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Learning to embrace a child’s unique potential
Jane Schoenfeld EducationTransition is all the rage, and it should be. But what do you do with a kid who doesn't fit neatly into any of the categories? What do you do with any kid in fact? They’re all individuals with different strengths and challenges. My daughter has multiple medical conditions, no physical disabilities, many learning difficulties and a PDD-NOS diagnosis, which puts her on the autism spectrum. She graduated from high school with a full diploma and spent two years in college before she decided it was just too hard and not clearly enough structured. So, what to do?
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Evaluating the use of psychotropic medications for mental illness
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalBefore the advent of psychopharmacology, many people suffered from the symptoms of their mental disorders, which significantly impaired their overall functioning. But this branch of pharmacology provides these individuals with hope and the possibility of a semblance of a normal life, despite the presence of their illness.
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The connection between lifestyle and biomarkers of Alzheimer’s
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied HealthcareA recent study took a close look at the relationship between lifestyle behaviors and the biomarkers used to determine a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that despite having a history of lifelong cognitive stimulation and activity, the biomarkers of disease were still evident.
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Study: Poverty harms brain development in children
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareBetween 2009 and 2010, 1 million more children in America joined the ranks of those living in poverty, bringing the total to an estimated 15.7 million poor children in 2010, an increase of 2.6 million since the recession began at the end of 2007. Most of these children have parents who work, but low wages and unstable employment leave their families struggling to make ends meet.
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Exploring unconventional treatments to mental disorders
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalClinicians often turn to the use of pharmacotherapy when it comes to the management of different types of mental disorders. However, studies have shown the use of complementary and alternative therapies or interventions tend to be reported more in individuals with psychiatric disorders when compared to the rest of the population. The interest in the use of complementary and alternative interventions has been increasingly growing among healthcare professionals as a means of improving the lives of patients.
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Documentary takes viewers inside the world of Internet addiction
Ross Lancaster Mental HealthcareThe first scene of the Sundance-featured documentary "Web Junkie" begins with a group of young men playing the popular online role-playing game "World of Warcraft." With the game responsible for more than 100 million accounts worldwide, it's a scene that could take place in any country with broadband Internet access.
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Emergency treatment leads to better outcomes for opioid addicts
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareA Yale School of Medicine study finds pharmaceutical treatment in an emergency department leads to better outcomes for opioid addicts than those who are referred for outpatient treatment or simply given a list of treatment services. The study was the first known random trial that compared three options for treating people who seek emergency care for dependence on opioids like hydrocodone, oxycodone, heroin and morphine.
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Substance abuse still a massive societal ill
Dr. Abimbola Farinde Mental HealthcareThe issues of substance abuse and substance use disorders continue to be growing problems within our modern-day society, with no apparent decline in sight. According to the World Drug Report, it was estimated that 200 million people, or about 5 percent of the global population, used illicit drugs in 2005, and this number has grown since that time. Substance abuse is defined as a pattern of overuse of alcohol or other drugs that have the ability to produce adverse effects with continued use of the medication.
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Study: Organ-rejection drugs may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareThe calcineurin inhibitors that organ transplant patients take to prevent rejection may also work to prevent Alzheimer's disease. A new study at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) examined the rate of Alzheimer's disease among 2,600 organ transplant patients. Results were compared with a 2014 national dataset from the Alzheimer's Association.
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The connection between cataracts and Alzheimer’s disease
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied HealthcareCataracts do more to health than alter visual acuity. A cataract that is blocking all the natural light from entering the eye may be creating dysfunctions to the body's natural biologic rhythms, with potential long-term health consequences.
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