A new study has investigated oxytocin’s effects on the brain regions that help control eating behavior to explore the possibility of using this hormone as a treatment for obesity. Researchers get to grips with how oxytocin alters our brain’s response to food. Oxytocin is a hormone that plays an essential role in social interaction, trust, anxiety, sexual reproduction, childbirth, and mother-infant bonding. As such, people sometimes refer … Continue reading Weight loss: How the ‘love hormone’ might help

Vitamin C could be a cost-effective way to reduce the time that patients spend in intensive care. This was the conclusion of a recent analysis of evidence from published trials. Vitamin C, which is present in oranges and other citrus fruits, may reduce the time some patients spend in the ICU. Dr. Harri Hemilä of the University of Helsinki in Finland and Dr. Elizabeth Chalker … Continue reading Vitamin C can cut time spent in intensive care units

A new review, which appears in The BMJ journal, examines the benefits of non-invasive brain stimulation for treating major depression and finds that the technique is a valid alternative to existing treatments. Doctors should consider brain stimulation as an alternative treatment for people living with severe depression, finds a new review. Over 17 million adults in the United States have had an episode of major depression at one point in their … Continue reading Depression: Brain stimulation may be a good alternative treatment

There is no doubt that smoking damages health and increases the risk of many diseases and premature death. However, a study that followed hundreds of older adults for more than 10 years found no link between tobacco smoking and raised dementia risk. A new study suggests there is no causal link between smoking and the risk of developing dementia. Dementia is the general name for conditions … Continue reading Smoking may not be related to dementia risk after all