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"Childhood disadvantage has long-term health consequences -- much longer than most of us realize," said Kenneth F. Ferraro, distinguished professor of sociology. "A novel aspect of this study is that childhood disadvantage was linked to the onset of new health problems decades later." The findings are published in the  American Sociological Review , and the National Institute on Aging funded the study. The findings were based on the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States data from 1,748 adults. The data were collected in two waves, the second a decade later, to measure health changes in the adult population. Wave 1 occurred in 1996 when respondents were 25-74 and Wave 2 took place in 2006 when participants were 35-84. "Health problems and quality of life issues were a concern during the first wave of the study. However, when we revisited the study's adult participants 10 years later, childhood poverty and frequent abuse were rela

This is according to a study conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI), and recently published online in the journal  Neuroscience . When combined with the findings of past studies in humans, the current study in mice suggests a new treatment approach for individuals suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which is linked to learning, memory and mood problems, and is estimated to affect 1 in 100 adults. According to the authors of the new study, exposure of a developing brain to binge levels of alcohol results in a permanent fragmentation in slow-wave sleep, with the extent of the fragmentation influencing the severity of related cognitive disorders. "We have known for a long time that sleep fragmentation is associated with impaired cognitive function, attention and emotional regulation," says Donald Wilson, PhD, a professor in NYU Langone's Departments of Child and Adolescent Ps

Mice acquired injections of medication that particularly block the exercise of two totally different molecules. Blocking these molecules lowered ache signs coming from close by nerves. Credit score: Hiroshima College A selected molecule concerned in sustaining ache after a nerve damage has been recognized and blocked in mice by Hiroshima College researchers. These outcomes reveal a promising therapeutic technique for treating neuropathic ache. Mice with an damage to their sciatic nerve confirmed much less ache after a number of injections of a drug that blocks the exercise of a molecule referred to as high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1). Researchers additionally found single dose of a drug to dam the exercise of a special molecule, referred to as matrix metalloprotease -9 (MMP-9), may additionally alleviate ache from the damage. The chemical pathways that these medication use to inhibit HMGB1 or MMP-9 are totally differ

These findings, published online and scheduled for the March print issue of the journal  Drug and Alcohol Dependence , suggest that LGBTQ-affirmative schools are associated with lower binge-drinking frequency for nearly all adolescents, irrespective of their sexual identity. This research was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program at Northwestern University. Data were collected with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "School environments have a powerful influence on adolescents' health," said lead author Robert W.S. Coulter, M.P.H., a doctoral student in Pitt Public Health's Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences. "In particular, schools that are more affirming of LGBTQ students may be less stressful environments or foster healthy emotional resilience for all students, thereby making them less likely to turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism."

A study published Feb. 29 in the journal  PLOS ONE  suggests that cannabis does, in fact, significantly affect users' ability to recognize, process and empathize with human emotions like happiness, sadness and anger. But the results also suggest that the brain may be able to counteract these effects depending on whether the emotions are explicitly, or implicitly detected. Troup has long been fascinated by the psychology of drugs and addiction. Her interest in cannabis and marijuana was piqued by Colorado's passage of Amendment 64, and many seemingly conflicting studies of the drug's long- and short-term effects on the brain. "We're not taking a pro or anti stance; but we just want to know, what does it do? It's really about making sense of it," Troup said. For nearly two years, Troup and her graduate students have been conducting experiments using an electroencephalogram ( EEG ) to measure the brain activities of about 70 human subject volunteers.

The UCL team has been tracking the rapid rise in use of e-cigarettes using monthly national surveys and estimates that in 2014 almost 900,000 smokers used one of these products to try to quit. Previous research has found that when used in this way, e-cigarettes increase the chances of success by around 50% compared with using no support or one of the traditional nicotine products such as gum or skin patch bought from a shop.2,3 This raises the long-term success rates from around 5% to around 7½%. The increased success rate amounts to an additional 22K people stopping who would otherwise have continued smoking . Some of these people may have used an e-cigarette instead of one of the more established aids to cessation such as the Stop-Smoking Services. Adjusting for this, the number helped by e-cigarettes may be somewhat lower, at 16K. Professor Robert West, who led the research team, said "E-cigarettes appear to be helping a significant number of smokers to stop who would no