Making liberal use of olive oil in your diet may reduce your risk of having a stroke, new research finds. The study looked at olive oil use by 7,625 French people. All of them were age 65 or older. About 37% used it in cooking and in salad dressing or on bread. Researchers called them “intensive” users. Other people used olive oil less (40%) or not at all (23%). During the 6 years of the study, 148 strokes occurred. About 1.5% of the “intensive” olive oil users had strokes, compared with 2.6% of the others. That’s equal to a 41% lower risk of stroke. The journal Neurology published the study. HealthDay News and Reuters Health news service wrote about it June 15.
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Those left behind after the suicide of a family member or friend struggle with a particularly difficult grief. Support groups, individual counseling, and online assistance may make the process easier to handle.
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How would you get scarring in your kidney?
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For people who do not respond successfully to medication as treatment for depression, electroconvulsive therapy may be a viable option, though some patients are reluctant to try the treatment due to its possible side effects.
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Victims of bullying are more likely to develop mental health problems than other children, and bullies are also more likely to have problems as they get older. Resources are available to help schools and parents deal with bullying issues.
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Evidence from a number of studies suggests that long-term use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication to treat depression may lead to weaker bones.
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Some epilepsy drugs may increase the risk of suicide, a new study finds. These drugs are called anticonvulsants. They help to prevent seizures. Some people also take them for bipolar disorder, mania, migraine and other conditions. The study looked at data on nearly 300,000 prescriptions for these drugs. In a 5 ½-year period, 26 people committed suicide. Another 801 attempted it and 41 died by violence. Suicide risk was higher for those who took certain drugs. They were gabapentin (Neurontin), lamotrigine (Lamictal), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), tiagabine (Gabitril) and valproate (Depacon). There was also a higher risk of suicide attempts. The risk with another anticonvulsant, topiramate (Topamax), was lower. U.S. labels for anticonvulsant drugs already carry a warning about suicide risk. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Adults who experience the death of a sibling often find that their loss is minimized by others, which may cause them to suppress their grief. Survivors should seek out a grief partner for emotional support.
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When people being treated for depression do not achieve remission after trying multiple medications, clinicians should consider the possibility that those patients may be suffering from psychosis.
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