StevenSaus

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/16044688

Brain enlargement may be linked to symptom severity in kids with autism spectrum disorder

Specifically, social and communication symptoms appear to be more severe in children who display brain overgrowth on MRI scans. Experts believe this overgrowth may be associated with alterations in the activity of the Ndel1 enzyme, which is related to embryonic neuron differentiation and migration.

Study: https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-024-00602-8

Brain enlargement may be linked to symptom severity in kids with autism spectrum disorder

Specifically, social and communication symptoms appear to be more severe in children who display brain overgrowth on MRI scans. Experts believe this overgrowth may be associated with alterations in the activity of the Ndel1 enzyme, which is related to embryonic neuron differentiation and migration.

Study: https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-024-00602-8

In a cohort of over 600,000 hospitalized patients, each day of low RN staffing was associated with an increased risk of death within 30 days of admission (adjusted HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07-1.09), as was each day of low nurse support staffing (aHR 1.07, 95% CI 1.06-1.08), reported Peter Griffiths, RN, PhD, of the University of Southampton, and co-authors in JAMA Network Open.

While these findings aren't novel, knowing the level of nurse staffing for every single day of a patient's stay makes it more likely that the findings are causal, Griffiths told MedPage Today. Of note, when low staffing was prevented with the use of temporary staff, the risk of patient death was reduced but remained elevated compared with the baseline, the authors said.

Many individuals who lost their sense of smell when infected with COVID-19 show structural and functional brain alterations on imaging, according to new work published in Nature. Now, experts are concerned that the symptoms could be associated with long-term brain alterations. In a group of people who reported anosmia as one of their COVID symptoms, experts recently observed an association between the loss of smell and decreased functional activity during decision-making tasks, reduced cortical thickness and other neural measures.

    A hacking group called USDoD claims to have stolen 2.7 billion records of personal information from Americans, including their Social Security numbers and physical addresses.
    USDoD offered to sell the stolen records, which included personal data for everyone in the US, UK, and Canada, to a forum of hackers.
    The data was stolen from National Public Data, a platform that offers personal information to employers, private investigators, staffing agencies and others doing background checks.

A study offers insights into the inequity in trauma activation fees, showing that for-profit hospitals have trauma activation charges that are 60% higher than those at nonprofit hospitals. What's more, "much of the variation in trauma fees can't be explained by clinical need, indicating that the current system for financing trauma centers is inequitable for both the patients receiving care and the hospitals themselves, the researchers said."

The mental health of adolescents and young adults has been on the decline and it’s partly because of “harmful megatrends” like financial inequality, according to a new report published on Tuesday in the scientific journal The Lancet Psychiatry. The global trends affecting younger generations also include wage theft, unregulated social media, job insecurity and climate change, all of which are creating “a bleak present and future for young people in many countries,” according to the authors.

Full text link: https://dnyuz.com/2024/08/13/are-we-thinking-about-the-youth-mental-health-crisis-all-wrong/

You will not often get me to agree with the NY Post, but this is that one time:

Disney is trying to get a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the husband of a doctor who died because of a food allergy (after staff were warned repeatedly) tossed — because he signed up for the Disney+ streaming service years earlier, which included an arbitration agreement.

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/15659995

New research from the University of Southern California indicates cannabis may help individuals reduce or quit opioid use. Lead author Sid Ganesh, a PhD student at USC's medical school, interviewed 30 opioid and cannabis users in Los Angeles. Participants, receiving services from a methadone clinic and syringe exchange, found cannabis useful for managing opioid use due to easier access. The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, highlights cannabis's role in easing withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

New research from the University of Southern California indicates cannabis may help individuals reduce or quit opioid use. Lead author Sid Ganesh, a PhD student at USC's medical school, interviewed 30 opioid and cannabis users in Los Angeles. Participants, receiving services from a methadone clinic and syringe exchange, found cannabis useful for managing opioid use due to easier access. The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, highlights cannabis's role in easing withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18587310

Universal free school lunches could lead to fewer obesity cases, improved attendance, and fewer suspensions, according to a study in JAMA Network Open. The Texas A&M-led study reviewed six programs covering over 11,000 schools. Researchers found that universal free school meals were associated with increased meal participation and some positive effects on attendance, particularly for students from food-insecure homes.