It’s been around for a century, and electroconvulsive therapy — formerly known as electroshock therapy — has helped countless people with psychiatric conditions feel better. But even the physicians who’ve used it have had little clue as to how it works. Now, a team the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) believe they’ve unraveled that…  read on >  read on >

Middle-aged folks with lots of belly fat surrounding their internal organs appear to be at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease later in life, a new study suggests. This hidden abdominal fat — known as visceral fat — is related to changes in the brain up to 15 years before the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s manifest,…  read on >  read on >

SATURDAY, Nov.18Data showing that the antibiotic doxycycline might prevent a sexually transmitted infection (STI) if taken soon after sex made headlines earlier this year. As surging numbers of cases of syphilis and gonorrhea affect more Americans, here’s what you need to know about using the drug. “If you’re actively having sex and not using condoms…  read on >  read on >

A young woman working at a Massachusetts cannabis-processing facility who developed new-onset asthma and later died of a fatal asthma attack is the first such fatality in the burgeoning industry, a new report finds. Researchers believe large amounts of allergen-laden dust created at these facilities could pose real respiratory dangers to workers. When it comes…  read on >  read on >

Here’s another casualty of the pandemic: Gains made against another scourge, HIV. Progress made in fighting HIV/AIDS across all segments of society was eroded during the crisis, according to a report led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). “Equity in HIV outcomes likely worsened during the pandemic, with decreased access to…  read on >  read on >

Have a hard time looking others in the eye? You aren’t alone, Canadian researchers report. Eye-to-eye contact rarely occurs when two people are talking, they found. “We discovered that participants spent only about 12% of conversation time in interactive looking, meaning that they gazed at each other’s faces simultaneously for just 12% of the interaction…  read on >  read on >