Exercise Can Improve Depression, Treat Chronic Illness

We've been hearing for years that exercise is good not only for the body but the mind as well, and now there's more proof than ever.

By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters (Pinckney Island bicycling). Uploaded by Dolovis) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Exercise Can Lessen Depression Symptoms...

A recent New York Times article notes that three studies have shown that exercise can not only improve symptoms in people with depression, but may actually keep people from becoming depressed to begin with. The studies combine research that altogether involves more than a million subjects.

The pooled results persuasively showed that exercise, especially if it is moderately strenuous, such as brisk walking or jogging, and supervised, so that people complete the entire program, has a “large and significant effect” against depression, the authors wrote.

What is it about exercise that improves one's mood? That's long been a matter of debate, but the article may finally provide some answers. A review in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews looks at studies that involved drawing blood from people with major depression before and after exercising, and as the Times article notes,

The samples on the whole indicated that exercise significantly reduced various markers of inflammation and increased levels of a number of different hormones and other biochemicals that are thought to contribute to brain health.

The researchers caution, however, that larger and longer-lasting studies need to be done to draw solid conclusions about the depression-fighting effects that exercise can have on the brain. 

...And Improve Chronic Illness

What about physical illness, especially the chronic variety? A recent Consumer Reports article (reprinted in the Washington Post) points to studies showing that exercise can offer disease-fighting benefits comparable to drugs or surgery, without the side effects. Citing a Canadian Medical Association Journal study, the article spells out how to get started with obtaining the disease-fighting benefits of exercise—safely—for several conditions including:

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• type 2 diabetes
• osteoarthritis

What if you're currently too sick to exercise? The article addresses that, too, with tips on when it's OK or not OK to work out.

Running or Jogging Can Counteract Alcohol Damage to the Brain

It's well known that excessive drinking can cause damage to the brain (and yes, it apparently really can kill brain cells). But another recent New York Times article suggests that jogging or running, or other forms of aerobic exercise, can minimize the damage that alcohol does. It points to studies presented at a Society for Neuroscience meeting last month revealing that the brains of rats that were given alcohol and then were made to run showed markedly different effects than their brethren who didn't exercise.

Rats who didn't exercise had fewer neurons (nerve cells) in their brains, & their neurons showed damage to the mitochondria (the energy-producing parts of the cell). The rats who ran showed less neuron loss, and less mitochondrial damage.

As for how to fit in more exercise into your schedule of holiday parties, well, that's up to you.

Health Notes: Genetic Links Seen Between Depression, Autism, & other Disorders; Mind-Reading Rats; Public's Help Sought in Curing Cancer; More

Some interesting news from the world of health and medicine:

* Scientists see link in depression and four other disorders: Five disparate mental-health disorders may have a common genetic link, according to a new study that's getting lots of attention. The research has found that a number of genes are shared by people who have major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The study was published in the edition of The Lancet publishing on Wednesday (abstract).

The researchers found that "four spots in the genome that were more common among those with psychiatric disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in communication between brain cells," according to an article in the Boston Globe. Also, "They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap."

They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap. - See more at: http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf

They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap. - See more at: http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf

four spots in the genome that were more common among those with psychiatric disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in communication between brain cells. - See more at: http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf

found four spots in the genome that were more common among those with psychiatric disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in communication between brain cells.

They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap.

- See more at: http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf

found four spots in the genome that were more common among those with psychiatric disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in communication between brain cells.

They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap.

- See more at: http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf

found four spots in the genome that were more common among those with psychiatric disease, two of which occurred in genes involved in communication between brain cells.

They also found that genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had the most overlap.

- See more at: http://www.boston.com/news/science/blogs/science-in-mind/2013/02/27/autism-schizophrenia-and-other-psychiatric-disorders-share-genetic-underpinnings/I5Rdy7NikMlFvTe8d9BXoL/blog.html#sthash.iwHOygA5.dpuf

Telepathic rats? See for yourself.

* "First mind-reading implant gives rats telepathic power": Now there's a headline that'll get your attention. The New Scientist articles reports that "The world's first brain-to-brain connection has given rats the power to communicate by thought alone."

Although this is an exciting development in brain research (rats on different continents were even able to communicate via the Internet), the article notes that  "the exact information being communicated between the rats' brains is not clear."

* Tech giants seek public's help for cancer cure: British cancer researchers are joining forces with Google, Amazon.com, and Facebook to enlist the public's assistance in finding cures for cancer. Cancer Research U.K. is teaming up with the tech firms to get the public to perform tasks that can help in efforts such as "working out the exact sequence of a tumor's DNA,"according to a BBC News article.

Programmers, game designers, and others are set to meet this week to figure out how to create a game-life way to put the collective eyeballs and computer power of everyday citizens to solve problems in cancer research. The concept is similar to volunteer-computer efforts from the BOINC project, such as SETI@Home and medical-related endeavors such as RNA World and Malariacontrol.net. It's hoped the project will be up and running by summer.

* Coronary calcium indicates stroke risk: A coronary artery calcification score can predict the risk of stroke, independent of other factors, at least in cases of people with lower risk of cardiovascular disease. An article in MedPage Today says that this may or may not change how clinicians work, since it's already been established that stroke and coronary artery disease have some of the same disease processes.

What's more, the measure of calcification is done by an electron-beam CT scan, so any potential benefit of the rest must be weighed against the additional radiation exposure.

"This Emotional Life" Starts Tonight on PBS

Above: A man with Asperger's syndrome talks about the challenges of living with the disorder on "This Emotional Life."

PBS takes a look inside the brain and what research is telling us about how it handles emotions when its three-part series, "This Emotional Life," premieres Monday, January 4th (at 9 p.m. on WNET, Channel 13, in New York City). In the first episode, "Social Relationships," "social connections and relationships are analyzed and the neurological processes behind our daily interactions are revealed," according to PBS. The series seems to be generating a lot of interest, because its Web site has been down much of the early evening Monday (or maybe the site is just buggy).

The second part, "Negative Emotions," airs Tuesday night, and the final part, "Positive Emotions," premieres on Wednesday.

The host of "This Emotional Life"is Dan Gilbert, a professor in the department of psychology at Harvard and author of Stumbling On Happiness. The show includes segments with celebrities discussing their own emotional struggles, such as tennis great John McEnroe on his well-known problems with anger and Chevy Chase on depression.

The Seattle Times notes that the series was conceived and co-produced by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The paper explains that "This Emotional Life" "explores the cutting-edge science that unravels some of the mysteries of human emotion, such as how infants form early attachments that determine lifelong emotional health, and how therapists use eye movement to help people reprocess disturbing memories."

But it notes that "This Emotional Life"also reflects Allen's interest in connecting the research to the stories of real people and helping them cope with the problems discusses in the episodes. So, for example, it discusses post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and reveals how military families are getting help. And when explaining Asperger's syndrome it also profiles a 29-year-old man with the disorder (video clip above).