Grammatical mood

LGBTQ+ caregivers of people with dementia face unique stresses that lead to poorer physical and mental health

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 24, 2023

Caring for someone living with dementia can be a stressful experience that harms the physical and mental health of caregivers.

Key Points: 
  • Caring for someone living with dementia can be a stressful experience that harms the physical and mental health of caregivers.
  • LGBTQ+ caregivers face unique challenges that can magnify these strains.
  • LGBTQ+ caregivers have experienced discrimination, isolation, stigma and other stressors related to their sexual orientation or gender identity and generally have poorer physical and mental health than non-LGBTQ+ caregivers.

LGBTQ+ caregivers by the numbers

    • The majority, nearly 80% of LGBTQ+ caregivers, were white, while over a third identified as Latino.
    • The majority of the LGBTQ+ caregivers, ranging in age from 21 to 72, were millennials ages 38 or younger.
    • Despite relatively high levels of income among LGBTQ+ caregivers overall, lesbian and bisexual caregivers experienced significantly higher levels of difficulty in paying for everyday basics, and queer caregivers more frequently reported incomes of less than US$30,000.

Higher stress

    • LGBTQ+ caregivers may be experiencing higher levels of stress than non-LGBTQ+ caregivers because they seek out supportive services less frequently.
    • We found that 75% of LGBTQ+ caregivers of people with dementia reported moderate to high levels of perceived stress, and 78% experienced depressive symptoms.
    • For example, bisexual and queer caregivers experienced higher stress than those with other identities.
    • Racial minority LGBTQ+ caregivers also reported poorer family quality of life and higher levels of depressive symptoms.

An understudied problem

    • In 2018, the National Institute on Aging funded only seven studies focused on LGBTQ+ aging.
    • To address the underrepresentation of LGBTQ+ caregivers in aging research, my colleagues and I started the RISE Project.

GH Research Reports Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Provides Business Updates

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 23, 2023

DUBLIN, Ireland, Aug. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GH Research PLC (Nasdaq: GHRS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 and provided business updates.

Key Points: 
  • DUBLIN, Ireland, Aug. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GH Research PLC (Nasdaq: GHRS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 and provided business updates.
  • R&D expenses were $7.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared to $4.2 million for the same quarter in 2022.
  • G&A expenses were $2.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared to $2.5 million for the same quarter in 2022.
  • The net profit in the prior year quarter was due to a foreign exchange gain which was not repeated in 2023.

Online gaming communities could provide a lifeline for isolated young men − new research

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Online gaming communities could be a vital lifeline for young men struggling silently with mental health issues, according to new research.

Key Points: 
  • Online gaming communities could be a vital lifeline for young men struggling silently with mental health issues, according to new research.
  • Up to 75% of people with mental illnesses go without treatment, with men especially unlikely to pursue counseling or therapy.
  • Online social spaces, like gaming communities, may offer an alternative avenue to find connection and discuss serious personal problems without the barriers of formal mental health services.
  • More comprehensive research is still needed, but the social features of online games may literally provide young men a lifeline when they have nowhere else to turn.

Ketabon GmbH Reports Top-Line Results from Phase 2 Trial of Take-at-Home, Oral Ketamine Option for Treatment-Resistant Depression

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 14, 2023

MUNICH, Germany, Aug. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ketabon, a joint venture between HMNC Brain Health and Develco Pharma, announced today top-line results from its Phase 2 KET01-02 Ketabon study with lead asset KET01. KET01 is an oral adjunctive treatment featuring a prolonged-release formulation of ketamine and is being studied in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Key Points: 
  • KET01 is an oral adjunctive treatment featuring a prolonged-release formulation of ketamine and is being studied in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
  • KET01, at a 240mg/day dose, demonstrated rapidly occurring, and clinically relevant improvements in depressive severity with statistical significance versus placebo on Day 4 and Day 7.
  • The improvements from baseline were sustained while on active treatment until Day 21, and also after the 4-week follow-up period.
  • “KET01 offers rapid improvement of depressive symptoms while the occurrence of dissociative events interestingly seems to be lower than in currently used ketamine-based treatments.

Gut microbes are the community within you that you can't live without – how eating well can cultivate your microbial and social self

Retrieved on: 
Friday, August 11, 2023

And scientists are learning that your gut health and the microbial communities within you have a significant role to play in orchestrating these processes.

Key Points: 
  • And scientists are learning that your gut health and the microbial communities within you have a significant role to play in orchestrating these processes.
  • It’s as though the communities in your gut microbiome are an orchestra for your health, and you conduct their symphony through food.
  • I am a gastroenterologist who has spent over 20 years studying how food affects the gut microbiome and overall health.

Communities within and without

    • The term holobiont describes the combined lives of the microbiome and its vessel, working symbiotically to support each other’s well-being.
    • When people eat certain foods, like those rich in fiber, they too harbor similar relationships with their microbiomes.
    • Food is a type of social glue that helps bind communities together.

Convenient fixes sacrifice community

    • Compared with ancestral diets, industrialized diets may be contributing to less diverse microbial communities in your gut.
    • Your social community may also be suffering as result of this disrupted microbial community.
    • They are convenient and affordable and can be especially useful for people and families with busy lives and limited time to cook.

Wisdom cultures around the world

    • Communities in Costa Rica, the Mediterranean and Japan that follow traditional diets have many individuals who live for over 100 years.
    • The Mediterranean and Okinawan diets have consistently been shown to contribute to better health, including lower rates of obesity and other metabolic diseases.
    • These diets involve traditional food choices and combinations as well as natural food processing and preservation techniques.

Reembracing community


    Here are a few simple tips to help you eat well and grow your communities – holobiont, family, friends and all:
    It may at first seem daunting to carve out time to follow these deceivingly simple tips. But with a bit of patience and perseverance, they could be inspiration to improve your and your community’s health and wellness.

Three ways to get your nature fix without a garden

Retrieved on: 
Friday, August 11, 2023

These include improved health and wellbeing, reduced mental fatigue and better sleep quality.

Key Points: 
  • These include improved health and wellbeing, reduced mental fatigue and better sleep quality.
  • Those who get stuck into gardening also experience less stress and more physical activity.
  • There are plenty of ways to benefit from nature in and around your home without stepping foot in a garden.
  • Here are three ways research suggests you can bring nature into your life.

1. Visit a park

    • In fact, nature can be found in many urban parks, even in tiny pocket parks (small areas of public green space).
    • Many people will find a park close to their home.
    • The Office for National Statistics estimate that more than a quarter of people in Great Britain live within a five-minute walk of a public park, and 72% within a 15-minute walk.

2. Get some houseplants

    • Many people also value the act of caring for their houseplants – whether this is watering them, feeding them or “giving them a haircut”.
    • Houseplants may also help if you have to spend long periods of time indoors.
    • If you spend a lot of time working or studying at home, houseplants may also improve your ability to work.
    • There are lots of houseplants to choose from and it can be difficult to know where to start.

3. Make use of digital nature

    • If you live somewhere you can’t own houseplants, or you are not ready for the responsibility, try surrounding yourself with digital nature instead.
    • You could also watch some nature documentaries, or clips of animals and birdsong on your social media.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Reports Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 9, 2023

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:XENE), a neurology-focused biopharmaceutical company, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 and provided a corporate update.

Key Points: 
  • Xenon to host XEN1101 MDD Webinar in mid-September to discuss Kv modulation in MDD, the X-NOVA clinical trial and the broader MDD landscape
    VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:XENE), a neurology-focused biopharmaceutical company, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 and provided a corporate update.
  • Research and development expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 were $44.0 million, compared to $22.1 million for the same period in 2022.
  • Net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 was $47.5 million, compared to $31.2 million for the same period in 2022.
  • Xenon will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 pm Eastern Time (1:30 pm Pacific Time) to discuss its second quarter 2023 results.

Depression isn't just sadness – it's often a loss of pleasure

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 9, 2023

But what many don’t realise is that these aren’t the only symptoms of depression.

Key Points: 
  • But what many don’t realise is that these aren’t the only symptoms of depression.
  • But despite how common this symptom is, it remains one of the most difficult symptoms to treat and manage.

Loss of pleasure

    • Anhedonia is defined as the reduced interest or pleasure in all – or almost all – activities a person previously enjoyed.
    • Although mainly associated with depression, anhedonia can also be a symptom of other disorders – such as schizophrenia, anxiety and Parkinson’s disease.
    • In in-depth interviews my colleagues and I conducted with young people about depression, anhedonia was described by many as not just a loss of joy, but also less motivation to do things.
    • For some, this lack of drive was only related to specific things – such as going to school or seeing friends.
    • But the brain’s reward system isn’t straightforward, and actually involves various subprocesses – including anticipation, motivation, pleasure and learning about reward.

Treatment options

    • For instance, research shows that talking therapies which focus on reward processing could help reduce anhedonia.
    • This is because augmented depression therapy specifically targets anhedonia by having patients focus on both their negative and positive experiences.
    • Read more:
      The science behind why hobbies can improve our mental health

      If you think you have anhedonia – or other symptoms of depression – it’s important not to ignore your feelings so you can get the help and treatment you deserve.

Mantra Health Expands Suite of Mental Health Services in Partnership with Charlie Health

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Mantra Health, the clinically-informed digital mental health provider for higher education, today announced an innovative new partnership with Charlie Health, the nation’s leading provider of virtual high-acuity mental healthcare for teens and young adults.

Key Points: 
  • Mantra Health, the clinically-informed digital mental health provider for higher education, today announced an innovative new partnership with Charlie Health, the nation’s leading provider of virtual high-acuity mental healthcare for teens and young adults.
  • Mantra Health will add Charlie Health’s industry-leading virtual intensive outpatient program (IOP) to its suite of mental health services, further expanding the levels of care available to students.
  • “Our partnership with Charlie Health expands Mantra Health’s care continuum to solve this vexing problem for our patients and university partners alike.
  • "Charlie Health's collaboration with Mantra comes at a time when the mental health of young people is of the utmost concern," said Carter Barnhart, co-founder and CEO of Charlie Health.

'It's soul-destroying': how people on a housing wait list of 175,000 describe their years of waiting

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 7, 2023

This is especially so if an applicant is put on the general waiting list and not the priority list.

Key Points: 
  • This is especially so if an applicant is put on the general waiting list and not the priority list.
  • In New South Wales in June 2022, for example, 57,550 were on the waiting list: 51,031 on the general waiting list and 6,519 on the priority list.
  • Thirty interviewees were on the general waiting list and 49 on the priority list.

Lives on hold

    • Tania* in Queensland, who had escaped domestic violence, powerfully captured the perception of her life being put on hold:
      It sucks.
    • […] They [state government housing department] just give you no answers […] It’s stopped our whole life.
    • Running from him [her ex-partner] was hard enough, but asking them [the housing department] for help is ten times worse […] They don’t care.
    • […] They [state government housing department] just give you no answers […] It’s stopped our whole life.
    • Running from him [her ex-partner] was hard enough, but asking them [the housing department] for help is ten times worse […] They don’t care.

A traumatising wait

    • But when I’ve got three little people that I’ve got to care for and provide for, that’s when it gets hard.
    • But when I’ve got three little people that I’ve got to care for and provide for, that’s when it gets hard.
    • She has a child with a disability and had been on the NSW general waiting list for several years.
    • I feel like so many thoughts that I have in my head I’m just trying to pick the best one.
    • Read more:
      'Getting onto the wait list is a battle in itself': insiders on what it takes to get social housing

Losing self-esteem and hope

    • It is like that loss of, you know, self-esteem and loss of hope […] So I think my words [to describe the wait] is my continual shame.
    • You feel shame every day and other than that […] you have to deal with a loss of control over […] your position on the wait list.
    • It is like that loss of, you know, self-esteem and loss of hope […] So I think my words [to describe the wait] is my continual shame.
    • You feel shame every day and other than that […] you have to deal with a loss of control over […] your position on the wait list.
    • Geoff in Sydney has to use a wheelchair and the house he was renting was totally unsuitable.
    • The shocking aspect is that the huge shortage of social housing means a substantial proportion of people on the general waiting list could be waiting forever.