Ask the doctor: Is it possible to become addicted to chocolate?
A friend jokes she is a “chocoholic.” Can you really become addicted to chocolate or other foods?
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In Brief: Weighing psychotherapy options for social anxiety disorder
Interpersonal therapy is another option for people with social anxiety disorder.
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Depressed parent, depressed child?
A child of a depressed parent is about twice as likely to also develop depression by age 18. Researchers hope that interventions designed to assist depressed parents will benefit whole families.
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Seven common memory problems
Memory tends to become less reliable with age, but anyone can experience certain types of memory lapses.
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In Brief: Study suggests a link between sleep-disordered breathing and later cognitive decline
Sleep apnea and other similar breathing problems may increase the risk of cognitive decline in older age.
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Heart-Failure Hospital Stays Fall Sharply
U.S. hospital stays for heart failure fell 30% in the last 10 years, a new study has found. But the death rate for these patients fell only slightly. Among those discharged in 2008, about 30% died within a year. That compares with 32% after similar hospital stays in 1998. The study was based on data for Medicare patients. The decline saved money for Medicare. Without it, hospital stays for heart failure would have cost $4.1 billion more in 2008, the study found. Many factors could have caused the improvement, experts told the Associated Press. Prevention and treatments are better, they said. More people also may be getting treatment in emergency rooms and clinics. They might not have to stay in the hospital. The nation’s new health care reform law requires hospitals to work harder to keep people with heart failure healthier after discharge.
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In Brief: Study suggests how nicotine suppresses appetite
Researchers studying the relationship between nicotine and depression found that a certain smoking-cessation drug caused mice to eat less and lose weight.
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Now being served, better nutrition advice
The Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Health Publications team up to produce a more substantive alternative to the government’s MyPlate dietary recommendations.
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Do antidepressants work in the damaged brain?
Antidepressants have not fared well in research on patients with Alzheimer’s disease, but there is some evidence that they may benefit stroke victims.
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Ask the doctor: Is there a better way to treat morphea?
My wife has morphea spots on many areas of her body. We are currently treating them with Dovonex, which seems to help a little but is expensive. Do you have a better way to treat this disease? We have been told very little is known about how to treat it.
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