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Transcranial magnetic stimulation improves hand gesture deficits in schizophrenia

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In schizophrenia patients, single sessions of continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) over the right inferior parietal lobe (IPL) briefly but “substantially” improved gesture performance accuracy and manual dexterity, researchers say.

“Single sessions of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) last about one to three minutes and result in a temporary change in local brain function that lasts for approximately 30 minutes,” Dr. Sebastian Walther of the University of Bern in Switzerland told Reuters Health by email.

“Other TMS protocols are used to treat neuropsychiatric conditions and repeated daily administration of TMS for 2-3 weeks typically enhances the behavioral effect for a duration of several weeks or even months,” Dr. Walther said. “Thus, the single sessions tested in our study are not useful in clinical settings, but repeated administration may work out well. It could also pave the way to enhancing the training effects of group psychotherapy. The idea is to prepare the relevant brain network using TMS in order to amplify the training effects that are exerted by psychotherapy.”

 

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What Are Ocular Migraines and How Are They Different from Regular Migraines?

If you’re a migraine sufferer, you know there are stark differences between headaches and migraines. (Location and severity of pain and accompanying symptoms are key differentiating markers, FYI.) But did you know that there are multiple types of migraines that can vary greatly based on symptoms, severity, and frequency?

“Migraines are generally divided into two overarching types: migraines with aura and migraines without aura,” says Nashville-based eye surgeon Ming Wang, M.D., Ph.D., of Wang Vision 3D Cataract & LASIK Center. Aura refers to a cluster of visual symptoms: seeing waves, stars, zig-zags, flashes of light, or even missing spots in your vision. On average, these symptoms can last anywhere from five to 60 minutes, explains Dr. Wang. “[Auras typically] appear suddenly, last for a short time, and then go away,” he adds. “They can occur with or without a headache. [Sufferers of] migraines without aura do not have any visual symptoms, only the headache.”

But one of the most alarming types of migraines might not actually “feel” like a migraine at all: When you get an ocular migraine, your eyes experience the effects more than anything else. (That’s not to say you won’t also have head pain, though. More on that below.) This can be a confusing and scary situation to be in, especially if you’ve never had an ocular migraine before. (Related: What I’ve Learned from Having Chronic Migraines)

Here, the lowdown on ocular migraines, so you can understand what you’re experiencing (and act accordingly).

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Get Regular Eye Exams for Much More Than Your Eyes

Eye Exams

What do diabetes, Graves’ eye disease, thyroid problems, cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, sickle cell anemia and several other medical conditions have in common?

They can all be detected during a careful eye examination.

Obviously, during an eye exam, your eyes are being checked for vision (farsightedness, nearsightedness, etc.), glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration. But other diseases that are located elsewhere in your body can be detected in your eyes, too. That’s because your eye is the only place where a doctor can have an unobstructed view of your blood vessels, nerves and connecting tissue, without any need for surgery.

The eye has the same microscopic tissue as your other major organs and is an important part of your larger nervous system. Abnormalities spotted in the eye may signal the same changes in other parts of your body.

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How to Stay Sober at a Wedding

If you don’t have a drink in your hand, someone at the wedding (whether that’s a server or another guest) is going to offer you one. So, if you’re being sober at a wedding, take it upon yourself, head to the bar, and get yourself a non-alcoholic drink.

“Play it safe and get yourself a drink when you arrive. Just having something in your hand will relieve much of the anxiety over being asked about not drinking,” says Emily Eckstein, PsyD, MFT of Beach House Treatment Center in Malibu, CA.

If you don’t want people to ask why you’re not drinking, just order a drink that could pass for a cocktail. “There are multiple options like apple juice, cranberry juice, and sparkling water that look to be a cocktail with a twist of lime and deter nosey wedding guests,” says Eckstein.

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23 Things You’re Doing That Would Horrify Your Dentist

asian woman sleeping with her mouth open, ways you're damaging teeth

If you’re snoring or breathing through your mouth at night, you’re doing more damage than just drooling on your pillowcase. “Mouth breathing is a daily habit that can wreak havoc on the teeth,” says Sharona Dayan, DDS, DMSc, a board certified periodontist and founder of Aurora Periodontal Care in Beverly Hills. When you breathe through your mouth, she explains, you rapidly dry out your oral tissues, which can lead to gum disease and tooth decay. The solution? Getting tested for allergies or a deviated septum can help with the anatomical components, while behavioral modification for daytime mouth-breathing can help quell the problem during the day.

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This Common Bladder Medication May Damage Your Vision

Bladder Medication May Damage Your Vision

A widely used drug for a bladder condition has possibly been damaging people’s eyes for decades without anyone’s knowledge.

Reports first surfaced last year that Elmiron, which is prescribed for interstitial cystitis, can be toxic to the retina.

This past weekend, researchers presented more evidence of Elmiron’s effects at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in San Francisco. The study hasn’t been published yet in a peer-reviewed journal.

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One of Many Addiction Experts Wishing I Had Known Better

Lost amidst the news of more opioid deaths and the ongoing legal troubles of Purdue Pharma is another terrifying side to the story. As a psychiatrist specializing in addiction, witnessing people fight the demons of opioid addiction is frightening, but even more so is the number of uneducated physicians who prescribe life-threatening medications–virtually without a second thought–to patients with a history of substance abuse. I know. I was one of those–one of countless practitioners who wished we had known better.

Yes, it was a different time and place. We practiced what had been taught. When I finished my psychiatric training in 1995, the world of addiction medicine and psychiatry was a much smaller universe. Yet to be fully understood were the million little pieces needed to put the puzzle of a patient’s history together to form a proper diagnosis and best course of treatment. Prescriptions were the panacea.

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Eyes on Mars

eyes on mars

Ophthalmologist Dr Ming Wang, the director of Wang Vision 3D Cataract & LASIK Center in Nashville, Tennessee, describes the rover’s array of visionary cameras and sensors as ‘incredible’.

‘This allows it to collect panoramic data from many sources including ahead and below. In this way, the vision in some ways significantly surpasses that of human vision, which is limited to a fairly narrow field left and right and up and down,’ says Dr Wang, who holds a doctoral degree in laser physics.

The 2020 vision system performed well in the test, he notes, adding that its robotic vision is designed to gather ‘gross information for navigation’. The system focuses more on volume and data integration than exact resolution, because navigation does not require total exactitude.

Anyway, robotic vision is ‘an evolving field’, he says, adding that it is exciting to see how much progress has been made. In future, robot vision just might exceed human vision, he says. ‘Multiple cameras can provide more information on depth than humans can gather with our two fixed eyes. Laser displacement systems can use reflected light to more precisely measure distances than humans can with our naked eyes.’

The resulting phenomenal resolution may exceed what we naturally experience – an impressive 576 megapixels, according to Curiosity.com.

Even so, he says, while humans tie visual input to experience and read data ‘seamlessly’, a robot has limited ability to interpret and use it.

‘I feel that the chief challenge is not the acquisition of the data, but the interpretation of the data.’ Whereas gathering it is easy, it is hard to arm a robot with the programming needed to exploit the data and guide its interaction, he says.

He frames the outlook for the future of robot vision as ‘very interesting to see’. ‘There is such potential for incredible advances, as input sources can be almost limitless.’

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