Understanding Bipolar Disorder

The biology and genetics of bipolar disorder are not well understood, thus making understanding of the disorder challenging. Now, in a new study, researchers utilize an integrative approach in order to investigate the biology of bipolar disorder.
Dr. Inti Pedroso and colleagues examined results of three studies, which examined the association of common gene variants with bipolar disorder throughout the genome. In addition, the team examined a study of gene

expression patterns in post-mortem brain tissue from individuals who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry explained:

"None of our research approaches provide us with sufficient information, by itself, to understand the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders. This innovative paper wrestles with this challenge in a creative way that helps us to move forward in thinking about the neurobiology of bipolar disorder."

Dr. Pedroso said: "We combined information about genetic variation from thousands of cases and controls with brain gene expression data and information from protein databases to identify networks of genes and proteins in the brain that are key in the development of bipolar disorder."
The team were able to define risk gene variants that were considered function, by virtue of the association with changes in gene expression levels, and to group these functional gene variants in biologically meaningful pathways.
The results found that the effect was due to genes that played a role in various neural signaling pathways like the Notch and Wnt signaling pathways, which are key processes in neurotransmission and brain development. They also suggest that these genes are also likely to play a part in causing this disorder. According to the researchers, these genes localize to the human postsynaptic density that is vital for neuronal function and their mouse knockouts show different behavioral phenotypes whilst some are known targets of pharmacological therapies for bipolarism.
Dr. Gerome Breen, Senior Lecturer at King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, concluded:

"Our study provides some of the first evidence to show the biochemical and developmental processes involved in causing risk for developing this life-long and costly illness. We have highlighted potential new avenues for new drug treatments and intervention."

Related articles

• Gene Variations Linked To Higher Risk Of Bipolar Disorder (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Scientists pinpoint gene variations linked to higher risk of bipolar disorder (sciencedaily.com)
• Replicating risk genes in bipolar disorder (eurekalert.org)

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Weight Loss Tips That Will Give You Back Your Figure

One common complaint that most people have is how difficult it is to lose weight. However, by applying the following tips, you will discover a method that will help you with your weight loss.

A simple tip to help you lose weight is to drink milk before you eat your meal. It makes your body feel full, so you won't eat as much as you may have otherwise. Milk is high in calcium and will keep your bones strong as well as build muscle mass.

Make exercise part of your daily routing if you're looking to get in shape. Being busy is not an excuse to avoid working out. For instance, hang onto the kitchen counter do a set of push ups as dinner is cooking.

Eat a larger number of low calorie meals throughout the day. Five or six tiny meals are better than three large ones. This lets the body burn calories much quicker throughout the day.

Egg Yolks

One way you can fine-tune your diet for weight loss is to toss out egg yolks and only use the whites. Although there are some healthy ingredients in egg yolks, they're also loaded with cholesterol and fat, and that likely makes them a bad fit for your current diet. Egg whites offer a terrific source of protein.

Keep tempting junk food out of your home. If you don't have a freshly baked cake sitting on your kitchen counter, you won't be faced with constant temptation. Instead, keep healthy snacks and foods on hand. Cut up fresh fruits and veggies and keep them in the fridge, or have healthy crackers in your cupboard.

While shopping at your favorite department store, indulge yourself by trying on a variety of outfits--even if you have no intention of buying them. Just going through the actions of trying on different outfits will burn calories faster than you might think.

Getting rid of some weight is not very hard. A great way to get started is by cutting some particular foods out of your diet. Replace pop and juices by mineral water. Sometimes you can drink low-sugar versions of juice drinks, but sodas should really stay off limits.

To eat better, you should avoid skipping meals. Although you may think skipping a meal or two will help you lose weight, this is not the case. While you may not be feeling the hunger pangs, do try to eat a healthy meal at least three times each day.

Fad Diets

A dietician can help you make good choices. The dietician will educate you on how to make good food choices. Choosing nutritious foods can make all the difference in your weight loss.

A trendy diet might seem like a good way to begin your weight loss program and quickly shed excess pounds. But if you are serious about shedding pounds, you would do well to avoid fad diets. Modern fad diets can hurt you because you are cutting out all of one thing. These diets include the cottage cheese diet or cabbage diet. Worse, this not will not teach you how to eat in a healthier way. Instead, try to choose a diet that will help you learn how to eat healthier foods.

As was mentioned in the introduction, losing weight takes dedication, motivation and perseverance. Oftentimes, people have a difficult time starting a weight loss program. These are just a few ways to help you get started on your path to weight loss.

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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you. I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who have made this blog great, for sharing your stories, you comments and more. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy holiday.

-Michael "

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Treatment For Gastrointestinal Conditions May Be Improved By Targeting Neurotransmitter

Selective targeting of the neurotransmitter that differentially affects brain cells that control the two distinct functions of the pancreas may allow for new medication therapies for conditions like diabetes, dyspepsia and gastro-esophageal reflux, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.
"This study differs from what's been reported

previously about brain neurons that control the gastrointestinal tract," said R. Alberto Travagli, professor, Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, and lead investigator. "It provides further support to the idea that separate nerve pathways regulate the diverse functions of organs along the upper gastrointestinal tract."
The pancreas has two functional parts: one that releases digestive enzymes, and one that releases hormones like insulin and glucagon. The vagus nerve, which originates in the brain, regulates both of these pancreatic functions. This nerve detects chemical and biological changes that occur along the gastrointestinal tract and interprets and integrates these signals before sending appropriate responses back to the organs. In the brain, these signals tell the nerves controlling each specific organ what the proper response is -- for example, digestive processes and insulin release -- according to the signals detected in the GI tract.
Neurotransmitters in the brain and in organs like the pancreas control the nerve networks that receive these signals. Neurotransmitters are chemicals released from nerves that allow them to communicate with each other as well as with organs of the body. One of these neurotransmitters is glutamate, which acts on specific proteins called receptors that are present on the nerve cells. There are different classes and types of receptors that glutamate can act upon; one major class of these receptors is metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). This class is further divided into three subgroups -- I, II or III -- depending on their location and function on the nerve cells.
"The aim of this study was to investigate how these mGluRs are organized on nerve synapses -- the specialized structures that allow a signal to pass from one cell to another cell," Travagli said. "The second aim of the study was to see whether pancreatic insulin and enzyme secretions are controlled by different types of vagal motoneurons -- the cells of the nervous system that control motor functions of the pancreas through the vagus nerve."
Group II and III mGluRs are present in synapses that can either excite or inhibit the vagal nerve cells that send signals to the pancreas, and different outcomes can be seen depending on which group of mGluRs glutamate acts upon. When glutamate acts upon either group II or group III mGluR, insulin secretion is decreased. Pancreatic enzyme secretion is increased only by activation of group II mGluR by glutamate.
"The data shows mGluRs on brainstem vagal nerve circuits that regulate pancreatic functions are organized in a very specific manner," Travagli said. "This type of separation in their organization may allow for development of selective drugs that target very specific vagal neurocircuits in patients with such conditions as gastrointestinal reflux disorders, functional dyspepsia, gastroparesis and pancreatic exocrine or endocrine dysfunctions."

Related articles

• Treatment For Gastrointestinal Conditions May Be Improved By Targeting Neurotransmitter (medicalnewstoday.com)
• In T2 Diabetes, Which Comes First: High Insulin Levels or Insulin Resistance? (diabeticmediterraneandiet.com)
• Targeting neurotransmitter may help treat gastrointestinal conditions (sciencedaily.com)

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Pig That Models Human Diseases Such As Obesity, Diabetes, And Cardiovascular Disease Gets International Attention

A detailed annotation of the genome of T.J. Tabasco, a pig from the University of Illinois South Farms, is the outcome of over 10 years of work by an international consortium. It is expected to speed progress in both biomedical and agricultural research. U of I Vice President for Research Lawrence Schook said that the College of ACES played a crucial role in getting the work started.

Funding that came through ACES allowed Schook and others to put together the Swine Genome Sequencing Consortium, an alliance of university, industry, and government laboratories in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The USDA committed 10 million dollars to the project. Today the project includes scientists from more than 50 research groups.
Schook said that the project has three main objectives: (1) to serve as a blueprint for understanding evolution and domestication, (2) to advance research on animal production and health, and (3) to explore ways to use the pig in biomedical applications.
The first publication, which just appeared in Nature, focuses on the pig's evolution. Researchers compared the reference genome from T.J. Tabasco with genomes of wild and domestic pigs from Europe and Asia (including archaeological and museum samples), and to human, mouse, dog, horse, and cow genomes.
"The pig is interesting because the wild boar still exists," Schook explained. "We could look at domestication, and we also looked at speciation. From an evolutionary perspective, these Sus species diverge in a very short time."
The researchers traced the domestic pig back to Southeast Asia. From there, it spread across Eurasia. The glaciation period separated the pigs into two groups about one million years ago. Today they are almost sub-species. "However, their chromosome structures have stayed very similar," Schook noted.
Pigs were independently domesticated in western Eurasia and East Asia 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. There is evidence that as the early European settlers moved around, they bred the domesticated females with wild boars.
Pigs in Central and South America are thought to have originated on the Iberian Peninsula. In a paper soon to be published in Heredity, the researchers tracked how these pigs adapted to different climates, altitudes, and diets.
As well as providing insights into how the pig evolved, the genome sequencing provides valuable new tools for animal breeding. One is a DNA test that can identify individual pigs that are less susceptible to certain diseases or have a genetic predisposition to fattening rapidly, eating less, and bearing many offspring.
On the biomedical side, researchers will build on ongoing efforts to use the pig to model human diseases, including lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The sequencing identified 112 genes in pigs that are also responsible for diseases in people, suggesting that pigs could be used for drug testing.
Another direction is to use pigs as a source of organs for humans. Schook mentioned islet cells for diabetics as an example.
"Human transplant of eyelets doesn't work because there's not enough cells in a single pancreas," he explained. "If you could have an animal source, even if they get rejected, they're plentiful."
Clearly, there are a plenitude of exciting possibilities for future research. "For me, the next phase is looking at this concept of epigenomics - of how the environment affects gene expression," Schook said.

Related articles

• Scientists Sequence Entire Pig Genome in Breakthrough That Could Combat Human Disease (medicaldaily.com)
• Pig genome helps us understand why they eat crappy things (southofheaven.typepad.com)
• Pig That Models Human Diseases Such As Obesity, Diabetes, And Cardiovascular Disease Gets International Attention (medicalnewstoday.com)

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Looking For Weight Loss Ideas? Try These Strategies!

Weight loss is an incredibly important goal for many people. To be able to lose weight the right way, start a plan and combine it with effort and your time. Doing this, you can achieve the weight loss that was difficult in the past. If you are serious about weight loss, then follow the advice in this article.

A great way to lose some weight is to ensure that your dishes are not too large. When you use over-sized dish plates, you can inadvertently overeat due to dishing up larger portions. Ideally, your meal should easily fit on a plate that measures 9 inches in diameter. Larger plates are simply too large for successful weight loss.

Work on your stomach while you sit at your desk. The trasvernus abdominis is the muscle responsible for how flat your abs look. Suck your belly inward as much as possible, and keep it there while you do some deep breathing to strengthen this muscle.

Eat your largest meal of the day at lunchtime instead of at night. If you usually have a sandwich during lunch, try having it for dinner instead. Since you burn more calories during the day and less at night, it makes more sense to eat more during the day and less in the evening.

Red Meat

If you eat a lot of red meat, eliminating it from your diet could help you lose weight. There are high levels of fat and cholesterol in red meat that can be detrimental to your health. You can substitute lean foods such as turkey, chicken or fish for red meat.

Consider using smaller plates when trying to lose weight. Since plates have gotten larger over time, they make you think you need to eat more. If you use a salad plate you can fool your mind into eating much less.

It's a well known fact that drinking water can help you shed pounds. However, few people know that the best way to drink water is ice cold. When you drink cold water, your body has to burn calories to maintain its proper temperature, which will also increase metabolism.

Try three bean salad when you are working at losing weight. You can quickly make the low-calorie version at home. Mix three different types of beans in a bowl with a light dressing, such as Italian. You can snack on this high-fiber treat all week long.

Shop at thrift and discount stores for clothing during the weight loss process. This is a good idea because you do not want to spend a lot of money on clothes that will not fit you for long.

As you can see, losing weight is a matter of learning about nutrition, changing your eating and exercise routines and being patient with yourself as you go through the process. Using the tips found here, you can make the most of your efforts and shed that extra weight.

As part of your weight loss regimen, make sure that you include exercise. Make sure to commit time each day for exercise. Mark your calendar with your scheduled exercise time to ensure that nothing will interfere.

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Tips For Losing Your Extra Weight The Right Way

You are certainly not an oddity if you need a little guidance on your weight loss journey. It is sometimes difficult to find which combination of things will succeed for you personally. Read on for some things that others have done to achieve the weight loss results you're looking for. Put them all together and craft a plan that will help you lose weight.

Drinking an increased amount of water can give you a quick way to lose 5 pounds. If you reduce your food intake and consume at least two quarts of water everyday for seven days, you start to lose water weight. You can jump start your diet with a quick five pound loss and then proceed to working on real fat loss.

It can be tough to always eat veggies and fruits. Try throwing them in the freezer so that you'll have a healthy, ready-to-cook food in a pinch. Try keeping frozen vegetables on hand for a quick addition to casseroles, soups and other meals. You can't use the excuse of not having access to healthy food any longer!

Document your calorie intake. Go out and buy an inexpensive spiral notebook. Turn this notebook into a personalized food journal. Write down whatever you eat, the calories contained in the food, and the serving amount. This helps you keep on top of what you eat, when, and how many calories you are taking in.

Don't replace what you eat, instead replace high fat ingredients in your recipes with those that have lower fat. Look over all your recipes that are fattening and see if they are ways you can change them up to make them healthier. Replace butter with spreads made of vegetable oil. Fat-free yogurt makes a great substitute for sour cream. It is not necessary to stop eating your favorite foods. All you have to do is modify them.

Look for a buddy who can be your exercise partner. This helps you to socialize so that you are having fun while burning calories. You two can encourage one another and keep each other motivated. You may find that you actually start to enjoy your workouts which will only increase the amount of weight you are able to lose.

Replace your sweet snacks with some fruit and vegetables. If you have the habit of consuming chocolate or various sweetened food, try to replace these with fruits that you enjoy. This will help you in losing weight and you will also be able to get the sugar that you're craving.

Plan meals ahead to help with portion control and to increase your intake of valuable nutrients. Use a cooler or a thermos to keep your food at the proper temperature. Plan out your day so your meals are available for access at all times.

Rather than juices, consider opting for fat-free milk as your morning beverage. Milk has the advantage of leaving you feeling fuller longer and adding vitamins to your diet. Following this tip will help you feel full and less likely to eat more. Implementing this change can make a big difference.

Maintaining a healthy weight is a lifelong task. However, it does not need to be stressful. Try the suggestions offered in this article, and you'll find what makes a difference to your body. Use techniques that work for you, and you will be maintaining your weight with ease.

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Get Your Weight Loss Plan On The Right Track With These Useful Tips!

Do you want to lose weight? Many Americans are overweight but the weight can be lost through a comprehensive weight loss plan. The tips presented here will help you shed those extra pounds and keep them off. Losing weight should not be hard; try these strategies and you will surely see great results.

Never eat just before going to bed. Do not eat within two hours of your normal bedtime. If you must eat something, snack on crisp vegetables and drink some water. Sometimes you will have no choice but to eat something less than two hours before bedtime, but don't make a habit of it. When your body is not in motion,it will store the calories and fat.

Yogurt is a good weight loss treat. Try choosing plain or raw yogurt. Use plain yogurt with cucumbers, salt and pepper for a salad. Add some fruits to your yogurt as an alternative to yogurts filled with hidden sugars. Yogurt not only tastes good but contains calcium that strengthens your bones.

Eating eggs without the yolk is a great protein source. Egg yolk does have its own benefits but if you don't want all the fat in your diet it's best to skip it. Consuming egg whites provides you with lots of high quality protein.

Enjoy reasonable portion sizes at meals for better health. Research shows that eating smaller meals helps you maintain a healthier body. In return, you will feel better and look great. Your energy level will improve, and you will have less health problems.

Sleep is essential when trying to lose weight effectively. Research has proven that those who lose sleep are often hungrier than the average person, and that could lead to bad eating habits. The overeating will have a dramatic impact on their weight.

If you want to keep your weight off, it's best to do it slowly. Rapid weight loss may provide you with instant results, but will only leave you with temporary results. Marketing experts play the the desire of people for a quick fix. Lasting results require staying focused and losing one pound after another.

Make sure you balance losing weight with hydrating your body and lifting weights. Many people who try to lose weight have problems with stretch marks and loose skin. Drinking water and lifting weights can reduce these problems.

You can help your weight loss goal by taking the stairs instead of an elevator. It may seem like very little, but it can help you to burn calories that would not have otherwise been burned if you had opted to take the elevator.

To reduce the waistline and also improve the appearance of your skin, avoid any foods fried in fat. Many studies show that eating lots of protein and little fat is good for your health. The natural oils in your skin are affected by high-glycemic foods like candy and fried foods. These foods throw those oils off-balance and it shows.

There is no magic pill for weight loss. You have to change what you are doing physically and tweak what you are putting into your body. If you will follow our tips, you will find success at effectively losing the weight that you want to lose and keeping it off.

One way to contribute to weight loss is to consume milk before each meal. Milk will help you to feel full, and if you drink an entire glass before you eat, you will tend to eat less. Calcium is highly important to your body and milk is one of the primary sources for acquiring it.

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Weight Loss Within Reach: Try These Trusted Tips!

If you wish to shed the extra pounds, try setting some rules you can live with so that you may lose weight efficiently. In this article, you will find plenty of helpful hints and tips to get you back to a weight you feel comfortable with.

Sleep is very important to a weight-loss plan. When attempting to lose weight, get seven or eight uninterrupted hours of sleep every night. Losing sleep can lead to more tension and stress during the day, which can cause obesity. Those who are depressed are likely to sleep more each day and be more overweight.

Try to stay positive when you are trying to lose weight. If you can start thinking positive thoughts about exercising and making healthy changes to your diet, they won't be something that you dread. Motivation is key for success during your weight loss regimen.

Remember to reward yourself. Sometimes, you can have a snack without it affecting your overall diet program. This is a way to give yourself a treat so that you continue working hard. It just means you're rewarding yourself for sticking to your goals. However, do not constantly reward yourself. You diet should be viewed as a lifestyle change, not a negative.

Pound large packages of meat before opening them. This will cause it to be divided into smaller portions when you're cooking and eating it. If you pound your meat it will be more tender to eat and you will not have to add sauces that can add more calories.

Knowing what food labels are telling you is of the utmost importance for anyone trying to lose weight. Even though it says fat-free it isn't necessarily good for you. You should avoid it since it can contain a lot of calories and sugar. You must look at the full label in order to really know a food's ingredients.

Muscle has been documented to burn many more calories than fat. If you have more muscle mass on your body, you will have an easier time loosing weight without having to do a lot. Build up muscle by doing strength training two to three times every week.

Refrain from gaining weight while you are at work. A lot of jobs are of the sedentary nature. Add a bit of activity by walking to give people things in person instead of letting an office attendant take them. Not only will you feel better, but you will be able to maintain a healthier weight as well.

Green Tea

It has been proven that green tea is beneficial for fighting fat, so it's a good choice to include in a weight loss plan. It also helps cleanse your system. Brewed green tea, either hot or over ice, with no added sugars is the healthiest beverage you can consume besides water. Drinking green tea, instead of drinks high in sugar, can help you lose weight.

A great way in keeping up with your weight loss is to make a journal of your journey. Track your weight every day to be reminded of how much you need to lose to reach your goal. This will make you much more motivated to achieve your goals.

Working out is an important aspect of losing weight. Isolate a period of time during the day for exercising. Mark the time on your calendar, and don't make other plans that conflict with this time slot.

Exercise between three or four times per week for maximum results. Try to maintain a workout schedule; work out early in the morning for a boost of energy, or at the end of your day to unwind. Make it your goal to follow through with consistency, and soon your weight loss will be real.

Before you start your diet, take a picture of yourself. Having your "before" picture visible is a source of inspiration in continuing your journey so that you do not go back to who you once were. A "before" photo can also prove inspirational to others, and possibly lead them to living in healthier ways.

Consuming sufficient water is an essential component of any sound diet. In most cases, roughly eight servings of water daily are necessary to maintain proper hydration. When the weather is hot, it is important to drink even more than that. Water is essential for improving digestion and making you feel full, both of which reduce the amount that you feel you need to eat.

Quit drinking soda. Soda is sweet but it is bad for you. Try drinking water instead and you will notice you will lose weight. If you still feel the need to have a sweet beverage, try fresh-squeezed natural fruit juices instead.

Weight is a difficult topic for many people. If you have the information and drive, you can lose weight and keep it off. Hopefully this article provided some helpful advice to get you on the right track to health.

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Maximize Your Overall Weight Loss With These Ideas

Weight loss is a common consideration for many people. Some are successful, as they are able to show off their muscular and well-toned bodies at the beach and swimming pool. Other people are less fortunate as they don't commit and never see results. If this sounds like you, then you might need the weight loss advice from this article.

When shopping for food, only visit the perimeter of the store. Fruits, vegetables, dairy items and meats are usually located on the outside of the grocery aisles. Highly processed food items, sweet treats and salt-filled snacks that have little in the way of real nutrients, are often found on th4e inside aisles. By refraining from walking down these aisles, you will reduce the chance to purchase them.

Your pets can be great at helping you work out. Pets are a wonderful tool to use. When walking or running with your pet, your mood will be uplifted so that you can increase your level of motivation.

Try not to eat at least three hours before going to bed, and make it light on carbohydrates. This will keep you nourished as you sleep.

Drink lots of water after you eat breakfast. It's very healthy to drink water since it contains no sugar, fat, calories or artificial additives. It helps purify your body of unwanted chemicals and elements. For help losing weight, restrict the beverages you drink to water throughout the day.

Unused calories do not simply fade away, but rather are stored away as fat. Therefore, if you are planning on going to bed, do not eat a large meal. When you are going to have a very active day, plan for larger meals that will keep you energized as you work. By doing this, you ensure that you actually use the calories that you eat.

While on the job or at a gathering, it's still possible to stick to your diet. You can start by switching out high-calorie snacks for healthy fruits and/or vegetables. By doing this you can still join in the party without sidetracking your weight loss routine. Don't draw attention to your diet at the party. This will only make things worse.

Make a meal plan at the start of each week so that you are aware of what you are going to eat daily. This will save on impulse spending on fast food. By knowing what you're eating in advice, you can prepare the items that you need, which helps make preparing your meals easier.

Try coupling exercise with each meal. Planning an event such as a picnic? Make plans to take your food to a nearby park, and walk or ride your bike there. Planning meals around physical activity is one great way to lose weight.

Maintaining a food journal is a great way to help you achieve your weight loss aspirations. It's a good idea to record calories or fat grams in it. Instead, concentrate on naming all of the foods you consume, so you have a good sense of the overall amount. You may discover you're eating more than you realized. Keeping tabs on your diet also lets you know what it is you are consuming on a daily basis. You are less likely to eat additional food if you actually have to see it written down in your food journal.

As you know, there are many people who want to shed pounds. Some people find success. Others choose to give up, living with the same weight problems they had before they started. You will really lose that weight and flaunt your new body if you follow this article's tips.

Try sucking on an ice cube as a means to curb a craving. If you feel like you need to eat something, try munching on ice instead. You may just need to have an object in your mouth.

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Delivering Family-Focused Therapy To Youths And Adolescents With Mental Health Problems

Approximately 14 percent of individuals suffering from depression and other mental health issues in the United States are minorities in underserved communities, yet very few medications or psychosocial interventions have been developed utilizing the participation of these groups. This year, Bowen Chung, M.D. - principal investigator at The Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) - will change that when two unique studies are initiated: the first study will utilize intervention that focuses on families to improve

outcomes for psychotic and bipolar adolescents and young adults, while the second study will evaluate the benefit of classes that teach skills to improve mood and resiliency in the face of daily stresses.
Working with lead investigator David Miklowitz, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine, and funded by a two-year, $300,000 grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), Dr. Chung's first project involves family-focused therapy. Family-focused therapy has been in development and tested for nearly 20 years, yet much of the research has been conducted in an academic setting. Testing this approach for the first time in a community setting, Drs. Chung and Miklowitz will be working to train clinicians at county agencies in the Los Angeles area. The study seeks to determine if increased training for clinicians will impact how treatment is delivered, and if family therapy treatment will be effective on the patients.
Family-focused therapy is evidence-based therapy that has been shown to improve outcomes for bipolar and psychotic youth by improving adherence to medication and decreasing the likelihood of depression, which is a major problem for young adults with bipolar disorder.
"What's unique and exciting about this therapy is that it involves the entire family rather than just the individual," said Dr. Chung. "It focuses on improving sleep patterns, recognizing impending episodes, problem-solving skills, and increased communication between family members to help improve outcomes."
For the second study, Dr. Chung and his colleagues have partnered with local social service agencies, churches, and health advocacy organizations to train non-mental health professionals to deliver a resiliency class. Entitled "Building Resiliency and Community Hope," the study helps to provide individuals suffering from depression with the necessary skills to improve mood, and enhance the ability to bounce back from the stresses of daily living in urban Los Angeles.
The study - developed in conjunction with UCLA and supported by the California Community Foundation and UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute's offices at LA BioMed/Harbor-UCLA - includes a six-session class based on cognitive-behavioral therapy principles and will be delivered by non-professionals. This class was developed by the community and academic partners of another NIMH-funded study, Community Partners in Care.
The impetus for this project was the need for psychosocial intervention to enhance mood in neighborhoods such as South Los Angeles where access to health care and mental health services is limited. The two lead community organizations, Healthy African American Families II and the First African Presbyterian Church, will partner with Dr. Chung during all steps of the research process to ensure that the study aligns with the needs and priorities of residents in the Centinela Valley in South Los Angeles.
The pilot study will begin this fall and involve approximately 20 people, while the second phase will be a randomized trial that begins in winter 2013.

Related articles

• Delivering Family-Focused Therapy To Youths And Adolescents With Mental Health Problems (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Finding the Right Therapist for Bipolar Disorder (everydayhealth.com)
• Psychoeducation Therapy for Bipolar Disorder (everydayhealth.com)

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Weight Loss Tips That Will Give You Back Your Figure

No matter how impossible it may seem to reach your weight loss goals, once you understand the proper techniques, losing weight can be easy. This article can help you find the right tips to assist you in your weight loss regime. Weight loss can be hard and frustrating at times, but just make sure you stick with it.

During the process of losing weight, you are encouraged to be a bit vain. Take a little time to check out your reflection and appreciate the beauty of your own figure. This is of benefit to your weight loss plan because it boosts your motivation and self esteem.

In order to remain healthy, you should spacing your eating out properly each day. It's better to eat more, smaller meals instead of 3 large ones. This will keep your metabolism high and stable throughout the day.

A great way to lose some weight is to serve your food on smaller plates. If your plate is smaller, you can only fit sensible portions on it. This is an easy way to cut calories while keeping yourself satisfied.

Don't deny yourself certain foods when losing weight. If you completely remove a beloved food from your diet, you will find yourself craving it even more and eventually binge on this item. This will make you eat too many calories.

Use an odometer to track movement. Experts recommend that everyone takes a minimum of 10,000 steps per day for weight loss. If you're not walking enough, start walking more!

Walking is a great way to take off extra weight. Weight loss is not the only benefit; your appetite can be suppressed as your blood flow is not focused on your digestive system. Walking burns around 500 calories each hour which is roughly equivalent to a small meal.

You need to find foods that will fill you up without providing a lot of calories. Having a salad, soup, or low-calorie vegetables such as tomatoes or carrot sticks before a meal will help you feel satisfied so you'll eat less of the high-calorie main courses. Drinking unsweetened tea, coffee, or even water, will have a similar effect.

Burning calories with exercise is critical to a successful weight-loss strategy, but you need to avoid depending on a solitary workout routine. Have a different exercise routine each day of the week to keep things interesting.

Try to reward yourself for staying true to your diet for extra motivation. Go out to see a movie, buy a small gift, or buy some new clothing. You might decide to buy clothes that will show off your new body, which is a double reward, which will give you the positive feeling that your hard work has paid off, and you see it in the mirror.

Try to avoid gaining weight when at work. A lot of jobs require you to remain seated for long periods of time, which can make you lazy. You should try getting up and delivering papers yourself instead of having someone else do it. By doing this, not only will you feel better, you will also ensure that you stay at a healthy weight.

Make time for breakfast in the morning, before you go to work. If you don't have time to cook, your first instinct may be to just grab a breakfast pastry on your way out. These types of items will fill you with unnecessary calories. By eating a simple yet nutritious meal of oatmeal, fruit, whole-grain cereal or low-fat yogurt at home each morning, you eliminate the need to stop at that coffee shop or fast-food restaurant for a calorie-laden breakfast.

Stop drinking alcohol to lose weight quickly. Though it's ok in moderation, too much alcohol will pack on the pounds. The majority of alcoholic drinks are loaded with calories. If you want an alcoholic drink, choose a low calorie option.

Reducing your daily caloric intake will be an effective means of weight loss. It is always a good idea to cut at least five hundred calories from your daily diet.

Weight Loss

Try using a pedometer to calculate how many steps you are taking each day when trying to shed some pounds. The general rule is to strive for about 10,000 daily steps. When you are aware of the amount of steps you take, you can push yourself to take more steps. Every step you take will help you towards your weight loss and fitness goals.

By now you can see that weight loss isn't always easy, but it is achievable. By following the advice presented here, which will take some discipline, you can reach your weight loss goals. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't give up if you don't get quick results, because sticking with healthy eating and solid exercise always pays off in the end.

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You No Longer Need To Struggle With Weight Loss Thanks To These Tips

There is more to losing weight than improving your looks. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces your risks of developing a lot of medical conditions. This article covers a number of different weight loss tips that will help you to reach your goals.

Sucking on an ice cube can help you curb your food cravings. If you are fighting the temptation to eat, try chewing on some ice. Just putting the ice in your mouth might be enough to dispel the urge.

Losing weight is a mental battle, and you will succeed if you master your internal struggles. You need to convince yourself you can do it and this motivation will lead you to success. Once you are confident that you can do the task set in front of you, you will be able to achieve it.

Avoid using the word "diet" in your daily vocabulary. Since the term "diet" has a negative connotation, simply tell yourself that you are altering your eating habits.

Weigh Yourself

Some people weigh themselves regularly to help keep motivation while losing weight. The right frequency for checking weight is a matter of personal taste. Weigh yourself once a week at least. If it motivates you to weigh yourself daily, do so!

Cut the calories. Fat has twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates. Use oil and consume dairy sparingly, while stripping your diets of all foods high in fat. By adding fiber to your diet in the form of fruits and vegetables, you will constantly feel full, even though you have cut down on the high calorie fat.

Find a weight loss buddy. Allying yourself with a family member or friend who also wants to lose weight gives you someone who can hold you accountable for your decisions and keep you company while you exercise. Emotional support is an important part of any successful weight loss plan.

Contrary to popular belief, it is necessary to eat fat to burn fat. Not all fats are bad; fatty acids like Omega-3, 6, and 9 are noticeably absent from almost any preservative-laden food product on the shelf at the grocery store. However, they actually help you lose weight by bringing down your cholesterol and helping out your cardiovascular system.

Time your meals to earlier times of day, including dinner, which should be eaten early. When you eat earlier, your body will metabolize the calories easier. It has been shown that your metabolism is slower at night when you are getting sleepy. If you're done eating dinner at an early hour, you'll burn it off sooner.

People can expect to lose a lot more weight if they have a friend that will lose weight with you. You can do your exercise routines together, plan meals together and share the triumphs and defeats along the way. If you are accountable to your partner, it will be more difficult to skip a workout or eat a slice of cake.

Losing weight actually begins with the mind and then your body. If you are to succeed in your weight loss plan, you must be dedicated and consistent in your efforts. Ultimately, your hard work will pay off!

Amass packages of nutritious foods to aid you battle the cravings to munch on foods that will curb your weight loss program. Small bags of healthy snacks such as nuts or fruit can help keep you focused and satisfied throughout the day.

Weight Loss

Applying these tips will help you improve your life and lead to long-term weight loss. There's no secret solution. Instead, there are many small ways you can lower your weight. Use the information in this article to move toward the weight loss goal that will make you happy.

Add lots of fruits to your diet to lose weight quickly. Stick with fruits like apples, oranges and bananas that contain few calories, and limit your consumption of fruits that have a higher caloric content, such as grapes.

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Parents Whose Children Move Far Away From Home Are Less Likely To Become Depressed Than Parents With Children Living Nearby

Parents whose children move far away from home are less likely to become depressed than parents with children living nearby, according to a new study of rural districts in Thailand. The study, led by scientists at King's College London, suggests that children who migrate to urban areas are more likely to financially support their parents, which may be a factor for lower levels of depression.
Dr Melanie Abas, lead author from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's said: 'Parents whose children had all left the district were half as likely to be depressed as parents who still had one of more child living in the district. Although our study was conducted in Thailand, the findings are similar to previous studies in China.'
In Thailand traditionally children take responsibility for ageing parents. Local concerns that rising rates of rural-urban migration across South East Asia might have a negative impact on families and that older parents might experience loneliness, isolation and depression, have now been debunked by this research led by King's.
Protection against 'empty-nest syndrome'
The authors explain that parents can protect themselves from the so-called empty-nest syndrome. Dr Abas said: 'We found several protective factors against the empty-nest syndrome, some similar to those we see in the UK and US. Living in close-knit communities, seeing their children regularly at family gatherings or holidays and the feeling that they had succeeded as parents by having a self-sufficient child living and working in the city all helped against the empty-nest syndrome.'
However, one of the key protective factors - unique to lower and middle income countries - is the effect of children sending money home. 'In a country with a less developed welfare system, this makes an important difference to older parents' lives', Abas says.
In collaboration with the Mahidol University and Thammasat University, both in Thailand, researchers from King's studied nearly 1,000 parents aged 60 or over from 100 villages in rural Thailand to understand the effect of child migration on parents' depression.
Around 27 percent of the parents who had at least one child living close by - within the district - usually more than 100 kilometres away, had a depression, compared to 16 percent of those with all children living far from home - outside the district. One year later, 24 percent of parents with at least one child living within the district had a depression, compared to 9 percent of those with all children living outside the district.
Rates of depression varied as children moved out and back in to the district: 33 percent of those who had a child move back to the district were depressed compared to 20 percent of those who did not experience any child movement during the follow-up year.
Dr Sureeporn Punpuing, co-author from the Mahidol Univerity in Thailand explained: 'We found that there were two main reasons children returned home. Children either returned home because something had gone wrong in their own lives, such as divorce or job loss, adding to parents worries or because of their parents' declining mental or physical health.’

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Depression - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Works When Drugs Don't

Combining cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with antidepressants as treatment for people with depression is three times more likely to make them feel better when antidepressants alone fail to work. This news, published Online First in The Lancet, is very promising for the two thirds of those with depression who haven't seen any improvements from antidepressant use alone.
Depressive patients who do not respond to targeted medication tend to have recurring bouts of depression. Dutch scientists in a previous study in 2008,

found that CBT is very effective among those with recurrent depression.
Nicola Wiles, leader of the study from the University of Bristol, said:

"Until now, there was little evidence to help clinicians choose the best next step treatment for those patients whose symptoms do not respond to standard drug treatments"

CBT is a form of therapy that tries to change a patients pattern of thoughts and behavior, it follows the belief that by doing so their overall mood will improve, relieving many of the symptoms of depression.
The study monitored 469 adults from 73 general practices (aged 18-75) who went through 6 weeks of treatment on an antidepressant but didn't see any improvement. They were split into two different groups, one group of 235 patients continued pure antidepressant medication treatment while the other group of 234 patients received usual care treatment along with CBT. The follow up period was 12 months.

CBT was found to be the best form of treatment

They found that 46% of participants who received CBT as well as usual care saw improvements after 6 months compared to only 22% among those who solely used antidepressants. Those in the CBT group experienced less anxiety and were more likely to go into remission and experienced fewer and milder symptoms than those in the other group, with a reduction of depressive symptoms of at least 50%.
Depression is the fourth leading disability in the world and one of the most common psychiatric disorders,it affects over 350 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and nearly 7% of adults in the USA develop it every year. The condition is predicted by 2030 to be the main cause of disability in developed nations.
Nicola Wiles added:

"In many countries access to CBT is limited to those who can afford it. Even in the UK where there has been substantial investment in psychological services, many people who have not responded to antidepressants still do not receive more intensive psychological therapies such as CBT that take 12 to 18 sessions. In the USA, only about a quarter of people with depression have received any form of psychological therapy in the last 12 months."

The UK Government recently spent £500 million on the Improving Access To Psychological Therapies (IAPT) scheme, which according to Michael Otto from Boston University, USA, and Stephen Wisniewski from the University of Pittsburgh, USA, is very promising:

"(These findings) add to the already impressive efficacy for CBT as assessed for other stages of treatment ...If the broader IAPT vision is realized, it has the potential to serve as a model for depression treatment for other nations."

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)?

CBT is a short-duration treatment mainly for specific mental problems, such as panic attacks, phobias, anxiety, eating disorder and depression.
Psychologists say that CBT is a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy.
Cognitive therapy - focuses on our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes.
Behavioral therapy - focuses on how we behave in response to those thoughts.
Some people may have acquired unhealthy ways of thinking and behaving over many years or decades. The CBT therapist, who uses a set of structured techniques, sets out to identify thinking that causes troublesome feelings and problematic behavior. The patient (client) is then taught how to change this thinking, resulting in more appropriate and positive responses.
For example:

Negative thoughts usually end up upsetting us, leading to angry feelings, which then impact on our mood and behavior.
If such thoughts are not countered with a more positive approach, a negative spiral will follow, which can distort a person's perceptions of things.
CBT tries to get the person to challenge their beliefs about themselves and what they are capable of, so that their view of things or their situation is more realistic.

Depression Research and Findings

A study carried out by researchers from John Hopkins University found that using computers late at night can be a cause of depression due to the exposure to bright light late at night which elevates levels of a certain stress hormone.
Magnetic stimulation of the frontal lobe of the brain is effective at reducing symptoms of depression without the adverse side effects antidepressants have on sleep or arousal.

Related articles

• Talk Therapy Eases Depression (abcnews.go.com)
• When Antidepressants Don't Work, Give Counseling a Try (nlm.nih.gov)
• CBT - Psychology Definition of the Week (psychology.about.com)
• Talking Therapy and Antidepressants Effective Against Treatment-Resistant Depression (medicaldaily.com)

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Confused About How To Achieve Weight Loss And Keep It Off?

Losing weight is more than just improving your outer appearance. Although it can do this, healthy weight loss also helps your body feel better and more energetic. Lots of weight loss methods exist. Whether you are trying to lose a lot of weight or a little, the article below can provide you some advice to assist you in achieving your goals.

Exercise regularly while watching what you eat is the best method of weight loss. Exercise helps you increase your metabolism, which helps your body burn calories more aggressively. Consuming less calories helps you burn more from the fat stored on your body.

Green Tea

Set a realistic weight loss goal for yourself. As with everything in life, if you have an unrealistic goal, the chances are you won't achieve it. Setting a very short time limit to lose a large amount of weight is setting yourself up to fail. Try setting a goal that you can reach every week. Try to not look at the overall picture, but instead focus on your weekly goals. Therefore, to stay on track with your weight loss, set weekly weight loss goals.

Green tea is a refreshing drink that helps to increase your metabolism. Use honey or any other natural sweetener for added flavor in the green tea. Black tea can have similar healthy effects. This drink is full of antioxidants, can bolster immunities and help eliminate toxins.

Use the time spent behind your desk to flatten your belly! If you want a flat belly, the transversus abdominis is the main muscle to concentrate on. You can strengthen it by sucking your belly button inward as far as you can manage and holding it in next to your spine while you breathe in and out a few times.

Water is very beneficial if you want to maintain your weight loss regimen. Pretty much everyone should strive to consume eight glasses every day so that they can be hydrated. Of course, you will want to consume more water when in an hot environment. Water is essential for improving digestion and making you feel full, both of which reduce the amount that you feel you need to eat.

Try to eat your meals around the same time every day. By doing this, you train your body to know when it will eat and you won't want to snack so much. Try to get your snacks on a schedule. Creating an eating schedule reduces the risk of overeating.

Adding green vegetables into your diet are great for weight loss because they have 'super food' qualities. This means that they are full of nutrients, minerals, fibers and all good things for your body to make use of. Try red and yellow peppers, spinach, eggplant, beets, radishes and even pumpkin. Throw these into your meals for great results.

The above article contains lots of helpful advice on losing weight effectively and safely. There are a variety of paths for weight loss that work, and you just need to pick the ones that will work for your life. Try some of these tips out as you progress towards a healthier, more fit self.

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Everything You Need To Know About Weight Loss

Given the abundance of weight loss plans on the market, it should come as no surprise that many are struggling with finding the right option. In the article below you will read about some beneficial weight loss tips that are effective and simple towards getting you to losing weight. Although this is only some of what works, they are a great beginning point.

Cut down on calories. There are double the amount of calories in a gram of fat compared to a gram of protein or carbohydrate. Remove high-fat, calorie-laden foods from your regular diet, entirely. Cut down on oil and dairy. Adding fiber to a diet by using veggies and fruits will help you feel satisfied longer and help you avoid high calorie foods.

Create new beneficial weight loss habits instead of trying to stop bad weight gain habits. Just focusing on positive changes will help you stay with your diet. Don't think so much about what you can't have, but focus on exchanging something good - like a fruit smoothie - for that sausage and egg morning biscuit you used to pick up. Over the course of your diet, you will find that new, healthier eating habits are much more beneficial across the board than keeping those previous habits.

TIP! When you are trying to lose weight it is vital to read over nutritional labels on packaged food. Package labels must list the calories for each serving of the food inside.

Try eating your largest meal for lunch rather than dinner. For example, if you only eat soup, a sandwich or a salad for lunch, try eating your dinner for lunch and a sandwich for dinner. Your peak calorie-burning period is during the day when you are active, so it makes sense for your peak eating time to coincide with this.

Calorie Versions

It's easy to find or create reduced calorie versions of old-time favorites. For example, request or use low-fat cheese on pizza and pick low-fat ice cream as a treat rather than the high fat options. Diet soda and light beer are some other low calorie versions of common vices.

Working out is critical for shedding pounds, and it is wise to exercise at least three times weekly, for roughly an hour each time. Try to maintain a workout schedule; work out early in the morning for a boost of energy, or at the end of your day to unwind. If you stick to your workouts, you'll see results.

TIP! Bookmark some great diet and fitness blogs. When you find yourself slacking then go online to a site that offers information to help boost your mental outlook and get you motivated towards losing weight.

When you eat breakfast, say "no" to juice and say "yes" to skim milk. Milk contains lots of nutrients and keeps you feeling full for hours. You will be less likely to consume as much food, and you will feel fuller longer. Making this minor change can make a world of difference.

With the multiple ideas and varying advice on weight loss, it is hard to figure out which tips are right for you. Be sure to maintain simplicity in the early days so that you do things wisely. Try to follow these tips in this article.

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Losing Weight Is As Simple As Using The Basic Tips That Really Work

It can be easy to get discouraged by the number of options when trying to lose weight. It is important to calmly focus on clearly delineated goals. The tips you will find below will get you started in the right direction.

If you want to keep your lost pounds from returning, lose the weight slowly. Fast weight loss may please you more, but losing weight slowly makes it easier to keep it off. Marketing experts are great at appealing to the desire for fast results, but you are better off taking things slowly and losing weight the right way.

A walk before dinner makes overeating at the meal less likely. You'll eat less and feel fuller. Even if you have a great deal of excess weight, this method consistently produces noticeable results.

TIP! Your fork is not a shovel. It is better to take smaller bites, then stop eating once you feel satisfied.

You can usually find your favorite foods with reduced calories. You can get pizza with less cheese or ice cream that is lower in fat than the regular version. Diet soda and light beer are some other low calorie versions of common vices.

Products that make the promise of quick, easy weight loss are something you should avoid at all costs. Even if you lose a few pounds quickly, the weight will likely be gained right back once you stop taking the supplement.

If you need new clothing when you are losing weight, don't pay full price. Buy them on sale, or go to a re-sale shop instead. This is because you want to avoid spending lots of money on clothing during your weight loss regimen that will soon be too big for you.

Remaining active is quite helpful when it comes to losing weight. Sitting down all day is not good for you. Activity throughout the day keeps your metabolism up, and allows your body to burn more calories all day long.

Lose Weight

Find a weight loss buddy. Allying yourself with a family member or friend who also wants to lose weight gives you someone who can hold you accountable for your decisions and keep you company while you exercise. Support is necessary when you want to lose weight.

While on a diet, be sure you still include healthy foods in your daily meals. Do not cut calories to the point that there is no room for the good foods you need to be eating. You might lose weight that way, but your health will suffer in the long term.

Feel free to finish a meal early when you're undergoing weight loss. A lot of children are taught to finish their plates, which is a good thing only if the plate contains a healthy portion. It is fine to save leftovers. Just because it's on your plate doesn't mean you have to eat it. Eventually, you will know the correct amount for a single serving just by looking at it.

TIP! Always be sure to eat breakfast every day. When pressed for time, you may be tempted to grab a fast food breakfast on your way to work.

Get rid of clothing that no longer fits you from when you were larger. Holding on to these items will just make you think that if you were to regain weight, that you still have clothing. But if you get rid of these clothes, you are committed to continuing your weight loss efforts.

Skip Meals

Don't skip meals if you want to lose weight. When you skip meals, your body is signaled to store fat rather than burn it; therefore, skipping meals is contrary to weight loss goals. Even if you are not hungry, make an effort to eat something small three times per day.

When it comes to weight loss, it's vital that you find some activity that you enjoy doing and stick to it. This helps you burn lots of calories, and also gives you room to play with. This activity will help you stay motivated.

TIP! Bookmark some great diet and fitness blogs. If you feel like giving up, look at the sites to get you back on track.

Instead of consuming large evening meals, try eating the large meals midday. Instead of a sandwich or salad for lunch, switch things up a bit and enjoy it for dinner. You calorie-burning mechanisms are fired up during daytime and slow down at night, so it is wiser to eat much more during daylight hours.

If you are constantly battling weight gain, avoid dining at restaurants that offer buffet-style setups. Some restaurants offer you unlimited food for a set price, and you can be tempted to stuff yourself to get your money's worth. That is utterly unhealthy, and is likely to make you fat.

Pound out your meat when you buy in bulk. This divides the meat into smaller portions. Tenderizing the meat in this way also helps it become more juicy and flavorful. This means you won't need to smother the meat with fattening sauces.

Keep a diet diary to help you lose weight. You do not have to count each calorie. If you jot down every food item that enters your moth, you can keep track of the amount you are eating every day. The results just might surprise you. Keeping track also keeps you aware of what you eat. If you have to make a note of it, do you really need to take the time to eat that cookie?

Maintain a positive mindset and you will lose the weight. Your body weight can be controlled by you, so keep your motivation high and meet your goals.

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All IT Supported Baton Rouge-Service Review

It seems like everyone is a so called IT Professional but many times when you hire someone you really don’t know what kind of quality they offer. That’s where All IT Supported Baton Rouge, takes it a step further. With their superior knowledge, devoted staff, and nation wide offices they are a power house to be reckoned with. All IT Supported proudly serves the IT needs of Baton Rouge-area companies, and understands the day to day challenges of small business owners and entrepreneurs.

They also have a 24/7 monitoring and support service that in onsite that provides support responses in 3-4 hours, as well as updated servers and preventative maintenance overseeing the entire IT infrastructure and more. When it comes to keeping your business up and running, I don’t know why you would turn to anyone else.

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Gene Variations Linked To Higher Risk Of Bipolar Disorder

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified small variations in a number of genes that are closely linked to an increased risk of bipolar disorder, a mental illness that affects nearly six million Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

"Using samples from some 3,400 individuals, we identified several new variants in genes closely associated with bipolar disorder," said Scripps Florida Professor Ron Davis, who led the new study, which was published recently by the journal Translational Psychiatry.
A strong tendency towards bipolar disorder runs in families; children with a parent or sibling who has bipolar disorder are four to six times more likely to develop the illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
While the genetic basis for bipolar disorder is complex and involves multiple genes, it appears to be associated with a biochemical pathway known as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling system. The Davis laboratory and others have previously shown that the cAMP signaling plays a critical role in learning and memory processes. The new study focused on this signaling pathway.
"As far as I know, this has not been done before - to query a single signaling pathway," said Davis. "This is a new approach. The idea is if there are variants in one gene in the pathway that are associated with bipolar disorder, it makes sense there would be variants in other genes of the same signaling pathway also associated with the disorder."
The new study examined variations in 29 genes found in the two common types of bipolar disorder - bipolar disorder I (the most common form and the most severe) and bipolar disorder II. Genes from a total of 1,172 individuals with bipolar disorder I; 516 individuals with bipolar disorder II; and 1,728 controls were analyzed.
Several statistically significant associations were noted between bipolar disorder I and variants in the PDE10A gene. Associations were also found between bipolar disorder II and variants in the DISC1 and GNAS genes.
Davis noted that the location of PDE10A gene expression in the striatum, the part of the brain associated with learning and memory, decision making and motivation, makes it especially interesting as a therapeutic target.

Related articles

• Gene Variations Linked To Higher Risk Of Bipolar Disorder (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Scientists pinpoint gene variations linked to higher risk of bipolar disorder (eurekalert.org)
• Scientists pinpoint gene variations linked to higher risk of bipolar disorder (sciencedaily.com)
• Replicating risk genes in bipolar disorder (eurekalert.org)

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Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

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Risk Of Diabetes May Be Reduced By Up To 25 Percent By Moderate Coffee Consumption

Drinking three to four cups of coffee per day may help to prevent type 2 diabetes according to research highlighted in a session report published by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), a not-for-profit organization devoted to the study and disclosure of science related to coffee and health.
Recent scientific evidence has

consistently linked regular, moderate coffee consumption with a possible reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. An update of this research and key findings presented during a session at the 2012 World Congress on Prevention of Diabetes and Its Complications (WCPD) is summarized in the report.
The report outlines the epidemiological evidence linking coffee consumption to diabetes prevention, highlighting research that shows three to four cups of coffee per day is associated with an approximate 25 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to consuming none or less than two cups per day. Another study also found an inverse dose dependent response effect with each additional cup of coffee reducing the relative risk by 7-8 per cent.
Whilst these epidemiological studies suggest an association between moderate coffee consumption and reduced risk of developing diabetes, they are unable to infer a causal effect. As such, clinical intervention trails are required to study the effect in a controlled setting. One prospective randomized controlled trial, tested glucose and insulin after an oral glucose tolerance test with 12g decaffeinated coffee, 1g chlorogenic acid, 500 mg trigonelline, or placebo. This study demonstrated that chlorogenic acid, and trigonelline reduced early glucose and insulin responses, and contribute to the putative beneficial effect of coffee.
The report notes that the association between coffee consumption a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes could be seen as counter intuitive, as drinking coffee is often linked to unhealthier habits, such as smoking and low levels of physical activity. Furthermore, studies have illustrated that moderate coffee consumption is not associated with an increased risk of hypertension, stroke or coronary heart disease. Research with patients with CVD has also shown that moderate coffee consumption is inversely associated with risk of heart failure, with a J-shaped relationship.
Finally, the report puts forward some of the key mechanistic theories that underlie the possible relationship between coffee consumption and the reduced risk of diabetes. These included the 'Energy Expenditure Hypothesis', which suggests that the caffeine in coffee stimulates metabolism and increases energy expenditure and the 'Carbohydrate Metabolic Hypothesis', whereby it is thought that coffee components play a key role by influencing the glucose balance within the body. There is also a subset of theories that suggest coffee contains components that may improve insulin sensitivity though mechanisms such as modulating inflammatory pathways, mediating the oxidative stress of cells, hormonal effects or by reducing iron stores.
Dr. Pilar Riobó Serván, Associate Chief of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Jiménez Díaz-Capio Hospital of Madrid and a speaker at the WCPD session concludes the report, commenting: "A dose-dependent inverse association between coffee drinking and total mortality has been demonstrated in general population and it persists among diabetics. Although more research on the effect of coffee in health is yet needed, current information suggests that coffee is not as bad as previously considered!"

Related articles

• Drinking 3 to 4 Cups of Coffee a Day Reduces the Risk of Diabetes by 25 Percent, Report (medicaldaily.com)
• Risk Of Diabetes May Be Reduced By Up To 25 Percent By Moderate Coffee Consumption (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Moderate coffee consumption may reduce risk of diabetes by up to 25 percent (medicalxpress.com)
• Your Coffee Cup May Hold the Answer to Preventing Type 2 Diabetes (chasm63.wordpress.com)
• In T2 Diabetes, Which Comes First: High Insulin Levels or Insulin Resistance? (diabeticmediterraneandiet.com)

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Link Between Multiple Media Use And Depression, Anxiety

Using multiple forms of media at the same time - such as playing a computer game while watching TV - is linked to symptoms of anxiety and depression, scientists have found for the first time.
Michigan State University's Mark Becker, lead investigator on the study, said he was surprised to find such a clear association between media multitasking and mental health problems. What's not yet clear is the cause.

"We don't know whether the media multitasking is causing symptoms of depression and social anxiety, or if it's that people who are depressed and anxious are turning to media multitasking as a form of distraction from their problems," said Becker, assistant professor of psychology.
While overall media use among American youth has increased 20 percent in the past decade, the amount of time spent multitasking with media spiked 120 percent during that period, Becker said.
For the study, which appears in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, Becker and fellow MSU researchers Reem Alzahabi and Christopher Hopwood surveyed 319 people on their media use and mental health.
Participants were asked how many hours per week they used two or more of the primary forms of media, which include television, music, cell phones, text messaging, computer and video games, web surfing and others. For the mental health survey, the researchers used well-established measures, although the results do not reflect a clinical diagnosis.
Becker said future research should explore cause and effect. If it turns out media multitasking is causing depression and anxiety, recommendations could be made to alleviate the problem, he said.
On the other hand, if depressed or anxious people are turning to media multitasking, that might actually help them deal with their problems. It could also serve as a warning sign that a youngster is becoming depressed or anxious.
"Whatever the case, it's very important information to have," Becker said. "This could have important implications for understanding how to minimize the negative impacts of increased media multitasking."

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Support and Parental Love

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Bullying and the heart break it causes-a letter from a soul in need

Hey Friends, Family and Viewers. Please take a moment to read what was sent to me. As many of you may know I do Life Coaching as well as blogging and other interests. This was a letter that was sent to me via one of the sites I operate. It has really broken my heart and makes me fearful for what this poor kid has to go through. Bullying is so horrible now days that kids are killing themselves. Is this really what our world has come to. In the Year 2012 just 12 years after the new Millennium in a digital age of enlightenment that our petty differences are still causing segregation and violence? I can not wait for the Baby Boomers and their children to die off so that the children of the 90's and 00's can begin to build a world of peace and tolerance. I just hope that you take a moment to say a simple prayer for this kid and people like them.
If you have children of your own who will not talk to you, find someone that they will talk to. Put them in counseling, or just take time to let them know how much you care, because they may be struggling with more than you could ever know. The world isnt the same place it was when you were kids, your worries and stresses are not the same as those of kids now days. So when your son or daughter is acting up and causing problems, instead of blowing up at them, take a minute to dig down and find out WTF is going on. Chances are they think you hate them or dont care, because no one else in their lives care about them. We get so jaded in our own day to day lives and caught up in the drama of working, or not working, and what have you that we all forget that there is something in our lives that is more important than anything else, our children and family. You will always have your family and children, even if you dont have a house, dont have a job, or a new car or what have you. Material's can be replaced, a life can not.

“My name is (with held). I was bullied and picked on during all my middle school years and even a bit in elementary school. The bullying I suffered was severe. I didn’t have the long flowing hair like some of my peers and because my skin was brown and not light-skinned that was another factor that made me an easy target to pick on. Where I grew up, being light, bright and with long hair was a recipe for popularity. I was “nappy-headed” brown, skinny and regularly called ugly. And that was a recipe for perpetually being picked-on. The bullies would constantly call me names, they would threaten to beat me up after school and sometimes succeed, if I didn’t run. Once I even had a boy beat me up bad on a bus for no reason at all. Kids would taunt me over and over just because. I remember another time a girl just walked up to me and slapped me in the face. I probably was too ugly to look at in her eyes. I have so many horrible stories that I truly can’t describe them all here. And when I got out of middle school, I begged my mother to send me to a different high school than all the other bullies were going to. But my school district would not let me switch schools.In the hood, principals don’t seem to care, teachers barely want to be there and most times parents are too busy with their own life problems to sweat the small stuff. My mom did care and many times she would come up to the school. But she couldn’t sit in class with me. I have cried night after night over my situation and dont know what i else to do. Some nights I contemplate suicide and just dont know where else to turn. Is there any way you can help me? Is there I way I could pay you at a later date. I dont know how much longer I can take this. Is there any way you can help me?”

My heart goes out to this person. I personally know how horrible it is to be bullied, and am going to do everything I can to try and make this person's life a bit easier...this is the part of my "job" that I hate. I dont hate the requests being made of me, just the fact that I am made aware of such hatred. I just hope that that Gods grant me the ability to save this kids life. I know what is to be is to be, but i hope that a pointless death is not in this persons future.
Please pray for this person.

Related articles

• Fenton teens take stand against bullying (minbcnews.com)
• Snowflake Walk sees hundreds take a stand against bullying (vancouversun.com)
• By a Unanimous Decision The Verdict is, Bullies Don't Make Great Leaders (daileytalks.wordpress.com)
• Back-to-School Bully Busting - A Safety Guide for Parents by SimpliSafe Home Security (simplisafe.com)

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Risk Genes In Bipolar Disorder

One of the biggest challenges in psychiatric genetics has been to replicate findings across large studies.
Scientists at King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry have now performed one of the largest ever genetic replication studies of bipolar affective disorder, with 28,000 subjects recruited from 36 different research centers. Their findings provide compelling evidence that the chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains a common genetic risk for bipolar disorder, the PBRM1 gene.
The locus at 3p21.1 has also been previously associated with depression and schizophrenia. Using a separate dataset of over 34,000 subjects, they did not confirm association of this same variant with schizophrenia.
Thus, they replicated the association of the marker with bipolar disorder, but not with schizophrenia. This is an interesting finding, in that it distinguishes the heritable risk for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It contrasts with the majority of studies that have found that schizophrenia risk genes also contribute to the risk for bipolar disorder.
"This study adds to the recent rapid progress in identifying genes for mental illness. The last few years have seen the identification of about two dozen genetic loci for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia," commented first author Evangelos Vassos. "About half of these are shared between these two disorders, indicating they share some, but not all, genetic causes."
Due to the conflicting results, it is clear that more work is needed to determine the role this locus plays in psychosis, but the evidence seems solid that it is associated with bipolar disorder.
PBRM1, the gene implicated in this study, codes for a protein that is involved in chromatin remodeling or "epigenetics", meaning that it influences the ability of a variety of environmental exposures to influence the expression of a range of genes. It has also been previously implicated in the risk for a form of renal cancer.
"There is growing interest in epigenetic mechanisms that might contribute to the development of bipolar disorder. The implication of a gene involved in chromatin remodeling in bipolar disorder risk adds fuel to this fire," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.
Vassos concluded that "future studies may be able to use this information to develop new treatments for these disorders."

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Christmas Songs for the Diabetic

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Baking Substitutions

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Risk Of Depression, Learning Issues When A Person Is Exposed To Light At Night

For most of history, humans rose with the sun and slept when it set. Enter Thomas Edison, and with a flick of a switch, night became day, enabling us to work, play and post cat and kid photos on Facebook into the wee hours.
According to a new study of mice led by a Johns Hopkins biologist, however, this typical 21st- century scenario may come at a serious cost: When people routinely burn the midnight oil, they risk suffering depression and learning issues, and not only because of lack of sleep. The culprit could also be exposure to bright light at night from lamps, computers and even iPads.
"Basically, what we found is that chronic exposure to bright light - even the kind of light you experience in your own living room at home or in the workplace at night if you are a shift worker - elevates levels of a certain stress hormone in the body, which results in depression and lowers cognitive function," said Samer Hattar, a biology professor in the Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
Published in the advance online publication of the journal Nature, the mice study demonstrates how special cells in the eye (called intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, or ipRGCs) are activated by bright light, affecting the brain's center for mood, memory and learning.

But the study involved mice, so why are we talking about humans? Hattar offers some insight:
"Mice and humans are actually very much alike in many ways, and one is that they have these ipRGCs in their eyes, which affect them the same way," he said. "In addition, in this study, we make reference to previous studies on humans, which show that light does, indeed, impact the human brain's limbic system. And the same pathways are in place in mice."
The scientists knew that shorter days in the winter cause some people to develop a form of depression known as "seasonal affective disorder" and that some patients with this mood disorder benefit from "light therapy," which is simple, regular exposure to bright light.
Hattar's team, led by graduate students Tara LeGates and Cara Altimus, posited that mice would react the same way, and tested their theory by exposing laboratory rodents to a cycle consisting of 3.5 hours of light and then 3.5 hours of darkness. Previous studies using this cycle showed that it did not disrupt the mice's sleep cycles, but Hattar's team found that it did cause the animals to develop depression-like behaviors.
"Of course, you can't ask mice how they feel, but we did see an increase in depression-like behaviors, including a lack of interest in sugar or pleasure seeking, and the study mice moved around far less during some of the tests we did," he said. "They also clearly did not learn as quickly or remember tasks as well. They were not as interested in novel objects as were mice on a regular light-darkness cycle schedule."
The animals also had increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that has been linked in numerous previous studies with learning issues. Treatment with Prozac, a commonly prescribed anti-depressant, mitigated the symptoms, restoring the mice to their previous healthy moods and levels of learning, and bolstering the evidence that their learning issues were caused by depression.
According to Hattar, the results indicate that humans should be wary of the kind of prolonged, regular exposure to bright light at night that is routine in our lives, because it may be having a negative effect on our mood and ability to learn.
"I'm not saying we have to sit in complete darkness at night, but I do recommend that we should switch on fewer lamps, and stick to less-intense light bulbs: Basically, only use what you need to see. That won't likely be enough to activate those ipRGCs that affect mood," he advises.

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