Health

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) haver announced plans to reintroduce electroshock therapy as a viable psychiatric treatment, making it easier for doctors to prescribe its use on patients suffering from conditions such as depression and anxiety.  The FDA downgraded Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) devices from Class III to Class II – meaning their use are now much less regulated. This follows the passing of the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R.

Scientists from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota have created an expandable polymer that is strong enough to replace bone tissue. Motherboard reports: Lichun Lu and Xifeng Lu, scientists at the Mayo Clinic’s college of medicine, have developed special biodegradable polymer bone grafts that will grow to a specific size and shape once surgically placed in the body. The research was presented today at the American Chemical Society’s spring meeting in San Diego. “We are working on a solution to improve surgical cancer treatments,” Lu said Tuesday.

The youngest Kardashian sister Kylie Jenner posted an anti-vaccination photo on Saturday on her Twitter account, criticising the Big Pharma vaccine industry.  Moments after the photo was posted, Jenner deleted the picture amid a furious backlash from fans and mainstream media outlets who labelled her a ‘conspiracy theorist’. The picture showed a child getting a vaccine with the caption, “Lack of food. Lack of shelter. Lack of clean water.

U.S. authorities are considering proposals by the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPTF) to screen all teenagers in America for mental health problems – in what some are saying is a push to increase the prescription of psychiatric drugs among the population.  The USPTF recently updated their recommendations on the screening of children and teenagers for major depressive disorder (MDD) in an article in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. They demand that children aged 12 and older be routinely screen for MDD.

A new study by the University of Chicago has confirmed the link between meditation and increased wisdom.  Researchers working in the Department of Psychology say that they have found evidence that suggests performing activities such as meditation and ballet leads to an overall increase in wisdom.