Colorized scanning electron micrograph of Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria, which causes gonorrhea.
The most highly drug-resistant cases of gonorrhea detected in the US to date appeared in two unrelated people in Massachusetts, state health officials announced Thursday.
The cases mark the first time that US isolates of the gonorrhea-causing bacterium, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, have shown complete resistance or reduced susceptibility to all drugs that are recommended for treatment.
Fortunately, both cases were successfully cured with potent injections of the antibiotic ceftriaxone, despite the bacterial isolates demonstrating reduced susceptibility to the drug. Ceftriaxone is currently the frontline recommended treatment for the sexually transmitted infection.
But health officials said the cases are a warning. “N. gonorrhoeae is becoming less responsive to a limited arsenal of antibiotics,” they said.
Brewing resistance
For years, global surveillance data collected by the World Health Organization has shown that gonorrhea is becoming more and more resistant to our entire lineup of drugs, including frontline drugs like ceftriaxone. Though surveillance is spotty globally, a study of WHO’s 2017–2018 data published in 2021 found N. gonorrhoeae isolates with decreased susceptibility or resistance to ceftriaxone have turned up in 21 of the 68 reporting countries, or 31 percent.
Resistance against alternative antibiotics was even higher. Among the 61 countries reporting data on an alternative antibiotic, azithromycin, 51 countries (84 percent) reported resistance. And of 51 countries reporting data on the alternative antibiotic treatment, cefixime, 24 countries (47 percent) reported resistance. For ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic largely abandoned as a gonorrhea treatment due to resistance, all 70 reporting countries found resistance.
“In many countries, ciprofloxacin resistance is extremely high, azithromycin resistance is rapidly increasing, and resistance or decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone and cefixime continue to emerge,” the WHO said in 2021. “Without new gonorrhoea treatments, there will be people with gonorrhoea infections that will be difficult to treat and cure.”
The agency wasn’t exaggerating. Last year, WHO added that reports of gonorrhea treatment failure are stacking up. “In the past decade, confirmed failure to cure gonorrhoea with ceftriaxone alone or combined with azithromycin or doxycyline was reported in Australia, France, Japan, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” WHO reported.
One of the isolates reported in Massachusetts yesterday demonstrated reduced susceptibility to ceftriaxone, cefixime, and azithromycin and resistance to ciprofloxacin, penicillin, and tetracycline in lab tests. The second isolate appeared to have a similar profile based on genetic data, Massachusetts’ public health department reported. This strain of N. gonorrhoeae has been seen circulating in Asia-Pacific countries and has been detected in recent cases in the UK.
High cases
Alongside the worrying trend of increased resistance is the fact that gonorrhea cases are high worldwide and are on the rise in the US. In 2020, WHO estimated that there were 82.4 million new cases of gonorrhea worldwide. In the US, there were nearly 700,000 cases in 2021, up more than 25 percent from 2017, according to preliminary estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In many people, gonorrhea has no symptoms. In others, it’s so mild that it may be mistaken as a minor bladder infection or yeast infection. Over time, however, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, severe pain, and fertility problems. Health officials stress the need for screening and surveillance to treat infections early before they become severe and have a chance to spread.
For the two Massachusetts cases, health officials are now working on contact tracing. Without a clear link between the two cases, officials say it’s likely it’s more widespread than currently known.
“The discovery of this strain of gonorrhea is a serious public health concern which DPH, the CDC, and other health departments have been vigilant about detecting in the US,” Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke said in a statement. “We urge all sexually active people to be regularly tested for sexually transmitted infections and to consider reducing the number of their sexual partners and increasing their use of condoms when having sex. Clinicians are advised to review the clinical alert and assist with our expanded surveillance efforts.”
Three young grizzly bears were euthanized after they were found suffering from a highly contagious strain of bird flu after eating infected animals in Montana.
The state’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) department said the bears were found near the cities of Augusta, Dupuyer and Kalispell, which surround the Flathead National Forest.
All three bears were observed to be in poor condition, and showed signs of disorientation and partial blindness, among other neurological issues.
The FWP said the animals were put down, while noting that these were the first-ever cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus documented in grizzly bears.
It comes as the especially contagious strain of bird flu continues to plague the US, with more than 43 million hens killed by the virus, causing egg prices to spike.
Three young grizzly bears were euthanized when they were found to have contracted highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Montana
All three bears were observed to be in poor condition, and showed signs of disorientation and partial blindness. It was the first time the virus was reported in grizzly bears. Pictured: A large grizzly roaming in Bozeman, Montana
The FWP said the grizzlies were likely infected after eating birds carrying the virus.
While there have been previous reports of black and brown bears getting infected with the bird flu, this was the first case involving grizzlies.
The FWP noted that last year, when the new strain of highly infectious bird flu hit the nation, a fox and skunk had tested positive for the virus, with other predators like raccoons and coyotes also catching it across the country.
Although avian flu typically peaks in the spring, the disease has lingered into 2023, and is currently active in all 50 states.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 57 million poultry across the US were infected with the virus as of January 11. It has killed the vast majority of infected birds.
Although the risk of humans catching the virus is relatively low, bird flu can infect those who work directly with the infected livestock. The CDC only recorded one case of a person with bird flu last year.
In people, the disease can cause fevers, coughing, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, eye infections and difficulty breathing.
In bears and other wild mammals, the the virus causes neurological issues like seizures.
While the virus rarely affects humans, people are feeling the impacts of the bird flu through their wallets.
The national average price for a dozen eggs hit $3.59 in November, up from $1.72 a year earlier, the latest government data shows
Red Star chickens feed in their coop Tuesday at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview, Illinois. More than 43 million laying hens have been slaughtered in the last year to contain bird flu
The national average price for a dozen eggs hit $3.59 in November, up from $1.72 a year earlier, the latest government data shows. Prices have likely risen even higher since then.
The lingering bird flu outbreak, combined with soaring feed, fuel and labor costs, has contributed to the more than doubling of egg prices, and hatched plenty of sticker shock for consumers.
If prices remain this high, Kelly Fischer, 46, said she will start thinking more seriously about building a backyard chicken coop in Chicago because everyone in her family eats eggs.
‘We (with neighbors) are contemplating building a chicken coop behind our houses, so eventually I hope not to buy them and have my own eggs and I think the cost comes into that somewhat,’ the public school teacher said while shopping at HarvesTime Foods on the city’s North Side.
‘For me, it´s more of the environmental impact and trying to purchase locally.’
A shopper checks eggs before he purchases at a grocery store in Glenview, Illinois on Tuesday. Anyone going to buy a dozen eggs these days will have to be ready for soaring prices
In some places, it can even be hard to find eggs on the shelves, but egg supplies overall are holding up because the total flock is only down about 5 percent from from its normal size of around 320 million hens.
Farmers have been working to replace their flocks as soon as they can after an outbreak.
Jada Thomson, a University of Arkansas agricultural economist, said there may be some relief coming in egg prices in the next couple months because egg farmers have been steadily replacing their flocks lost to bird flu last year and demand will ease a bit now that people are done with their holiday baking.
But she said bird flu remains a wildcard that could still drive prices higher if there are more sizeable outbreaks at egg farms.
A new strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza – commonly called bird flu – has killed around 1,600 snow geese in two separate areas of Colorado since November, according to state wildlife officials.
Unlike prior strains of the disease in North America, this strain is “causing widespread mortality in some species of wild birds, particularly in snow geese, raptors, and vultures,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Bill Vogrin said in a statement to CNN on Monday.
The agency began receiving reports of sick and dead snow geese in northeastern Colorado in late 2022, the statement said. It documented over 1,000 deaths on several waterways in Morgan and Logan counties.
Then officials heard of “large-scale mortalities” in the southeastern portion of the state.
“There was a die-off of approximately 600 snow geese at John Martin Reservoir,” the statement said, noting lower die-offs at surrounding reservoirs.
After highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed in a certain species and county, the wildlife department will not test additional birds of that species within that county until the next season – but additional deaths are still counted, the statement said.
Birds carrying the disease can carry it to new areas when migrating, potentially exposing domestic poultry to the virus, the US Department of Agriculture says.
Neurotic personality traits refer to a pattern of emotional instability, anxiety, and self-doubt. People with high levels of neurotic traits tend to experience negative emotions such as fear, guilt, and shame, and may be more prone to anxiety and mood disorders. They may also have difficulty coping with stress and uncertainty, and may engage in maladaptive behaviors such as avoidance or rumination. While neurotic traits are a normal part of human experience, high levels of neurotic traits can negatively impact an individual’s quality of life and functioning.
Managing it can help reduce neuroticism, anxiety, and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
A new study published in the open-access journal General Psychiatry found that high diastolic blood pressure, the lower number in a blood pressure reading, is highly likely to cause neurotic personality trait.
The researchers also suggest that managing diastolic blood pressure can help reduce neurotic behaviors, anxiety, and the risk of heart and circulatory diseases.
High blood pressure is a major risk for cardiovascular disease and is thought to be associated with psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, and neuroticism—a personality trait characterized by susceptibility to negative emotions, including anxiety and depression.
But which causes which isn’t entirely clear.
In a bid to find out, the researchers used a technique called Mendelian randomization. This uses genetic variants as proxies for a particular risk factor—in this case, blood pressure—to obtain genetic evidence in support of a causal relationship, reducing the biases inherent in observational studies.
Between 30% and 60% of blood pressure is down to genetic factors, and over 1000 genetic single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs for short, are associated with it. SNPs help predict a person’s response to certain drugs, susceptibility to environmental factors, and their risk of developing diseases.
The researchers drew on 8 large-scale study datasets containing whole genome
But after adjusting for multiple tests, only diastolic blood pressure was significantly associated with neuroticism (over 90%), based on 1074 SNPs.
The researchers acknowledge certain limitations to their findings. For example, it wasn’t possible to completely exclude pleiotropy–where one gene can affect several traits. And the findings may not be more widely applicable beyond people of European ancestry.
But blood pressure links the brain and the heart, and so may promote the development of personality traits, they explain.
“Individuals with neuroticism can be sensitive to the criticism of others, are often self-critical, and easily develop anxiety, anger, worry, hostility, self-consciousness, and depression.
“Neuroticism is viewed as a key causative factor for anxiety and mood disorders. Individuals with neuroticism more frequently experience high mental stress, which can lead to elevated [blood pressure] and cardiovascular diseases,” they write.
And they suggest: “Appropriate surveillance and control of blood pressure can be beneficial for the reduction of neuroticism, neuroticism-inducing mood disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.”
Reference: “Investigating genetic causal relationships between blood pressure and anxiety, depressive symptoms, neuroticism and subjective well-being” by Lei Cai, Yonglin Liu and Lin He, 21 November 2022, General Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1136/gpsych-2022-100877
The study was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai.
Boxes of petitions against proposed reforms that solar energy advocates claim would handicap the rooftop solar market are displayed before being taken to the governor’s office during a rally at the Capitol in Sacramento on Dec. 8, 2021. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo
The California Public Utilities Commission today overhauled the state’s rooftop solar regulations, reducing payments to homeowners for excess power but providing nearly a billion dollars in incentives to encourage more solar projects for low-income homes.
Commissioners called the new rules — adopted unanimouslyafter hours of highly charged public comments that were almost entirely opposed — a much-needed course-correction to California’s 27-year-old residential solar rules.
Both the power companies and the solar industry criticized the new rules that outline details of the financial incentives to encourage people to build rooftop solar. Utilities did not get all the concessions they hoped for to lower bills for non-solar customers. And solar developers say the rules will discourage people from installing solar panels.
A victory for the solar industry came earlier this year, when the commission dropped an unpopular plan to charge homeowners an 8% per kilowatt-hour tax for newsolar systems.
In remarks before the vote, commissioners acknowledged how divisive the matter has been. Commissioner John Reynolds said the decision was a “heavy one,” saying “nothing in energy policy is black and white, and nothing in this decision has been.”
Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen said the agency faced “competing and challenging priorities.” He called it a “responsible and forward-looking decision.”
The new regulations will:
For new customers, reduce the amount utilities pay them for excess power by at least 75% compared to current rates, starting in April. The change would not apply to residents with existing solar systems.
Fund $900 million in new incentive payments to residents to help them purchase rooftop solar systems. Two thirds of the funds, $630 million, will be set aside for low-income households. The remainder provides funding for paired solar-battery storage systems.
Set rates that aim to shift all consumers’ use of power to the times of day that improve grid reliability.
California’s original rules, called Net Metering, were implemented in 1995. They established a framework for utilities to buy excess solar energy from homeowners and supplement power to the grid.
The overhaul comes as California needs to lean more heavily on renewable energy to meet state targets to produce zero-carbon electricity by 2045 and end use of fossil fuels.
About 1.5 million rooftop solar systems are installed on California’s houses, schools and small businesses. About 14% of California’s total electricity comes from large-scale solar projects; another 10% of the state’s power comes from rooftop residential solar.
Solar companies and environmental groups say the policy could undermine the state’s booming solar industry by raising the costs of operating panels on homes and small businesses. They say that in states where similar rate shifts have been adopted, solar system installation has plummeted.
Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar & Storage Association, called the decision a backward step.
“The CPUC’s final proposal is a loser for California on many levels,” she said in a statement. “For the solar industry, it will result in business closures and the loss of green jobs. For middle class and working class neighborhoods where solar is growing fastest, it puts clean energy further out of reach.”
Woody Hastings, The Climate Center’s energy program manager, said “California needs more solar power — not less.”
“Just as more middle and lower-income Californians are putting solar panels on their rooftops, the new rules adopted by the CPUC today threaten to slow the growth of clean energy across the state,” he said.
The years-long fight was played out across social media and opinion pages. The complex process of revising the rules elicited tens of thousands of public comments and was, at one point, arbitrated by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Today’s meeting began with three hours of lively public comment. Callers to the virtual meeting gave the five commissioners an earful, with the vast majority asking the panel to vote no.
Some callers made the point that the provision to nudge consumers to install solar systems with batteries will have the unintended consequence of quashing new solar systems because the cost of storage systems is beyond the financial reach of many homeowners. Only about 15% of current rooftop systems currently have storage, the commission said.
Many of the arguments on either side focus on fairness. Utility companies say demand for rooftop solar is strong enough in California that the industry doesn’t need more help. They say the retail rate they pay to solar customers for their excess power is too high and doesn’t reflect the value of their power, which is produced during daytime hours.
Because residents and businesses with solar panels generally have smaller energy bills, they contribute less to a utility company’s fixed costs, such as transmission and distribution networks, which are passed on to ratepayers. As a result, non-solar residents, including low-income residents and renters, carry more of the cost burden.
“This final decision was a missed opportunity that will prolong the harm to low-income Californians and renters for decades to come,” said Kathy Fairbanks, spokesperson for Affordable Clean Energy for All, a coalition that includes the state’s three largest utility companies.
Reverend Frank Jackson, chief executive officer of Village Solutions Foundation, a community development corporation, said “the CPUC got this vote very wrong.”
“Low-income families are struggling to buy gas, put food on their table, and pay for everything, including utilities. Continuing to pay hundreds more a year to subsidize mostly wealthy Californians is unfair,” he said.
The solar rules increased bills for customers who do not have rooftop solar by $3.37 billion in 2021, growing to $4.5 billion so far this year, according to the CPUC’s Public Advocates Office.
Solar “customers should pay their fair share of grid, wildfire, and other related costs,” the public advocates office said in an analysis. “Customers with rooftop solar depend on the … grid to use electricity when their rooftop solar systems are not generating electricity. The compensation that (solar) customers receive is greater than the value of the energy.”
Matt Baker, director of the office, said San Diego Gas & Electric customers without rooftop solar pay about 20% of their bill to cover those fixed costs; for Pacific Gas & Electric customers it’s 12% and about 11% for Southern California Edison ratepayers.
Solar advocates dispute the commission’s cost shift equations, challenging the details and pointing out that such calculations fail to consider the benefits of rooftop solar, including the need to construct costly infrastructure such as power plants.
Advocates say the widespread adoption of rooftop systems provides a valuable service to both the grid and the battle against climate change. They call the commission’s new policy a “solar cliff.”
Rather than viewing the new policy as punishing the solar industry, Baker said the new direction highlights the success of solar adoption in California.
“They have succeeded, we won, it’s amazing,” Baker said in an interview. “We have outgrown the subsidies for a solar-only system and now it’s time to pivot to solar plus storage.”
The commission said the rules would save residents with solar-plus-battery systems about $130 on their monthly bills.
The CPUC is required under state law to update its net metering rules, which triggered a prolonged, complex and politically thorny process. The commission’s proposal earlier this year was attacked by both the solar industry and utilities as unfair and inadequate.
The changes take into account evolving consumer habits: Heavy power use has shifted to evenings, when people return home and plug in a myriad of electronic devices.
This demand shift is reflected in the price of power and the availability of solar energy. Solar power is abundant during the day and the cost of electricity is about 5 cents per kilowatt-hour. In the evening, when the sun goes down and demand soars, the price for power can increase more than 20-fold, officials say.
The commission’s decision to reduce the amount utilities pay for excess power is driven by a revised cost calculator. The lower rates paid to rooftop solar owners take into account the real value of the power, the commission said, which is produced during the day when electricity is cheaper.
The program had the right intentions when it was established in 1995, Baker said, encouraging adoption of rooftop solar and compensating those residents with a retail rate for power they provided during the day, when the grid carried its heaviest load.
“At the time that was being done it was fair and equitable,” Baker said, but in ensuing years costs to install solar have dropped dramatically.
Solar and other sources of renewable energy are gradually supplanting power derived from coal and gas, which are fossil fuels that the state aims to banish from the grid by 2045.
While drought, wildfires, heatwaves and utility blackouts have prolonged the life of some natural gas-fired power plants, the state is inching toward that goal: On May 8, 100% of California’s power grid was running on renewable energy for a few hours, a record.
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Your neighbor might not be the only individual catching the flu this season in D-FW — veterinarians say it’s possible your dog could catch canine influenza, especially after boarding them during the holidays.
Across North Texas, many pet shelters and clinics have reported outbreaks of dog flu in their facilities last month, including Operation Kindness in Carrollton, which briefly suspended adoptions in November.
Canine flu tends to break out in pockets, and the virus can be highly contagious on a local level, said Lori Teller, a clinical associate professor at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
“It’s not super common throughout the U.S., but when it does occur in an area, like the Dallas shelter or recently in Waco, a lot of dogs can become infected by it,” Teller said.
Teller added that dog flu is likely on the rise due to more people getting out with their dogs. Early on in the pandemic, most pets stayed at home and were less likely to catch influenza.
Here’s everything you need to know about canine flu, including what it looks like, how it spreads and what to do if your dog gets infected.
Canine influenza is a disease that attacks cells in a dog’s respiratory tract, according to local no-kill animal shelter, Operation Kindness.
Similar to the human flu, dog flu also spreads via respiratory droplets, including by sniffing and licking other dogs and objects. Infected dogs can also transmit the virus through barking, coughing and sneezing.
“It’s easily spread among dogs because they use their nose and their mouth to do almost everything,” Teller said.
The infection can also stay in the environment for up to 48 hours, including on surfaces and clothing.
But unlike regular influenza that spikes during the fall and winter months, dog flu is not considered a seasonal virus. Infections in dogs can occur anytime in the year, and most occur in areas where dogs congregate, such as dog parks, doggy daycare centers and boarding kennels.
In addition, while all dogs are susceptible to the flu, younger and older dogs are more likely to catch the illness, Teller said. Dogs with underlying health conditions are also more prone to infection.
The virus isn’t deadly, but dog flu can develop into more serious health complications, Teller said. Less than 10% of dogs who get the flu develop pneumonia.
Canine influenza can also occasionally infect cats — but never humans. According to the CDC, no humans have reported catching canine influenza.
Dogs that catch the flu appear sluggish and may act uninterested in playing or interacting with people, Teller said. Other primary symptoms include coughing and sneezing.
“They may appear to ache,” she added. “Like if they’re trying to get up, they may look achy and uncomfortable.”
Symptoms can last anywhere from one to three weeks, but it usually takes seven to 10 days for the illness to run its course. It takes about two days for symptoms to develop in dogs, and owners may not know their dog is contagious until it’s too late.
Some signs of canine influenza overlap with another upper respiratory illness known as kennel cough, so it’s important to see your veterinarian to get your dog tested and determine the best treatment.
Since there is no cure for the canine flu, veterinarians are likely to treat symptoms by recommending antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications or increasing fluid intake, according to Operation Kindness.
The best way to protect your dog from the flu is by getting the canine flu vaccine, which is an initial two-shot series that requires an annual booster. Owners that regularly board their dogs should consider requesting a vaccine from their veterinarian, Teller said.
Other preventative measures include cleaning shared spaces and surfaces, washing bedding and sanitizing dog toys and bowls.
While humans cannot catch the flu from their dogs, people can spread the virus from dog to dog. To prevent transmission, owners should practice good hygiene and change their clothes after interacting with a potentially infected dog.
Summary: Study reveals a link between diastolic blood pressure and an increased risk of neurotic personality traits. Controlling blood pressure can help to reduce anxiety, depression, and neuroticism.
Source: BMJ
Diastolic blood pressure—the lower of the two numbers in a blood pressure reading—is highly likely to cause neurotic personality trait, finds research published in the open access journal General Psychiatry.
And keeping it under control can help curb neurotic behaviours, anxiety, and heart and circulatory diseases, conclude the researchers.
High blood pressure is a major risk for cardiovascular disease and thought to be associated with psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, and neuroticism—a personality trait characterised by susceptibility to negative emotions, including anxiety and depression.
But which causes which isn’t entirely clear.
In a bid to find out, the researchers used a technique called Mendelian randomisation. This uses genetic variants as proxies for a particular risk factor—in this case, blood pressure—to obtain genetic evidence in support of a causal relationship, reducing the biases inherent in observational studies.
Between 30% and 60% of blood pressure is down to genetic factors, and over 1000 genetic single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs for short, are associated with it. SNPs help predict a person’s response to certain drugs, susceptibility to environmental factors, and their risk of developing diseases.
The researchers drew on 8 large-scale study datasets containing whole genome DNA extracted from blood samples from people of predominantly European ancestry (genome-wide association studies).
They applied Mendelian randomisation to the 4 traits of blood pressure—systolic blood pressure (736,650 samples), diastolic blood pressure (736,650), pulse pressure (systolic minus diastolic blood pressure; 736,650), and high blood pressure (above 140/90 mm Hg; 463,010) with 4 psychological states—anxiety (463,010 samples), depressive symptoms (180,866), neuroticism (170,911) and subjective wellbeing (298,420).
The analysis revealed that high blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure had significant causal effects on neuroticism, but not on anxiety, depressive symptoms, or subjective wellbeing.
High blood pressure is a major risk for cardiovascular disease and thought to be associated with psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, and neuroticism—a personality trait characterised by susceptibility to negative emotions, including anxiety and depression. Image is in the public domain
But after adjusting for multiple tests, only diastolic blood pressure was significantly associated with neuroticism (over 90%), based on 1074 SNPs.
The researchers acknowledge certain limitations to their findings. For example, it wasn’t possible to completely exclude pleiotropy–where one gene can affect several traits. And the findings may not be more widely applicable beyond people of European ancestry.
See also
But blood pressure links the brain and the heart, and so may promote the development of personality traits, they explain.
“Individuals with neuroticism can be sensitive to the criticism of others, are often self-critical, and easily develop anxiety, anger, worry, hostility, self-consciousness, and depression.
“Neuroticism is viewed as a key causative factor for anxiety and mood disorders. Individuals with neuroticism more frequently experience high mental stress, which can lead to elevated [blood pressure] and cardiovascular diseases,” they write.
And they suggest: “Appropriate surveillance and control of blood pressure can be beneficial for the reduction of neuroticism, neuroticism-inducing mood disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.”
About this personality research news
Author: Press Office Source: BMJ Contact: Press Office – BMJ Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: The findings will appear in General Psychiatry
Major depressive disorder is associated with altered interoception — or the ability to sense the internal state of your body. Now, new brain imaging research provides evidence that depressed individuals tend to exhibit “faulty” neural processing of gastric interoception, particularly among those with high levels of rumination. The findings have been published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.
“Repetitive negative thinking (RNT), usually referred to as ‘rumination’ in persons who suffer from depression, is a very significant clinical problem,” explained study author Salvador M. Guinjoan, a principal investigator at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research and associate professor at Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center at Tulsa.
“The reason is that when it is severe and persistent, RNT conditions higher chances of depression relapse and is associated with residual symptoms after treatment, is more common in persons who do not respond to treatment, and is even related to suicide. This particular communication refers to one among a series of projects in our lab attempting to understand rumination.”
“In a previous communication, we reported on the fact that high rumination is associated with poor emotional learning abilities,” Guinjoan said. “And one possible mechanism for this to happen was that interoceptive feedback (i.e., information from the body conveying emotion) was faulty in persons with depression.”
The study included 48 depressed individuals who scored high on the Ruminative Responses Scale and 49 depressed individuals who scored low on the scale. People who score high on the scale report that they frequently engage in various types of rumination, such as thinking about their shortcomings, thinking about how alone they feel, and thinking “Why do I always react this way?” The researchers also recruited 27 healthy volunteers, who served as a control group.
To assess the neural correlates of interoceptive awareness, the participants were instructed to selectively attend to the sensations originating from their heart and stomach while the researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging technology to monitor their brain activity.
Compared to controls, depressed individuals exhibited reduced central processing of stomach interoceptive information in several brain regions, including the left medial frontal region and insular cortex, perirhinal cortex, and caudate nucleus. This was true regardless of rumination levels.
Depressed individuals with high rumination levels, however, additionally exhibited reduced processing of stomach sensations in the hippocampus, amygdala, and entorhinal cortex. These brain regions play a key role in memory, emotional information processing, and perception.
“We observed that persons with depression have a problem with the central processing of interoceptive information that originated specifically in the gut, in relation to having a greater tendency to ruminate,” Guinjoan told PsyPost. “We hypothesize that in this setting, the interoceptive information provides an insufficient, or faulty, feedback onto the perception and learning of emotions, and this might in turn impede that the highly ruminative person with depression stops his/her repetitive, negatively-laden thoughts.”
The researchers were surprised to find that abnormalities in the neural processing of interoception were limited to the stomach.
“We somehow expected interoceptive abnormalities were going to be more marked in the heart territory,” Guinjoan explained. “But it turned out that interoception from the stomach was more compromised. Looking back, this makes sense as so many people with depression actually present with symptoms referred to the abdomen, including patients who see a primary care doctor or a gastroenterologist because of their abdominal complaints. On the other hand, persons with anxiety seem to focus more on the cardiovascular system.”
The study, “Attenuated interoceptive processing in individuals with major depressive disorder and high repetitive negative thinking“, was authored ny Heekyeong Park, Stella M. Sanchez, Rayus Kuplicki, Aki Tsuchiyagaito, Sahib S. Khalsa, Martin P. Paulus, and Salvador M. Guinjoan.
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Summary: Based on the criteria set for tobacco addiction, a new study reports that highly-processed foods can be addictive.
Source: University of Michigan
Can highly processed foods be addictive?
It’s a question that researchers have debated for years as unhealthy diets are often fueled by foods loaded with refined carbohydrates and added fats.
To find a resolution, a new University of Michigan and Virginia Tech analysis took the criteria used in a 1988 U.S. Surgeon General’s report that established that tobacco was addictive and applied it to food.
Based on the criteria set for tobacco, the findings indicate that highly processed foods can be addictive, said lead author Ashley Gearhardt, U-M associate professor of psychology, and Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, assistant professor at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech.
In fact, the addictive potential for food such as potato chips, cookies, ice cream and French fries may be a key factor contributing to the high public health costs associated with a food environment dominated by cheap, accessible and heavily marketed highly processed foods, the researchers said.
The research, published in the current issue of Addiction, offers evidence that highly processed foods meet the same criteria used to identify cigarettes as an addictive substance:
They trigger compulsive use where people are unable to quit or cut down (even in the face of life-threatening diseases like diabetes and heart disease)
They can change the way we feel and cause changes in the brain that are of a similar magnitude as the nicotine in tobacco products
They are highly reinforcing
They trigger intense urges and cravings
“Of note, there is no biomarker in the brain that tells us whether something is addictive or not,” Gearhardt said. “Identifying that tobacco products were addictive really boiled down to these four criteria, (which) have stood up to decades of scientific evaluation. Highly processed foods meet every single one of these criteria.”
DiFeliceantonio said the ability of highly processed foods to rapidly deliver unnaturally high doses of refined carbohydrates and fat appear key to their addictive potential.
Highly processed foods contain complex substances that cannot be simplified to a single chemical agent acting through a specific central mechanism. The same can be said for industrial tobacco products, which contain thousands of chemicals including nicotine, Gearhardt said.
In fact, the addictive potential for food such as potato chips, cookies, ice cream and French fries may be a key factor contributing to the high public health costs associated with a food environment dominated by cheap, accessible and heavily marketed highly processed foods, the researchers said. Image is in the public domain
When the Surgeon General’s report was released more than 30 years ago, tobacco products were the largest cause of preventable death. But many people and tobacco manufacturers resisted accepting their addictive and harmful nature.
“This delayed the implementation of effective strategies to address this public health crisis, which cost millions of lives,” said Gearhardt, who directs U-M’s Food and Addiction Science and Treatment lab.
“When we realized tobacco products were addictive, it made us realize that smoking wasn’t just an adult choice, but that people were getting hooked and couldn’t stop even when they really wanted to. This same thing appears to be happening with highly processed foods and this is particularly concerning because kids are a major target of advertising for these products.”
Poor diets dominated by highly processed foods now contribute to preventable deaths on par with cigarettes. Similar to tobacco products, the food industry designs their highly processed foods to be intensely rewarding and hard to resist, the researchers said.
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“It is time to stop thinking about highly processed foods just as food, but instead as highly refined substances that can be addictive,” DiFeliceantonio said.
About this food and addiction research news
Author: Press Office Source: University of Michigan Contact: Press Office – University of Michigan Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access. “Highly processed foods can be considered addictive substances based on established scientific criteria” by Ashley N. Gearhardt et al. Addiction
Abstract
Highly processed foods can be considered addictive substances based on established scientific criteria
Background
There is growing evidence that an addictive-eating phenotype may exist. There is significant debate regarding whether highly processed foods (HPFs; foods with refined carbohydrates and/or added fats) are addictive. The lack of scientifically grounded criteria to evaluate the addictive nature of HPFs has hindered the resolution of this debate.
Analysis
The most recent scientific debate regarding a substance’s addictive potential centered around tobacco. In 1988, the Surgeon General issued a report identifying tobacco products as addictive based on three primary scientific criteria: their ability to (1) cause highly controlled or compulsive use, (2) cause psychoactive (i.e. mood-altering) effects via their effect on the brain and (3) reinforce behavior. Scientific advances have now identified the ability of tobacco products to (4) trigger strong urges or craving as another important indicator of addictive potential. Here, we propose that these four criteria provide scientifically valid benchmarks that can be used to evaluate the addictiveness of HPFs. Then, we review the evidence regarding whether HPFs meet each criterion. Finally, we consider the implications of labeling HPFs as addictive.
Conclusion
Highly processed foods (HPFs) can meet the criteria to be labeled as addictive substances using the standards set for tobacco products. The addictive potential of HPFs may be a key factor contributing to the high public health costs associated with a food environment dominated by cheap, accessible and heavily marketed HPFs.
Savannah – Senate hopefuls Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker faced off Friday night in their first and only scheduled debate before the election, addressing a wide range of topics crucial to the state’s voters.
Both candidates pledged in their opening statements to be strong advocates for Georgia in Washington. Warnock said he grew up in public housing down the road from where the debate was being held, telling viewers that “only in America is my story possible.”
The candidates discussed many issues critical to the state, including the economy, election integrity and abortion. Throughout the debate, Walker repeatedly tried to link Warnock to President Biden, telling voters that Warnock has voted 96% of the time with the president.
Warnock declined to say whether he would back Mr. Biden if he ran for office again in 2024, telling voters, “I have not thought for a minute about who should run.”
Walker, on the other hand, said he’d fully support former President Donald Trump if he ran again, saying Trump is his “friend” and “I won’t leave my allies.” Both candidates, however, acknowledged that Mr. Biden won the 2020 election, and both pledged to respect the results of Georgia’s race.
In another notable moment later in the debate, Warnock criticized Walker for having “a problem with the truth” and referenced reports that he had previously pretended to be a member of law enforcement. Walker then appeared to flash some kind of badge, saying he’s worked “with many police officers,” which prompted a moderator to chastise him for bringing what she called a “prop.”
“It’s not a prop, this is real,” Walker responded.
Abortion has brought an extra level of attention to the race in recent days, due to a recent report by The Daily Beast that Walker, an abortion access opponent, paid for a woman’s abortion. The news outlet later reported that the woman is the mother of one of Walker’s children. Walker has repeatedly denied the allegation. CBS News has not confirmed the Daily Beast’s reporting.
Walker on Friday night said once again that the allegation is a “lie,” telling voters that “I’m a Christian, I believe in life.”
And as he did in an interview with ABC News earlier this week, Walker continued to soften his previous stance on abortion, though he denied Friday this was the case. He said in the debate that he supports the Georgia “heartbeat” bill, which is the 2019 abortion law that went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, ending the federal right to an abortion.
“I say I support the heartbeat bill,” Walker said Friday. “And I say I support the Georgia heartbeat bill because that’s the bill of the people from Gov. Kemp. And I said that has exceptions in it. I said I’m a Christian, but I’m also representing the people of Georgia, and that’s who I represent. So what the people at Georgia stand for, I’m gonna stand with them.”
The Georgia law allows exceptions for rape and incest if a police report is filed. There is also an exception if the mother’s life is at risk, or the fetus becomes unviable.
Earlier this year, though, Walker filled out a candidate survey for an anti-abortion group, the Georgia Life Alliance, in which he indicated he supported an abortion ban without exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the mother.
“There’s no exception in my mind,” Walker told reporters in May at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon, Georgia, adding, “Like I say, I believe in life. I believe in life.”
Ahead of the debate, supporters of each candidate who spoke with CBS News said they planned to tune in.
In Walker’s hometown of Wrightsville, where a brand new football field bearing his name sits near the town center, some local residents said they were looking forward to seeing the University of Georgia football great take the stage.
Republican Senate candidate for Georgia, Herschel Walker speaks to media at a campaign event on September 9, 2022 in Gwinnett, Georgia.
Megan Varner / Getty Images
“I’m planning to watch everything I get my fingers on because I like to be well-informed on both sides,” said Robert Colson, a Walker supporter. “If I can find truth out of a candidate, that will impress me.”
Not far from Raphael Warnock Way in Savannah, Tammie Jenkins, who went to high school with Warnock, said she hoped the debate would stay focused on the issues.
“He was always smart,” Jenkins said of Warnock. She supported him in 2020 but is keeping an open mind. “I want to know and see everyone’s opinions.”
Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock speaks to supporters during his campaign tour, outside of the Liberty Theater on October 8, 2022 in Columbus, Georgia.
Megan Varner / Getty Images
Many of the voters CBS News spoke to were with Jenkins — they wanted to hear about issues they care about, like the economy.
“All the backslashing and all that doesn’t matter, it mostly gets down to what are you going to do if you get into the Senate seat,” said Jennifer Jordan, who worries about the economy and rising gas and food prices.
Most polls have the pair virtually tied, and the CBS News Battleground Tracker has Georgia as a “toss up” state, with just 25 days until Election Day. Republicans nationwide are keeping their eyes on the Peach State as they try to work to take back control of the Senate, currently split 50-50, but under Democratic control because Vice President Kamala Harris breaks any tie.
Early voting starts Monday. Traditionally, Democrats do better in early voting, so heavy turnout could be an indicator that favors Warnock, while lighter turnout could be positive for Walker.
