Screening for atrial fibrillation with wearable devices is cost-effective, when compared with either no screening or screening using traditional methods, a new study concludes. Undiagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important cause of stroke. Screening for AF using wrist-worn wearable devices may prevent strokes, but their cost effectiveness is unknown

Findings from a large randomized controlled trial do not support the use of vitamin D3 supplementation for adults for the sole purpose of preventing depression. Among adults aged 50 years or older who were without clinically relevant depressive symptoms at baseline, vitamin D3 supplementation taken over 5 years did not reduce the risk for depression or make a difference in the quality of mood.

Noninvasive brain stimulation may help restore a sense of smell in patients with chronic anosmia or hyposmia related to COVID-19, early research suggests. Results of a small, double-blind, sham-controlled study showed anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (A-tDCS) combined with olfactory training (OT) provided notable and durable improvement in seven patients with persistent COVID-19–related hyposmia or anosmia.

Chronic exposure to high levels of particulate matter (PM) air pollution 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) or larger, and 10 micrometers (PM10) or larger, in size is associated with a significantly higher likelihood of having osteoporosis, according to research presented at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) 2022 Annual Meeting.

A unique ratio of metabolites measured in blood may help supplement a clinical diagnosis of early Alzheimer's disease, allowing for earlier intervention, early research suggests. Investigators found that plasma concentrations of 2-aminoethyl dihydrogen phosphate and taurine could distinguish adults with early-stage Alzheimer's disease from cognitively normal adults.

In 1950, at Staten Island's Sea View Hospital, a group of patients with terminal tuberculosis were given a new antibiotic called isoniazid, which caused some unexpected side effects. The patients reported euphoria, mental stimulation, and improved sleep, and even began socializing with more vigor. The press was all over the case, writing about the sick "dancing in the halls tho' they had holes in their lungs." Soon doctors started prescribing isoniazid as the first ever antidepressant. The Sea View Hospital experiment was an early hint that changing the composition of the gut microbiome — in this case, via antibiotics — might affect our mental health. Yet only in the last two decades has research into connections between what we ingest and psychiatric disorders really taken off. In 2004, a landmark study showed that germ-free mice (born in such sterile conditions that they lacked a microbiome) had an exaggerated stress response. The effects were reversed, however, if the mice were fed a bacterial strain Bifidobacterium infantis, a probiotic. This sparked academic interest, and thousands of research papers followed.

Since the 1980s, the concept of dissociative disorders has taken on a new significance. They now receive a large amount of theoretical and clinical attention from persons in the fields of psychiatry and psychology. Dissociative disorders are a group of psychiatric syndromes characterized by disruptions of aspects of consciousness, identity, memory, motor behavior, or environmental awareness. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, (DSM-5), which came out in May 2013, was updated and now includes 3 dissociative disorders and one category for atypical dissociative disorders. These include dissociative amnesia (DA), dissociative identity disorder (DID), dissociative fugue, depersonalization/derealization disorder, and dissociative disorder not otherwise specified (DDNOS). The previous entity of dissociative fugue has been incorporated into dissociative amnesia and is no longer a separate diagnosis.

Hello, during winter my lips become dried. Sometimes it starts bleeding. At the same time it looks dull. How to take care of my lips? Is it due to the weather or I have some health issue? Please elaborate on this.

Hello, a boy aged 10 years, presented with a 1-week history of fever, worsening breathlessness and nausea leading to loss of appetite. On clinical examination, he was sweating, tachycardic and a murmur of grade 3/6 was noted. He also stated he had a sore throat 3 months previously, which was dismissed as trivial due to its intermittent nature. His mother highlighted a rash on the upper aspects of both thighs. He had intermittent hip and knee pain for the 12 months, resulting in limping and reduced mobility—emphasised by the fact he was visiting his neighbour much less than usual. He commented on a 3-month history of a change in handwriting at school, and a greater tendency to drop objects, suggestive of a subtle chorea. There was no significant medical history. The birth history includes a 2-week stay in hospital after birth due to ongoing fevers. How to treat this condition?

@abhilan Lipoatrophy is defined as disappearance of the subcutaneous fat, without exudative reactions or appreciable fibrosis and just as lipodystophy, it is divided into generalized, partial and localized forms. Facial lipoatrophy describes the flattening or indentation of normally convex contours of the face and the most commonly affected areas are the cheeks, temples and the preauricular, orbital or perioral region. It is associated with inheritable diseases, acquired diseases and the natural aging process. Congenital causes often involve a general absence of fat, with associated metabolic findings such as insulin resistance and acanthosis nigricans before adolescence. The etiology of facial lipoatrophy is most commonly autoimmune in nature, but traumatic causes have also been identified. Facial lipoatrophy has been described as a feature of other conditions. The most common conditions associated with facial lipoatrophy are antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection and connective tissue disorders that are associated with panniculitis such as lupus lupus erythematosus profundus and localized scleroderma also known as morphea. Iatrogenic lipoatrophy is typically caused by medication injections. Further details on these other forms of lipodystrophy can be found elsewhere. Idiopathic Facial lipoatrophy is a rare condition that results in aesthetic disfiguration. The stigmata and psychological effect this can have on patients has significant potential implications on a patients’ quality of life