New Delhi, Dec 21 (ANI): Making a New Year's resolution to work out more and eat healthier may be a good idea, not only for your overall health but also to maintain healthy brain function. Researchers have found for the first time that less muscle and more body fat may affect how flexible our thinking gets as we become older, and changes in parts of the immune system could be responsible.These findings could lead to new treatments that help maintain mental flexibility in ageing adults with obesity, sedentary lifestyles, or muscle loss that naturally happens with ageing. The study was published in the journal of Brain, Behaviour, and Immunity. The researchers examined direct measurements of lean muscle mass, abdominal fat, and subcutaneous fat, and how they were related to changes in fluid intelligence over six years. Greater muscle mass, by contrast, appeared to be a protective factor. These relationships stayed the same even after taking into account chronological age, level of education, and socioeconomic status. Generally, people begin to gain fat and lose lean muscle once they hit middle age, a trend that continues as they get older. To overcome this, implementing exercise routines to maintain lean muscle becomes more important. In this study, in women, the entire link between more abdominal fat and worse fluid intelligence was explained by changes in two types of white blood cells: lymphocytes and eosinophils. In men, a completely different type of white blood cell, basophils, explained roughly half of the fat and fluid intelligence link.

New Delhi, Dec 20 (ANI): Long working hours in the office can potentially trigger high blood pressure in overworked employees, according to a Canadian study published in American Heart Association's journal 'Hypertension'. This study was carried out by a group of Canadian medical researchers who closely analysed 3500 white-collar workers over a span of five years.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (ANI): A meal loaded with too much of fat and grease can silence the communication between the intestine and the rest of your body, suggests a recent study. While using the fish to examine cells that normally tell the brain and the rest of the body what's going on inside the gut after a meal, a team of Duke researchers discovered that a high-fat meal completely shuts down that communication for a few hours.

New Delhi, Dec 18 (ANI): A new study has revealed that exposure to anti-depressants during pregnancy and the first weeks of life can alter sensory processing well into adulthood. The research was published in the journal of eNeuro.

New Delhi, Dec 17 (ANI): While we can count on crab as one of the tastiest delicacies of the seafood, its nervous system could help scientists learn what causes single neurons in the human brain to become out of whack, says a recent study. This can contribute to the development of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, adds the study, which was published in the journal - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers worked to validate a popular research method called RNA sequencing used to identify unknown neurons in the brain and sort them into various subtypes.

New Delhi, Dec 16 (ANI): Researchers have found that over-eating could be controlled through a brain circuit linked to feasting. The state of impulsivity has been linked to eating disorders that can lead to threats like that of obesity, which later can have several psychiatric disorders including drug addiction. A study on this can possibly make scientists develop certain therapeutics to address the issue of over-eating. A team that includes a faculty member at the University of Georgia has now identified a specific circuit in the brain that alters food impulsivity. The team's findings were published recently in the journal Nature Communications. Emily Noble, an assistant professor in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences who served as lead author on the paper said: "There is underlying physiology in your brain that is regulating your capacity to say no to. In experimental models, you can activate that circuitry and get a specific behavioural response." The study noticed that a group of brain cells that produce a type of transmitter in the hypothalamus called melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is what to be focused on.

New Delhi, Dec 15 (ANI): Scientists have found that a region of the brain called the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) plays a role in behaviours related to alcohol use and consumption in general. They have now found a specific neural circuit that when altered caused animal models to drink less alcohol. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience. Using modern genetics and viral technologies in male mice, McElligott and colleagues found that selectively lessening the NTS neurons (specific neuropeptide which contributes to reward-like behaviours and alcohol drinking) in the CeA, while maintaining other types of CeA neurons, would cause the animals to drink less alcohol.This manipulation did not alter anxiety-like behaviour. It also did not affect the consumption of other palatable liquids such as sucrose, saccharin, and bitter quinine solutions.

New Delhi, Dec 14 (ANI): Sleeping is known to be the best medicine to treat a lot of human ailments, but a new study suggests that people who sleep more than required have an increased risk of getting a stroke. A study published in the medical journal Neurology has indicated towards such a possibility. The conclusion drawn out of the study was that people who slept for nine hours or more during the night were 23 per cent more susceptible of getting a stroke as compared to people who slept for seven or fewer hours in the night. The study found out that people who were both long sleepers and long nappers had 85 per cent likelihood of having a stroke than people who slept in moderation.

New Delhi, Dec 12 (ANI): A recent study has unveiled a shocking truth about the insufficient supply of certified applied behaviour analysis (ABA) providers to meet the needs of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in nearly every state. The study has found that there is substantial variation across states and regions, for instance, the per capita supply of certified ABA providers is substantially higher in the Northeast than in any other region. The study was published in the journal Psychiatric Services. The rising prevalence of ASD underscores the importance of access to evidence-based interventions such as ABA. An estimated one in 59 children had ASD in 2014, up from one in 125 a decade earlier, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. ABA uses behavioural learning principles to help children with ASD increase positive behaviours and social interactions and decrease problematic behaviors.

New Delhi, Dec 10 (ANI): A new research has revealed the existence of tendon stem cells that can potentially be harnessed to improve tendon healing and even to avoid surgery. The research was led by Carnegie's Chen-Ming Fan and published in the journal of Nature Cell Biology. Fan explained, "Tendons are the connective tissue that tethers our muscles to our bones, they improve our stability and facilitate the transfer of force that allows us to move. But they are also particularly susceptible to injury and damage."

New Delhi, Dec 09 (ANI): In a major security issue, 44 million Microsoft accounts were discovered using breached user names and passwords. As PC Mag reports, Microsoft's threat research team scanned all accounts between January and March this year and compared them to a database of over three billion sets of leaked credentials to find 44 million matches. Microsoft has now forced a password reset for accounts for which a match was found. On the enterprise side, Microsoft will alert the administrator to enforce a credential reset.

New Delhi, Dec 09 (ANI): Without having to consume alcohol or sugar, the brain can be trained to tackle stress by inculcating healthy habits, opined neuroscientist Dr Selena Bartlett. According to Bartlett, who has been mapping the way our brains react to stress for the last 25 years as a researcher, our brains often deal with stress and trauma through addictive behaviour such as the consumption of sugar and alcohol, reported Stuff.co.nz. The Queensland University of Technology researcher also said that the first step towards attaining a peaceful mind is to understand that you can 'train your brain' to handle stress efficiently. Adding that creating even the most basic healthy change takes time, she said: "Only when we start to become aware of our automatic, often unhealthy, responses to stress, then we can start to rewire them." Bartlett, further said that prolonged over-consumption of sugar acts on the amygdala, emotional part of the brain, in a way that makes the brain more reactive to stress. "We can train our brains to become more resilient by using the principles of neuroplasticity. We can also teach ourselves to take a healthy path to stress-management rather than relying on substances," she added, according to Stuff.co.nz.

New Delhi, Dec 07 (ANI): A study conducted in the United States revealed that there are structural differences in the brains of those children whose parents have depression. The condition of depression typically arises during adolescence. While the causes of depression are complex, having a parent with depression, adds as one of the biggest known risk factors. Studies have consistently shown that adolescent children of parents with depression are two to three times more likely to develop such condition than those with no parental history of depression. The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. A team led by NIH analyzed brain images from over 7,000 children participating in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD). The study showed that about one-third of the children were in the high-risk group because they had a parent with depression. In the high-risk children, the right putamen- a brain structure linked to reward, motivation, and the experience of pleasure- was smaller than in children with no parental history of depression.

New Delhi, Dec 06 (ANI): Researchers have come up with a study focusing on the only way to get more oxygen to the brain which is to get more blood to the brain by increasing blood flow. The researchers were interested in seeing how brain oxygen levels were affected by natural behaviours, specifically exercise. Researchers have revealed a truth applicable to all mammals that states: On contrary to accepted knowledge, blood can bring more oxygen to mice brains when they exercise because of the increased respiration packs more oxygen into the haemoglobin. The researchers reported the study in the Journal of Nature Communications. The only way that could happen would be if exercise was causing the blood to carry more oxygen, he explained, which would mean that the blood was not normally completely saturated with oxygen. They conclude that "respiration provides a dynamic pathway for modulating cerebral oxygenation.

New Delhi, Dec 05 (ANI): A new study explores how the most common non-communicable diseases, Obesity and gum (periodontal) might be related to each other. It also highlights the effect of obesity on non-surgical periodontal care. The study was published in 'British Dental Journal.' The connection between obesity and gum disease isn't as simple as cause-and-effect, said Andres Pinto, co-author of the study at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. Instead, the relationship centers on what both diseases have in common: inflammation. Examining a large number of existing studies, researchers found that data showing increased body mass index, waist circumference and percentage of body fat to be associated with an increased risk to develop gum disease, also known as periodontitis. Most studies analysed data from population subsets at one point in time, as opposed to studying the same population over a longer period. They concluded that changes in body chemistry affect metabolism, which, in turn, causes inflammation--something present in both maladies.

New Delhi, Dec 04 (ANI): While young cancer survivors face medical and psychological challenges and lack self-confidence even years after their final treatment, new research suggests survivors who retell their story through photography can significantly increase their self-esteem and self-efficacy. Two years after receiving their final treatments, 18 leukaemia survivors -- diagnosed as teenagers -- participated in the Framed Portrait Experience, an intervention which integrates therapeutic photography and re-enactment therapy. In the study by researchers at the University of Houston and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, where the intervention was developed, participants were empowered to express emotions connected to their illness in order to make meaning of their experience. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology. Working with a portrait photographer who was also a licensed social worker, the survivors chose three settings to take portraits that integrated meaningful objects and memories to represent their past, present and future. Following the photoshoot, the pictures are printed and used during a clinical interview to guide the survivors' reflection about the changes they experienced as a result of cancer, and how those changes relate and integrate into their narrative of past, present, and future. Young cancer survivors often feel isolated and distant from the experience of their healthy peers, according to the researchers. This easy-to-implement and low-cost intervention allows them a safe space to retell their story and promote self-efficacy. While the researchers acknowledge the small sample size, they said they are encouraged that participants now perceive themselves as better able to manage problems and more equipped to face obstacles.

New Delhi, Dec 03 (ANI): Brushing teeth daily not only helps in maintaining good dental health but is also beneficial for the heart, says a recent study. Brushing teeth frequently is linked with lower risks of atrial fibrillation and heart failure, according to a study published today in the -- European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Previous research suggests that poor oral hygiene leads to bacteria in the blood, causing inflammation in the body. Inflammation increases the risks of atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) and heart failure (the heart's ability to pump blood or relax and fill with blood is impaired). This study examined the connection between oral hygiene and the occurrence of these two conditions. The retrospective cohort study enrolled 161,286 participants of the Korean National Health Insurance System aged 40 to 79 with no history of atrial fibrillation or heart failure. Participants underwent a routine medical examination between 2003 and 2004. Information was collected on height, weight, laboratory tests, illnesses, lifestyle, oral health, and oral hygiene behaviours. During a median follow-up of 10.5 years, 4,911 (3.0%) participants developed atrial fibrillation and 7,971 (4.9%) developed heart failure. Tooth brushing three or more times a day was associated with a 10% lower risk of atrial fibrillation and a 12% lower risk of heart failure during 10.5-year follow up. The findings were independent of a number of factors including age, sex, socioeconomic status, regular exercise, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and comorbidities such as hypertension.

New Delhi, Dec 02 (ANI): A recent study shows that breast milk, which is known to provide a complete form of nutrition for babies, could also play a significant role in preventing heart diseases in prematurely born infants. One study cited in the article looked at 30 preterm-born adults who were assigned to receive exclusive human milk and 16 preterm-born adults who were assigned to receive an exclusive formula-based diet during their hospital stay at birth. However, the study showed that the smaller heart chambers were less profound for the exclusively human milk-fed group in comparison to those who were exclusively formula-fed, suggesting a potentially protective effect of human milk for heart structure. The researchers then identified potential reasons for why breast milk results in a lower risk of heart disease. Breast milk could help prevent heart disease by better-regulating hormones and growth factors, strengthening the infant's immune system, reducing inflammation and possibly improving the metabolism of the child. Identifying the key components within breast milk that result in improved heart health could pave the way for a more targeted approach to improve long-term cardiovascular wellbeing for those born prematurely.

New Delhi, Nov 30 (ANI): While the discovery might sound strange, but the shape of community parks is linked to the mortality risk of residents living around them.Some community parks are square, a reflection of the city block they're located at -- and a new study has found that irregularly shaped parks reduce the mortality risk of residents living near them.They found that residents in census tracts with more connected, aggregated and complex-shaped green spaces had a lower mortality risk.Researchers explained that the complexity in the shape of the park was positively associated with lower mortality risk.

New Delhi, Nov 29 (ANI): Women who get pregnant in old age generally suffer changes in the placenta, which in turn, means that baby boys being born to such mothers are more likely to develop heart problems later in life, a new study has found. Changes occur in the placenta in older pregnant mothers which leads to a greater likelihood of poor health in their male offsprings, pointed out the study published in the journal Scientific Reports.Both male and female fetuses do not grow as large in older mothers, but there are sex-specific differences in changes to placental development and function. These are likely to play a central role in the increased likelihood of later-life heart problems and high blood pressure in males.

New Delhi, Nov 28 (ANI): Playing board games is not only a great way to pass time but has been found to make an individual's memory sharper. Even more, regular players have been found to score better in memory, thinking related tests. People who play games -- such as cards and board games -- are more likely to stay mentally sharp in later life, a study published in the journal. Those who regularly played non-digital games scored better on memory and thinking tests in their 70s, the research stated along with revealing that a behaviour change in later life could still make a difference.

New Delhi, Nov 27 (ANI): In a recent study, it has been found that people residing in places with higher amounts of fine particulate matter pollution were 6 per cent more likely to suffer from glaucoma than those in the least polluted areas. The study was published in the journal, 'Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 2019.' Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness and affects over 60 million people worldwide. It most commonly results from a build-up of pressure from fluid in the eye, causing damage to the optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain. Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease.

New Delhi, Nov 26 (ANI): According to a study being presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Researchers using MRI have found signs of damage that may be related to inflammation in the brains of obese adolescents. Obesity in young people has become a significant public health problem. In the U.S., the percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data from the World Health Organization indicates that the number of overweight or obese infants and young children ages five years or younger increased from 32 million globally in 1990 to 41 million in 2016. While obesity is primarily associated with weight gain, recent evidence suggests that the disease triggers inflammation in the nervous system that could damage important regions of the brain.

New Delhi, Nov 25 (ANI): Lack of sleep is probably the reason for more cardiovascular diseases among the disadvantaged groups, says a recent study. People with lower socio-economic status sleep less for a variety of reasons. They may do several jobs, work in shifts, live in noisy environments, and have greater levels of emotional and financial stress. This was the first large population-based study to examine whether lack of sleep could partly explain why poor people have more heart disease. It found that short sleep explained 13.4 per cent of the link between occupation and coronary heart disease in men. The study was part of the Lifepath project, and pooled data from eight cohorts totalling 111,205 participants from four European countries.

New Delhi, Nov 24 (ANI): Too much intake of antibiotics adds up to the risk of Parkinson's disease, stated a new study. A higher exposure to commonly used oral antibiotics is linked to an increase in Parkinson's disease risk, according to the study published in the journal Movement Disorders. The strongest associations were found for broad-spectrum antibiotics and those that act against anaerobic bacteria and fungi. The timing of antibiotic exposure also seemed to matter. It suggested that excessive use of certain antibiotics can predispose to Parkinson's disease with a delay of up to 10 to 15 years. This connection may be explained by their disruptive effects on the gut microbial ecosystem. Exposure was classified based on number of purchased courses. Exposure was also examined by classifying antibiotics according to their chemical structure, antimicrobial spectrum, and mechanism of action.

New Delhi, Nov 22 (ANI): A diet rich in beans, lentils, peas and other legumes lessens the risk of cardiovascular, coronary heart disease and high blood pressure, stated a new study. Published in the journal Advances in Nutrition, researchers in this study reviewed prospective cohort studies that assessed consumption of legumes on the risk for cardiometabolic diseases and related markers. They found that those who consumed the most legumes reduced incidence rates for cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and hypertension by as much as 10 per cent when compared to those with the lowest intakes.