Veterans who receive traumatic brain injuries in combat often experience crippling post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, leaving them hopeless and potentially suicidal. But help might be on the way from an unlikely source – a psychedelic drug called ibogaine. The drug, derived from the roots of an African shrub called iboga, can safely and…  read on >  read on >

Urgent care clinics are handing out fistfuls of antibiotics, steroids and opioids for conditions these drugs won’t help, a new study says. “Previous studies had shown that patients continue to receive antibiotics for diagnoses where they may not be indicated, such as for a viral respiratory infection, especially in urgent care settings,” said co-lead researcher…  read on >  read on >

Fewer than one-third of American public schools are screening students for psychological problems, years after the U.S. Surgeon General declared a mental health crisis among the nation’s youth. In 2021, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that social media, the COVID-19 pandemic, bullying, lack of safety and a number of other factors were driving an…  read on >  read on >

Insomniacs have a much higher risk for depression if they have chronic inflammation, a new sleep lab experiment says. Seniors with insomnia were three times as likely to report symptoms of depression if they’d been dosed with a substance that promotes inflammation, according to results published July 16 in JAMA Psychiatry. “Insomnia not only robs…  read on >  read on >

A new antibody shot that protects babies against RSV infection could be struggling to gain traction, researchers report. Only about a third (35%) of babies eligible for nirsevimab got the injection during the 2023-24 RSV season, researchers reported today in the journal Pediatrics. That was the first season that the monoclonal antibody jab was available…  read on >  read on >