Exercise can help beat cocaine addiction

Exercise can help prevent relapses into cocaine addiction, claims a study.

“Cocaine addiction is often characterised by cycles of recovery and relapse, with stress and negative emotions, often caused by withdrawal itself, among the major causes of relapse,” said a senior research scientist.

Using animal models, he found that regular aerobic exercise (one hour on a treadmill, five times a week) decreased stress-induced cocaine-seeking behaviour. Exercise also altered behavioural and physiological responses to stress.

Individuals who are addicted to cocaine have altered neural, behavioural and physiological responses to stress. Recent research  demonstrated how exercise can alter the brain’s mesolimbic dopamine pathway, which is linked to the rewarding and reinforcing properties of drugs such as cocaine.

In addition, exercise has been shown to reduce stress hormones and elevate mood, which could assist in alleviating anxiety and negative emotions associated with withdrawal,” reported the study.

Studies already have shown that aerobic exercises (or cardio) is an effective strategy against many physical health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis, along with certain mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety, and depression.

“Our results suggest that regular aerobic exercise could be a useful strategy for relapse prevention, as part of a comprehensive treatment program for recovering cocaine abusers. Further research is necessary to see if these results also hold true for other addictive drugs,” the lead researcher said. 

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New molecule identified as key factor in anxiety disorder

A recent study has revealed that boosting a molecule named neurotrophin-3 in the brain can change ‘dispositional anxiety’. Researchers found that neurotrophin-3 can trigger neurons to grow and make new connections.

The study provides hope for new strategies focused on intervening early in life to treat people at risk for anxiety disorders, depression, and related substance abuse.

 

“There are millions of people worldwide who suffer from debilitating anxiety and depressive disorders ” said an assistant professort of Psychology.

Anxiety disorders often emerge around adolescence and can continue to affect people for most of their lives. Currently, researchers can identify children who display an extremely anxious or inhibited temperament these young people are at risk to develop-stress-related psychopathologies as they transition to adulthood.

The roots of the study come from research done by the group about eight years ago in preadolescent rhesus macaques (species of monkeys) when researchers got their first glimpse of molecular alterations in the dorsal amygdala, a brain region important in emotional responses.

The researchers used an altered virus to boost levels of neurotrophin-3 in the dorsal amygdala of juvenile rhesus macaques. They found that the increase of neurotrophin 0-3 in the dorsal amygdala leads to a decrease in anxiety-related behaviours, particularly behaviours associated with inhibition, a core feature of the early-life risk for developing anxiety disorders in humans. Subsequent brain imaging studies of these animals found that neurotrophin-3 changed activity throughout the distributed brain regions that contribute to anxiety.

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This local ‘wild beauty’ helps cure jaundice

In general, plants of ornamental value are grown in gardens just to increase the aesthetic features of landscapes. The ornamental features of the plants may not necessarily be flowers but could also be bright coloured foliage, curiously looking fruits, unusual forms and textures of barks. In all the above cases, the prime intention of the garden planner is to provide eye-pleasing designs to visitors.

In order to enhance the aesthetic values of the gardens/landscapes, our Indian horticulturists import numerous exotic species. However, the flip side to importing exotic species, often, is the sidelining of native, productive landscapes. Apparently, farmers in our country are spending lots money and energy in combating the spread of these invasive ‘imported beauties’. Therefore, it is inevitable for us to learn about the plant species that grow naturally and enhance natural landscapes.

This type of native ornamental plants are known as ‘wild beauties’. This is the right time for nature lovers to turn their attention towards familiarising and propagating our native plants. Interestingly, in addition, our native plants are useful as medicines, food and drinks, and some species are reported to positively alter human attitudes, behaviours and psychological responses. 

Mussaenda frondosa L., which belongs to Rubiaceae is one such wild beauty that can be spotted even at a distance because of its shiny, large, leaf-like floral parts. The vernacular names Bellila (Kannada); Vellila (Malayalam); Velli Madandai and popular names in English, Flag Bush, White Lady reveal the beauty of this ornamental shrub. In Sanskrit, this is known as Shruvati.

This wild beauty also has several medicinal uses. Leaves and flowers are crushed and applied externally in case of wounds. The shiny leaf-like bracts is boiled in water, and the liquid is then used to cleanse hair. It is also used to treat jaundice. The juice of the plant is used to treat eye infections. In addition, the common plant’s — found to grow in moist deciduous to evergreen forests of Western Ghats — decoction of leaves are administered orally to get rid of intestinal worms.

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Cleaning Your Baby’s Dummy by Sucking on It Prevents Allergies

It’s a scene parents and caregivers are all too familiar with: an infant’s dummy falls to the floor. When this happened with my first born, I rushed to clean the soiled dummy by boiling it in water or carefully washing it in the sink. But by the time my second child was born, I was considerably more relaxed, and I started do something some parents might consider a bit gross — I sucked on my child’s fallen dummy to clean it. I didn’t realise it at the time, but as new research suggests, I might actually have been doing my child’s immune system a favour.
 
Mothers who clean dummies by sucking on them have infants with a lower allergic response, according to new research. 

“We interviewed 128 mothers of infants multiple times over a period of 18 months and asked how they cleaned their child’s pacifier,” said the author in a statement. Of the 58 per cent of mothers whose children used dummies, 41 percent said they clean them via sterilisation (e.g. boiling the pacifier in water), 72 per cent said they wash them by hand, and 12 per cent of mothers said they clean their infant’s dummies by sucking on them.

“We know that exposure to certain microorganisms early in life stimulates development of the immune system and may protect against allergic diseases later.”

The researchers found that the children of soother-sucking mothers had lower levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin E, or IgE. This antibody is related to allergic responses in the body, said the author. With some exceptions, higher levels of IgE levels indicate a higher risk of having allergies and allergic asthma.

The associated decrease in IgE levels, and thus the protective effect against allergies, started at around 10 months, and the effect continued through to 18 months. More research is needed to understand what’s going on, but the author suspects that mothers are transferring health-promoting microbes to their children. The researchers would also like to know if the lower IgE production seen in these children continues into their later years.
That cleaning dummies by sucking on them could help to prevent allergies isn’t totally shocking. Research published in 2016 showed that Amish children are less susceptible to allergies, a likely consequence of their exposure to a wide variety of microbes. Similarly, kids who bite their nails and suck their thumbs develop fewer allergies. These findings add further credence to the  hygiene hypothesis — the idea that the increasing rates of autoimmune and allergic diseases seen around the world are related to society’s (relatively) newfound obsession with cleanliness. Some dirt and grime, so to speak, might actually be doing our kids some good.
“We know that exposure to certain microorganisms early in life stimulates development of the immune system and may protect against allergic diseases later,” said the author. “Parental pacifier sucking may be an example of a way parents may transfer healthy microorganisms to their young children.”

Importantly, the new study points to an association between parents who suck on their child’s dummy and children with lower IgE levels — but that doesn’t prove that pacifier sucking causes lower IgE. Correlation, as we know, doesn’t always imply causation. Another thing to remember is that this research was based on the self-reporting of parents. According to the new research, a mere 12 per cent of mothers said they use the sucking technique to clean dummies. The real figure could be higher than that, if some mothers did not want to admit to the practice. It could also be lower. Regardless, this uncertainty could be affecting the results.
And lastly, this research doesn’t speak to the risks associated with cleaning dirty, potentially germ-ridden dummies by sucking on them. Picking up a dummy from the floor of a shopping mall or airport, and then cleaning it by sucking, could be putting both parent and child at risk of contracting communicable diseases. This new study, while offering some important new insights into the factors that influence a child’s allergic response, should not necessarily be taken as an endorsement of the practice.

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