Magic mushrooms could be the key to treating people with depression | SoTechNaija

A NEW study suggests that a hallucinogen found in magic mushrooms may be the next step in treating people with depression.

The ingredient in question is called psilocybin, which is a naturally occurring psychedelic and reportedly works by “resetting” the brain.
A team of researchers at Imperial College London conducted a small study of 19 patients who were diagnosed with depression, in which they gave them a single dose of psilocybin and monitored their brain activity before and after.

The treatment produced “rapid and sustained antidepressant effects”, with half of the patients no longer showing signs of depression, along with a change in their brain activity that lasted up to five weeks.
The scans that were performed before the drug was administered and then again a day later revealed two key areas of the brain were impacted.
The amygdala, which is responsible for the response and memory of emotions particularly fear and anxiety, became less active.
And the default mode network, which relates to multiple interconnected regions of the brain, became more stabilised.

After the drug was administered patients reported feeling “rebooted” and showed signed of reduced stress and anxiety. Picture: Peter Dejong/APSource:Supplied

According to Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, the head of psychedelic research at Imperial, the drug seemed to have a “resetting” effect on the brain.
“Patients were very ready to use this analogy. Without any priming they would say, ‘I’ve been reset, reborn, rebooted’, and one patient said his brain had been defragged and cleaned up,” he told BBC News .

“Psilocybin may be giving these individuals the temporary ‘kick start’ they need to break out of their depressive states and these imaging results do tentatively support a ‘reset’ analogy. Similar brain effects to these have been seen with electroconvulsive therapy.”
It is important to note that this study was conducted in a regulated environment by professionals and the research team warns people that self medicating isn’t guaranteed to return the same results.

Dr Carhart-Harris and his team have conducted similar trials before, administering 12 patients with small doses of psilocybin and recording relief from depression symptoms in eight of the original 12 subjects.
This time around they observed more closely the specific effects that the drug has on the brain.

It is acknowledged in the study that the results may be limited by the small number of subjects involved and the lack of a control group, but it is a promising start to finding a new way to help people who suffer from depression.
In order to expand their understanding on the role that this drug plays in relieving symptoms of depression they are set to start a new trial early next year comparing the effectiveness of psilocybin against a popular antidepressant.

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Health: Doctors Remove Stone The Size Of An Ostrich Egg From Californian Man's Bladder

A 64-year-old man had a stone the size of an ostrich egg removed from his bladder, after heading to the hospital with a pain in his side.
The man, who was also having trouble urinating, went to St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, California. CT scans taken by the doctors revealed he had a stone roughly the size of a large grapefruit or a small ostrich egg lodged in his bladder.
He also had a second, smaller stone further up his abdomen (shown in figure A).

Doctors were able to surgically remove the stones from the man. When they were removed, the "egg-shaped" stone measured 12 centimeters by 9.5 centimeters (4.7 inches by 3.7 inches). It weighed 770 grams (1.7 pounds).
The doctors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that there were no complications and that the man will be monitored for any further recurrence of stones.

Bladder stones are small mineral deposits that can form in the bladder over time, mostly when you are dehydrated. When you are hydrated or your urine is very concentrated, minerals such as calcium or magnesium crystalize and form stones. This particular one was made of 20 percent struvite and 80 percent calcium phosphate.


Though large, this isn't the biggest stone that has been removed from a person. According to Guiness World Records, the largest weighed a whopping 1.9 kilograms (4.2 pounds) and was 17.9 centimeters (7 inches) long.
It was removed from José de Castro da Silva (aged 62) in São Paulo City, Brazil in August 2003.

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Using bleach can cause fatal lung problems | SoTechNaija | Health

DoYou know Using bleach can cause fatal lung problems?

Exposure to cleaning products just once a week could increase the risk of becoming breathless, scientists say.
Cleaning products such as bleach have been linked to serious lung conditions including bronchitis and emphysema.

Using disinfectants just once a week could increase someone's chance of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to scientists from Harvard University and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm).

While cleaning products have previously been linked with asthma, this is believed to be the first time they have been connected to COPD - an umbrella term for conditions characterised by increasing breathlessness.
COPD affects an estimated 1.2 million people in the UK. Almost 30,000 people die from it each year.
Scientists studied data from more than 55,000 female registered nurses in America, enrolled in the US Nurses' Health Study II, which began in 1989.



Researchers focused on nurses who were still working in healthcare in 2009, and had no history of COPD, following them until May this year.
During that period, 663 nurses were diagnosed with COPD.
Exposure to disinfectants including bleach, hydrogen peroxide and alcohol was assessed.
 
Each was associated with a raised risk of COPD of between 24 and 32%.
"To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to report a link between disinfectants and COPD among healthcare workers, and to investigate specific chemicals that may underlie this association," Dr Orianne Dumas, a researcher at Inserm, said.

"We need to investigate the impact on COPD of lifetime occupational exposure to chemicals and clarify the role of each specific disinfectant.
"Two recent studies in European populations showed that working as a cleaner was associated with a higher risk of COPD."
Dr Dumas will present the study's findings at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan on Monday.

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Top 10 Tips For Law Students

 

Top 10 Tips For Law Students And Future Personal Injury Lawyers

Get inspired by Steve Gursten, with this post of which to future personal Injury lawyers.
There is so much to know when starting out as a personal injury lawyer. How do I get a foot in the door? How can I prove myself? Where do I get my first job as a lawyer?
Where do I begin?
I’m Steve Gursten, a partner of Michigan Auto Law. Our law firm has been specializing in helping people injured in auto accidents for more than 50 years. But I remember the anxiety of looking for my first job. I know it’s not easy. There are some things I wish I would have known as a new lawyer. That’s why I’ve composed this list of 10 tips for law students.

1. The law of supply and demand applies to the practice of law too.
2. Don’t lose the common touch.
3. Try to find the humor in things when they go wrong.
4. Create a personal filing system for your professional development reading.
5. Attend seminars.
6. Develop your own support network.
7. Know the real truth about mentors.
8. Think about marketing and management.
9. Keep connected.
10. What others think about you is far less important than what you think of yourself.

1. The law of supply and demand applies to the practice of law too.

Today, the supply of lawyers is greater than the demand. That’s bad news for law students looking for jobs and bad news for lawyers looking to make partner one day.
To be successful, you will have to differentiate yourself from everyone else. There are lots of lawyers. And there are lots of lawyers willing to put in long hours and work very hard. This is not enough to cut it.
But there are not a lot of lawyers out there who know how to try a case. Even at the top law firms, there are so-called top litigators – lawyers who have arbitrated 500 cases, yet haven’t tried a case in 20 years. If you want to truly differentiate yourself, learn how to be a real trial lawyer. Try cases.

2. Don’t lose the common touch.

Law students often forget how to talk and write like normal human beings. Your juries are normal people, not law school professors grading moot court competitions. The average juror has a fifth grade education level. So don’t talk like a lawyer. Don’t use big words when you can use small words. Avoid complicated sentences.
Jurors, like all people, tend to favor people they like and people who they feel are like them.

3. Try to find the humor in things when they go wrong.

They will. There’s an old saying that you are not a real trial lawyer until win a case you should have lost, and you lose a case you should have won.
Especially considering the legal landscape today, you can have a just case, a deserving client, soundly beat your opposing counsel in every phase of trial, and still lose at trial. You can spend days preparing for an important motion, get to court and find its obvious the judge hasn’t even read it.
This is real life and real life isn’t always fair. If you can’t laugh about it, you’ll do a lot of crying.

4. Create a personal filing system and do professional development reading.

Dedicate a half hour to an hour a day, at least a few mornings or evenings a week, to professional development reading.
If you want to become a great trial lawyer, there is a wealth of incredible information for you to choose from. You can learn about the fundamentals of trying a case and specific issues you will face one day. You can read what has been written by some of the greatest trial lawyers ever. This wisdom is just sitting on the shelves of your law school library.

As you read, create a personal filing system. If you read something – for example, a great opening statement, or a compelling analogy, something that you can visualize yourself saying one day – then copy it and put it in your folder on opening statements.
Doing this will put you far ahead of your peers, and help immensely when you are preparing for trial.

5. Attend seminars.

Want to learn more about being a trial lawyer in one week then you can in three years of law school? Join the American Association for Justice (AAJ) as a law student and you get to go to the summer convention for free. For five days, you can learn cutting-edge techniques on trial advocacy and persuasion from some of the best trial lawyers and jury consultants in the country.

There are introductory programs specifically for law students and new lawyers, where you can learn about taking and defending depositions, your first trial, and more.
It is fantastic learning opportunity. And did I mention it’s free?

6. Develop your own support network.

Join the e-mail list serves and legal forums that now exist for nearly every area of law. Create online relationships with lawyers throughout the country. These lawyers face the same issues you face, and can share motions, ideas, and strategies that can save you hundreds of hours of work.
I belong to several trial lawyer list serves. There are dedicated forums for lawyers who handle car accidents, truck accidents, traumatic brain injuries, as well as personal injury law in every state.

 I also have a group of doctors and lawyers from around the country and together we form a fantastic support network, constantly e-mailing each other articles and ideas.
There are fantastic resources out there that lawyers even 10 years ago could never have imagined. Find them, join them and above all, participate. It will give you tremendous competitive advantages.

7. Know the real truth about mentors.

Everyone says law school students should have a mentor. The problem is, many lawyers are probably not well-suited to become mentors, and you might want to think twice before learning from them and copying their habits.
Some of the best mentors are waiting to help you – they can be found in your law library. In other words, you can learn from some of the best lawyers that ever lived on tapes, CDs, DVDs, and countless books.

If you do seek out a mentor, make sure he or she is the one of the best in the field. This can be verified by a solid trial record, leadership positions in legal associations, speaking engagements and a strong reputation in the community.

8. Think about marketing and management.

You can be the best lawyer in the world, but if no one knows who you are and what you do, it won’t matter. There are a lot of amazing lawyers waiting everyday for phones to ring. That’s why every lawyer should think about marketing, everyday.
My law school didn’t offer classes on marketing, management, accounting, and the other real-life things that many of us ex-political science majors who then went to law school are one day going to need.

If your law school offers classes in these areas, count yourself as lucky and take them. If not, read and teach yourself about marketing and management. It’s rare to find lawyers who are both technically skilled and who are also good business people.
Yes, law is a profession, not a business. But if you can’t balance your books or bring in new clients, it really doesn’t matter how true to the ideals of the legal profession you are.

9. Keep connected.

Lawyers have some of the highest rates of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, suicide, divorce, and depression. If you’re reading this now, it’s probably too late. You blew it. You went to law school. Okay, gallows humor.

But try to remember to be human, and try to spend time with the people you love. That includes spending some time on yourself. Find something you are really passionate about that has nothing to do with law and carve out time to pursue it. It will help keep you from burning out.

10. What others think about you is far less important than what you think of yourself.

If you are really lucky, and I mean really lucky, you will learn this early on in your legal career. Trust me, the law firms that everyone talks about in law school will not be that important years from now. Think about the first girl or boy that you ever dated. Years later you just have to shake your head and laugh because the things that were so important to you then seem silly and preposterous.
If you can keep yourself from thinking how important it is to be at THE FIRM, and instead find a job that’s interesting, rewarding and fulfilling, then you are one of the lucky ones.

Final Thought from Michigan Auto Law

For me, a satisfying career is practicing as a personal injury lawyer and helping people who are seriously hurt through no fault of their own. Read here for tips on whether being a personal injury lawyer is right for you.
Meanwhile, if you follow the tips mentioned above, you will be able to flourish in the area of law that is right for you.

Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm in the state specializing in car accidents, truck accidents and motorcycle accidents for more than 50 years and three generations. Call (888) 995-8441 if you’re interested in our mentoring program, or if you or a loved one has been in a car accident.

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8 Ultimate Steps To Be Taking To Live Healthy

These eight practical tips cover the basics of healthy eating, and can help you make healthier choices.
Base your meals on starchy carbohydrates
Eat lots of fruit and veg
Eat more fish – including a portion of oily fish
Cut down on saturated fat and sugar
Eat less salt – no more than 6g a day for adults
Get active and be a healthy weight
Don't get thirsty
Don't skip breakfast

The key to a healthy diet is to:

• Eat the right amount of calories for how active you are, so that you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use. If you eat or drink too much, you'll put on weight. If you eat and drink too little, you'll lose weight. 
• Eat a wide range of foods to ensure that you're getting a balanced diet and that your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.

It is recommended that men have around 2,500 calories a day (10,500 kilojoules). Women should have around 2,000 calories a day (8,400 kilojoules). Most adults are eating more calories than they need, and should eat fewer calories.

Base your meals on starchy carbohydrates

Starchy carbohydrates should make up just over one third of the food you eat. They include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals.
Choose wholegrain varieties (or eat potatoes with their skins on) when you can: they contain more fibre, and can help you feel full for longer.
Most of us should eat more starchy foods: try to include at least one starchy food with each main meal. Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram the carbohydrate they contain provides fewer than half the calories of fat.
Keep an eye on the fats you add when you're cooking or serving these types of foods because that's what increases the calorie content, for example oil on chips, butter on bread and creamy sauces on pasta.

 

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables

It's recommended that we eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. It's easier than it sounds.
Why not chop a banana over your breakfast cereal, or swap your usual mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit?
Unsweetened 100% fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies can only ever count as a maximum of one portion of your 5 A DAY. For example, if you have two glasses of fruit juice and a smoothie in one day, that still only counts as one portion.

Eat more fish – including a portion of oily fish

Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals. Aim to eat at least two portions of fish a week, including at least one portion of oily fish. Oily fish contains omega-3 fats, which may help to prevent heart disease.
Oily fish include:

• salmon
• mackerel
• trout
• herring
• fresh tuna
• sardines
• pilchards.

Non-oily fish include:

• haddock
• plaice
• coley
• cod
• canned tuna
• skate
• hake

If you regularly eat a lot of fish, try to choose as wide a variety as possible.
You can choose from fresh, frozen and canned: but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.

Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

Saturated fat in our diet
We all need some fat in our diet, but it's important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat we're eating. There are two main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.
The average man should have no more than 30g saturated fat a day. The average woman should have no more than 20g saturated fat a day, and children should have less than adults.
Saturated fat is found in many foods, such as:

• hard cheese
• cakes
• biscuits
• sausages
• cream
• butter
• lard
• pies.

Try to cut down on your saturated fat intake, and choose foods that contain unsaturated fats instead, such as vegetable oils, oily fish and avocados.
For a healthier choice, use just a small amount of vegetable oil or reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee. When you're having meat, choose lean cuts and cut off any visible fat.
Sugar in our diet
Regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.
Sugary foods and drinks, including alcoholic drinks, are often high in energy (measured in kilojoules or calories), and if eaten too often, can contribute to weight gain. They can also cause tooth decay, especially if eaten between meals.
Many packaged foods and drinks contain surprisingly high amounts of free sugars. Free sugars are any sugars added to foods or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices.
Cut down on:

• sugary fizzy drinks
• alcoholic drinks
• sugary breakfast cereals
• cakes
• biscuits
• pastries

These foods contain added sugars: this is the kind of sugar we should be cutting down on, rather than sugars that are found in things such as fruit and milk.
Food labels can help: use them to check how much sugar foods contain. More than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g means that the food is high in sugar, while 5g of total sugars or less per 100g means that the food is low in sugar.
Get tips on cutting down sugar in your diet.

Eat less salt – no more than 6g a day for adults

Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.
Even if you don’t add salt to your food, you may still be eating too much. About three-quarters of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, such as breakfast cereals, soups, breads and sauces.
Use food labels to help you cut down. More than 1.5g of salt per 100g means the food is high in salt. Adults and children over 11 should eat no more than 6g of salt (about a teaspoonful) a day. Younger children should have even less.
Get tips on cutting down on salt in your diet.

Get active and be a healthy weight

Eating a healthy, balanced diet plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy weight, which is an important part of overall good health.
Being overweight or obese can lead to health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and stroke. Being underweight could also affect your health.
Check whether you're a healthy weight by using our Healthy weight calculator.

Most adults need to lose weight, and need to eat fewer calories to do this. If you're trying to lose weight, aim to eat less and be more active. Eating a healthy, balanced diet will help: aim to cut down on foods that are high in saturated fat and sugar, and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Don't forget that alcohol is also high in calories, so cutting down can help you to control your weight.
Physical activity can help you to maintain weight loss or be a healthy weight. Being active doesn't have to mean hours at the gym: you can find ways to fit more activity into your daily life. For example, try getting off the bus one stop early on the way home from work, and walking.
Being physically active may help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. For more ideas, see Get active your way.
After getting active, remember not to reward yourself with a treat that is high in energy. If you feel hungry after activity, choose foods or drinks that are lower in calories, but still filling.
If you're underweight, see our page on underweight adults. If you're worried about your weight, ask your GP or a dietitian for advice.

Don't get thirsty

We need to drink plenty of fluids to stop us getting dehydrated – the government recommends 6-8 glasses every day.
This is in addition to the fluid we get from the food we eat. All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water and lower-fat milk are healthier choices.
Try to avoid sugary soft and fizzy drinks that are high in added sugars and calories, and are also bad for teeth.


Even unsweetened fruit juice and smoothies are high in free sugar. Your combined total of drinks from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies should not be more than 150ml a day – which is a small glass.
For example, if you have 150ml of orange juice and 150ml smoothie in one day, you'll have exceeded the recommendation by 150ml.
When the weather is warm, or when we get active, we may need more fluids.

Don't skip breakfast

Some people skip breakfast because they think it will help them lose weight. In fact, research shows that people who regularly eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight.
Breakfast has also been shown to have positive effects on children’s mental performance and increase their concentration throughout the morning.

A healthy breakfast is an important part of a balanced diet, and provides some of the vitamins and minerals we need for good health.
A wholegrain, lower-sugar cereal with fruit sliced over the top is a tasty and nutritious breakfast.

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