In trying to untangle the mysteries of long COVID, researchers have found anxiety and depression may play a role for some of those with the lingering condition. In the study from researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), patients who perceived that they had thinking difficulties during COVID infection were also more likely to…  read on >  read on >

Hundreds of thousands of people are jumping on the Ozempic bandwagon and taking prescription medications to slim down, while others swear by intermittent fasting and other diet fads, but new research shows that they’re all likely barking up the wrong trees. There isn’t any shortcut or magic bullet to losing weight, keeping it off, and…  read on >  read on >

“Mindfulness” practices may help parents of young children with autism manage their daily stressors, and it could benefit their kids in the process, a preliminary study suggests. Parenting is stressful, and studies show that parents of kids with autism often have particularly high stress levels. Autism is a developmental brain disorder that, to varying degrees,…  read on >  read on >

Physical activity after a stroke may be crucial to a more successful recovery, according to a study by Swedish researchers. They found that patients who increased and sustained their exercise in the six months after their stroke were functioning better than those who didn’t. “People who have experienced a stroke can gain functional benefits by…  read on >  read on >

A mind-reading device seems like science fiction, but researchers say they’re firmly on the path to building one. Using functional MRI (fMRI), a newly developed brain-computer interface can read a person’s thoughts and translate them into full sentences, according to a report published May 1 in Nature Neuroscience. The decoder was developed to read a…  read on >  read on >

Patients who’ve had surgery should ease back into movement and exercise. These efforts may be small, but they’re better than nothing, according to one surgeon who emphasized the importance of listening to your body. “The most important thing is patient comfort. After surgery, there is often this apprehension of, ‘If I move or do something,…  read on >  read on >

Exercise might help people who are battling addiction stay on the straight and narrow, a new research review finds. Investigators who analyzed 43 studies from around the world found a link between physical activity and reduced substance use among people in treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. The idea for the study review “came to…  read on >  read on >

Walking your dog gets you moving and out in the fresh air, but head injuries and fractures are very real possibilities, especially for older dog owners, researchers say. The most common injury from walking a leashed dog that sends folks to the ER is fractured fingers, a new study from Johns Hopkins University found. But…  read on >  read on >