stress

Medical Students Are At Risk For Suicide

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Medical students have the difficult task of learning through science and rigorous academic training to take care of others. Med students can suffer from many ailments including anxiety, stress or migraines or even worse. Being a doctor of any kind is quite simply about learning to make other people feel better, and it’s possible to heal your patient that’s the goal. Unfortunately, there are times when a patient doesn’t make it and that can feel devastating to a med student who is undergoing training, such as a resident. You are just learning and have a sense of optimism about the field. You want to help people, genuinely and seeing your patient die is a tragedy and can leave you feeling depressed. According to The American Medical Student Association, med students are three times as likely to die by suicide than … Read more

Migraine attacks can increase after a stress let down

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A new study published in Neurology discusses how migraine sufferers who experience reduced stress from one day to the next are at an increased risk on a migraine attack. Migraine is a chronic condition that affects millions of Americans. Numerous triggers are believed to contribute to a migraine attack. In the study the researchers at the Montefiore Headache Center and Einstein College of Medicine conducted a three month electronic daily diary study which recorded over 2,000 diary records and 110 migraine attacks in 17 participants.  The study compared levels of stress and reduction in stress as possible headache predictors. The study found an association between reduction in perceived stress and the occurrence of migraine headaches. The results were found to be strongest during the first six hours where decline in stress associated with a five fold increased risk of migraine … Read more

Loneliness can tax the Immune System

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Interesting research has been conducted by investigators from the Ohio State University. The research links loneliness to a number of dysfunctional immune responses which suggests loneliness may adversely affect overall health. The results were based on a series of studies on two different groups: 1) a healthy group of overweight middle-aged adults and 2) a group of breast cancer survivors with an average age of 51. Loneliness was measured using the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The researchers measured presence of antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus in the breast cancer survivor group with 200 participants. Lonelier participants were found to have higher levels of antibodies against cytomegalovirus compared to less lonely participants. Further, those higher antibody levels were related to more depression, pain, and fatigue symptoms. No difference was found for Epstein-Barr virus antibody levels. Previous research has shown that stress … Read more

Using Adaptogens to Help Reduce Stress

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An interesting review by Robert Provino titled “The role of adaptogens in stress management” appears in the Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism (2010, 22, 2, pp 41-49). The author states: “Adaptogens can be viewed as tonics and are prescribed to enhance vitality and are indicated when stress levels are high, during convalescence after surgery or illness, or during periods of challenging or difficult life changes.” “Adaptogens appear to exert their antistress effects by regulating homeostasis via the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and inhibiting or decreasing circulating levels of nitric oxide (NO) and cortisol.” The author searches peer reviewed journal articles on adaptogens and ends up finding papers on the following 8 (to which I have linked to the Wikipedia articles): Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) : Some research indicates a potential ability to decrease anxiety. In a study on memory deficient … Read more

Headaches after Traumatic Brain Injury Highest in Adolescents and Girls

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A recent study has been conducted by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and appeared in Pediatrics, vol 129, number 1, January 2012, pages 1 to 9, titled Headache After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cohort Study, wirtten by Heidi K. Blume and et al. The article discusses how in the adult population 18% to 33% of those who suffer from traumatic brain injury suffer from headaches 1 year after the injury. In the child population most of the investigations conducted have been small, retrospective, lacked a control, or involved only short term follow up. Chronic headaches with children are associated with interference in social function, parental productivity, and poor quality of life. The study randomly selected 1507 patients with TBI and 495 controls with arm injury (AI) for the study. However, some patients were not reachable, others were inegligible, and … Read more