I regularly take omega 3 acids daily with fish oil supplements. Here is an interesting article I found from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220082829.htm Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences are seeking participants for a clinical trial examining whether two polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acids are effective treatments for depression. The two fatty acids being studied — docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) — are found naturally in fish oil, flaxseed and walnuts. Previous studies have indicated that nutritional supplements that contain Omega-3 fatty acids can be an effective treatment for depression, but this is the first to systematically test the two specific fatty acids against each other and against placebo in a large sample of people with major depression. DHA and EPA have anti-inflammatory properties and help stabilize brain cell membranes, both of which play a role in … Read more

Can’t smell the roses? Maybe you’re depressed. Smell too much like a rose yourself? Maybe you’ve got the same problem. Scientists from Tel Aviv University recently linked depression to a biological mechanism that affects the olfactory glands. It might explain why some women, without realizing it, wear too much perfume.Scientific research that supports this theory was published this year in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. “Our scientific findings suggest that women who are depressed are also losing their sense of smell, and may overcompensate by using more perfume,” explains researcher Prof. Yehuda Shoenfeld, a member of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. “We also believe that depression has biological roots and may be an immune system response to certain physiological cues.” Women who are depressed are also more likely to lose weight. With a reduced sense of … Read more

This recently happened to my grandfather after a surgery and now is featured in the Chicago Tribune. Admitted to a Macon, Ga., hospital in 2004 for surgery for diverticulitis of the colon, Lucille Davis, then 67, left with an undetected and dangerous souvenir: a surgical sponge. Last month the error resulted in a $10 million settlement. The problem of left-behind sponges is hardly new. A 2003 study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that sponges and other foreign objects were left behind after abdominal surgeries at a rate of 1 for every 1,000 to 1,500 such operations. Several medical-products companies say sponges are the most common foreign objects left behind in surgeries The pressure to avoid unnecessary costs is about to get more intense. The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, is urging hospitals to develop systems to prevent … Read more

Myoclonus refers to a quick, involuntary muscle jerk. For example, hiccups are a form of myoclonus. So are the sudden jerks, or “sleep starts,” you may experience just before falling asleep. These forms of myoclonus occur in healthy people and rarely present a problem. But in some cases, more severe forms of myoclonus can be triggered by an underlying problem, such as a head or spinal cord injury, a stroke, a nervous system or metabolic disorder, lack of oxygen to your brain, an infection, ingestion of a toxin, a reaction to a medication or other medical problems. If the underlying problem that’s causing myoclonus — a medication, for example — can be eliminated, the myoclonus usually resolves, too. But some disorders that cause myoclonus, such as epilepsy or Alzheimer’s disease, aren’t reversible and treatment of associated myoclonus may not eliminate … Read more