmfulness of weight-stigma, encouraging healthy choices, and strategies to help children and teens. The symposium is featured at the SPSP 16th Annual Convention in Long Beach, California. Helping kids eat more vegetables A study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, observed whether or not photographs of vegetables on a school lunch tray had an impact on the amount of vegetables eaten. The study found that placing photos of carrots and green beans did increase the amounts of vegetables eaten during lunch, but it still was not at levels consistent with government-recommended dietary guidelines. Researchers at the University of Minnesota are now studying other simple methods that schools could utilize to encourage eating vegetables during lunch. Their research will be published in the coming year. "[Our] research suggests that little changes to the lunchroom setting can help kids eat more vegetables. For example, you can help kids eat more vegetables by providing vegetables before you offer any other food," explains researcher Traci Mann. Children who were given vegetables to eat first before any other food ate more than children who were provided all food options at once. Challenging teens' attitudes Researchers at the University of California at San Diego and the University of Texas at Austin are investigating ways to motivate teenagers to make healthier food and drink choices. "Teenagers are notoriously uninterested in healthy eating," says lead researcher Christopher Bryan. In response to that disinterest, Bryan and his colleagues have taken a novel approach at motivating teens. "Instead of trying to convince teens to care about something they don't care about, we link healthy eating to things they already care about," Bryan explains. The researchers are framing the intervention as an expose of deceptive food marketing practices designed to manipulate teens to eat junk food, for instance, explaining how companies engineer junk food to be as addictive as possible and use dishonest labeling to make products appear healthier than they are. "We find that by changing the way teens think about healthy eating, we're able to increase the extent to which teens want to see themselves as healthy eaters...and by doing that, we're able to increase the rate at which teens make healthy choices," says Bryan. The researchers are continuing to study whether their approach can effectively change teens' behavior long-term. Downsides of calorie counting Counting calories may negatively impact an individual's ability to focus, according to researchers at the University of California at San Diego, Harvard University, and Princeton University. "If you're counting calories, seemingly innocuous reminders of tempting, high-calorie food--such as an empty donut box in the middle of a conference table--can lead to worse performance on difficult tests of attention and reasoning ability," says lead researcher Aimee Chabot. Many employers often provide indulgent food in meetings with the intention of motivating their staff, but that may be having an unintended negative effect. The researchers suggest that individuals looking to reduce their calorie intake avoid counting calories and instead opt for simpler strategies, such as avoiding added sugars or not eating after 7 p.m. The research is still preliminary, and more data is being collected to replicate the initial results and examine the effect of the presence of actual tempting food on cognitive performance. Effects of weight shaming Weight-loss campaigns and programs often portray overweight and obese individuals negatively. Researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara have found that media messages that stigmatize obesity had negative behavioral and impacts on overweight participants. The research was published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. "Our research shows that weight stigma leads to behavioral responses that can ironically contribute to weight gain," says co-author Jeffrey Hunger. The researchers observed that self-perceived overweight women who read a weight-stigmatizing news article consumed more high-calorie snack foods compared to overweight women who read a neutral article. "Simply reading about the potential for weight stigma was enough to impair self-regulation among overweight women," explains Hunger. The research suggests that the mere threat of stigma can have important behavioral effects, even in cases where an individual does not directly experience weight-based mistreatment. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by Society for Personality and Social Psychology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference:
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Image-guided treatment shown to break the migraine cycle
| An innovative interventional radiology treatment has been found to offer chronic migraine sufferers sustained relief of their headaches, according to research being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's Annual Scientific Meeting. Clinicians at Albany Medical Center and the State University New York Empire State College in Saratoga Springs used a treatment called image-guided, intranasal sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) blocks to give patients enough ongoing relief that they required less medication to relieve migraine pain. "Migraine headaches are one of the most common, debilitating diseases in the Unites States, and the cost and side effects of medicine to address migraines can be overwhelming," said Kenneth Mandato, M.D., the study's lead researcher and an interventional radiologist at Albany Medical Center. "Intranasal sphenopalatine ganglion blocks are image-guide, targeted, breakthrough treatments. They offer a patient-centered therapy that has the potential to break the migraine cycle and quickly improve patients' quality of life," he added. Mandato and his team conducted a retrospective analysis of 112 patients suffering migraine or cluster headaches. Patients reported the severity of their headaches on a visual analogue scale (VAS), ranging from 1-10, to quantify the degree of debilitation experienced from the migraine. During the treatment, which is minimally invasive and does not involve needles touching the patient, researchers inserted a spaghetti-sized catheter through the nasal passages and administered 4 percent lidocaine to the sphenopalatine ganglion, a nerve bundle just behind the nose associated with migraines. Before treatment, patients reported an average VAS score of 8.25, with scores greater than 4 at least 15 days per month. The day after the SPG block patients' VAS scores were cut in half, to an average of 4.10. Thirty days after the procedure, patients reported an average score of 5.25, a 36 percent decrease from pretreatment. Additionally, 88 percent of patients indicated that they required less or no migraine medication for ongoing relief. "Administration of lidocaine to the sphenopalatine ganglion acts as a 'reset button' for the brain's migraine circuitry," noted Mandato. "When the initial numbing of the lidocaine wears off, the migraine trigger seems to no longer have the maximum effect that it once did. Some patients have reported immediate relief and are making fewer trips to the hospital for emergency headache medicine," he said. Because of the minimally invasive nature of the treatment and the medication's safety profile, Mandato believes patients can have the SPG block repeated, if needed. While patients reported relief from their migraines, Mandato added that SPG blocks are not a cure for migraines; they are a temporary solution as are other current treatment options for chronic headaches. Because of the minimally invasive nature of the treatment and the medication's safety profile, Mandato believes patients can have the SPG block repeated, if needed. To further study SPG blocks, Mandato will track how the 112 patients have responded six months after treatment. He is also considering conducting a double-blind, prospective study to more rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of SPG blocks in treating chronic migraines. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by Society of Interventional Radiology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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Interventional radiology treatment relieves chronic plantar fasciitis
| Patients suffering from chronic plantar fasciitis now have a new weapon against this debilitating foot ailment, according to research presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's Annual Scientific Meeting. Researchers utilized ultrasound imaging and specific ultrasonic energy to penetrate, emulsify and remove diseased fasciitis tissue. Permanently removing damaged, pain-generating tissue allowed room for healthy tissue to regrow in its place, restoring normal function. "Plantar fasciitis is so ubiquitous and such a difficult condition to live with, and yet patients have been limited in their treatment options," said Rahul Razdan, M.D., one of the study's researchers and an interventional radiologist at Advanced Medical Imaging in Lincoln, Neb. "While standard treatments, such as pain medication and physical therapy, can offer some relief, there have been no permanent answers. Consequently, safe and effective definitive treatments are highly desirable," he noted. In the study, 100 patients were treated, beginning in August 2013. The patients presented with chronic, refractory plantar fasciopathy, and all patients had previously failed to respond to medications, activity modification and arch supports. Before treatment, patients reported how their foot pain affected their ability to manage everyday life through the Foot and Ankle Disability Index (FADI). FADI scores were collected from the patients at two weeks, six weeks and six months post treatment. Two weeks after treatment, greater than 90 percent of patients reported improvement in symptoms, and these improvements were maintained at six months. Patients also reported being highly satisfied with the treatment and had no treatment-related complications. "It is important for patients suffering from chronic plantar fasciitis to know that they have treatment options," added Razdan. "We have patients who are in so much pain they can't even play with their kids or take their dog for a walk. This ultrasonic treatment can give patients their lives back and let them enjoy their lives. We are excited to see significant results from this treatment," he said. Chronic plantar fasciitis is the most common debilitating foot complaint, affecting approximately 10 percent of the population and accounting for more than 1 million office visits annually, said Razdan. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by Society of Interventional Radiology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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Reasons for ibrutinib therapy discontinuation in CLL
About 10 percent of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) discontinued therapy with the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor drug ibrutinib because of disease progression during clinical trials, according to a study published online in JAMA Oncology.CLL is the most prevalent leukemia in adults and it is not considered curable without an allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplant. However, advances in therapy have been made, notably the emergence of kinase inhibitors for patients whose disease relapsed, according to the study background. The drug ibrutinib (marketed as Imbruvica®) is the first drug designed to target Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), a protein essential for CLL-cell survival and proliferation. The drug is approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma. Much of the clinical and basic-science research that led to the approval of ibrutinib for CLL was performed by scientists at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center -- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC -- James). Hematologists Kami Maddocks, MD, Jennifer Woyach, MD, and colleagues have now described the characteristics of patients who discontinued ibrutinib therapy and their outcomes in a group of 308 patients participating in four trials at The OSUCCC -- James. The study results show that with a median (midpoint) follow-up of 20 months, 232 patients (75 percent) remained on therapy, 31 (10 percent) discontinued because of disease progression and 45 discontinued for other reasons (including 28 because of infection, eight for other adverse events and nine due to other medical events). Disease progression included Richter's transformation (when the cancer becomes an aggressive lymphoma) or progressive CLL. Richter's transformation appeared to occur early and CLL progression later. Median survival after Richter's transformation was 3.5 months and 17.6 months following CLL progression, the results indicate. "These data enhance our understanding of how patients do on ibrutinib long-term and who is likely to relapse. We know that many patients will have very durable remissions with ibrutinib, and understanding which patients are at higher risk helps us select who might benefit from clinical trials investigating other new agents and combination therapies rather than starting ibrutinib treatment by itself," says Woyach, senior author of the study. "We have confirmed that specific gene mutations are seen in patients who relapse, which gives us an idea of other drugs that might be effective in these circumstances." OSUCCC -- James researchers conclude that this data confirms ibrutinib as an effective therapy and identifies, for the first time, baseline factors associated with ibrutinib therapy discontinuation. "Outcomes data show poor prognosis after discontinuation, especially for those patients with Richter's transformation. Patients with either progressive CLL or Richter's tend to require therapy quickly after ibrutinib is stopped, so having a plan in place for alternative therapy is necessary. This sub-segment of patients who relapse on ibrutinib remains a high research priority to identify new targets and new therapies, and we have multiple studies ongoing at the James to try to help these patients," adds Maddocks. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference:
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Fitting in fitness: Finding time for physical activity
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Finding time for fitness can be tough. The key is making it convenient. Consider these practical suggestions. You know fitness is important for your health and well-being. And you want to get more active, but your days are a blur of work, household chores, errands, and time with family and friends. Setting aside enough time to sleep — let alone exercise — can be tough. So how can you find time for fitness? The key is to be flexible and make fitness a way of life. And remember all physical activity — not just formal exercise programs — adds up to a healthier you. Fitting in fitness at homeTime spent at home doesn't have to be couch potato time. To make fitness a priority at home:
Work out at work To fit in more physical activity while you're on the job:
More tips for fitting in fitnessHere are a few more ways you can add more activity to your routine:
There's no single best way to fit physical activity into your day. Your lifestyle, job and family responsibilities will point to the most convenient time and place for fitness. Do what works for you — and make daily physical activity a habit you keep. Notice : The images above don’t belong to the original article. |
