Womenshealth.gov. Women and Our Health | Features | Women's Health News | Perspectives. Mercury, Autism Not Linked, Study Finds | Urine Mercury Levels No Different in Kids with Autism. Mercury does not cause autism, another study now concludes. The levels of mercury in the urine of children with autism were no higher than urine mercury levels of children without the condition, the study from England found. The discredited idea that the form of mercury, called ethylmercury, sometimes used in vaccines may lead to autism has led to reductions in vaccine rates and increases in cases of preventable diseases, such as measles and mumps, according to the study. But rates of autism have continued to rise after the use of the thimerosal in children's vaccines was stopped in 2001 in the developed world, according to the study. The researchers collected urine samples from 54 children with autism spectrum disorders, and compared these with three other groups: 115 children from the general population, 28 children who attended special schools (mainly because of learning disabilities), and 42 children who didn't have autism, but had a sibling with the condition.
Sex. Providing condoms to adolescents has been - and likely will continue to be - a controversial topic. But the American Academy of Pediatrics is asking communities, educators, parents and doctors to step up in making this form of contraception more available to teens. "Although abstinence of sexual activity is the most effective method for prevention of pregnancy and STIs (sexually transmitted infections), young people should be prepared for the time when they will become sexually active," several doctors wrote in a policy statement published Monday in the organization's journal Pediatrics. "When used consistently and correctly, male latex condoms reduce the risk of pregnancy and many STIs, including HIV. " Teen pregnancy rates are declining in the United States; in 2011, the number of babies born to women aged 15 to 19 was at a record low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anxiety: "Talk Therapy" May Rewire the Brain. For those who doubt whether "talk therapy" offers any real therapeutic benefit, a new study may help convince even the most stubborn skeptics. That’s because the new research successfully measured changes in participants’ brains before and after therapy began, using electroencephalogram (EEG) to study brain waves. Laypeople tend to think that talk therapy is not ‘real,’ while they associate medications with hard science, and physiologic change.
But at the end of the day, the effectiveness of any program must be mediated by the brain and the nervous system. If the brain does not change, there won’t be a change in behavior or emotion.' The research team was interested in how much "delta-beta coupling" was going on in the participants’ brains, which is a strong marker of anxiety level. At the beginning of the study the brain waves of the main group of participants looked a lot like those in the high-anxiety control group. Sleep: Dreams Can Help Heal Mental Wounds. A new study finds that sleep may play a role in how the brain processes emotionally-charged memories, which could have important implications in how we understand how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) works in the brain.
Though researchers haven’t quite reached a consensus on why we sleep, we do know that sleep helps our brains rebound after a long day. Also among its functions are sleep's ability to help consolidate memories, enhance cognitive function and boost decision-making. Reactivity of the amygdala – a brain region important in emotion and stress – was reduced during the second viewing in the participants who had slept.
To see how sleep might affect how memories are processed, researchers showed participants 150 emotional images (like an open-mouthed shark) twice, separated by a 12-hour period. Half of the participants were shown the images in the morning, and then again at night. Altered sleep patterns have been linked to mood disorders like depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The Mary Sue - A Guide To Girl Geek Culture. Where Can I Find Good Health Info Online? - Mind Body. Roshini Raj, MD, is Health's medical editor and co-author of What the Yuck?!
The Freaky & Fabulous Truth About Your Body. Board-certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine, Dr. Raj is an assistant professor of medicine at New York University Medical Center and a contributor on the Today show. In our new book, Dr. Raj fields personal and provocative questions-about your body, sex, even celeb health fads. Q: Where can I find good health info online? A: Last week, a new Harris Poll found that more adults than ever are going online for health-care information. As a doctor, I appreciate patients who are interested in their health care. But first, a big caveat: Reading the information on these websites may put you in an unnecessary panic-the term 'cyberchondriac' is often used to refer to someone who thinks she has a disease she read about online.
That said, you can get good advice on the Internet. For more answers to embarrassing questions, check our out new book, What the Yuck?!