Women’s longer pain
Normally pain fades as the body heals but women a) may be more likely to have pain overlooked and b) may develop chronic pain as a consequence. However, new research suggests that the difference between men and women when it comes to pain may be related to hormones and the immune system’s ability to cause or turn off inflammation after injury. This could lead to promising new treatments.
Source: The Conversation
Birdbrain benefits
Being a novice or expert birdwatcher may boost cognition. According to lead researcher, Erik Wing, when you learn a new skill, your brain reorganizes itself. He says that birders use visual search/observation and identification skills as well as sensitivity to motion, pattern detection—a unique merging of cognitive areas, particularly with foreign birds. They also have to remember what they’re seeing and compare it to pictures or stored info.
Source: Rotman Research Institute
Metabolic syndrome
One in four Canadians are affected by what’s known as MetS (metabolic syndrome)—the prevalence of being diagnosed with it increases with age. Its symptoms can include abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low high-density lipoprotein, cholesterol and high triglycerides. Latest research now shows that having MetS doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease and can multiply the risk of diabetes by five.
Source: Insurance Portal
Can we slow aging?
Could the shingles vaccine affect biological aging? In studies that examine a variety of medications to determine early intervention strategies to extend life in a healthy way. Looking at biological aging, adaptive immunity, blood flow, epigenetics, inflammation, innate immunity, neurodegeneration and transcriptomic aging, scientists found those who had received the vaccine had slower overall biological aging, lower inflammation and lower composite aging scores.
Source: U of Southern California
Images: Getty Images. Patrice Bouchard. Allison Saeng. Vitaly Gariev. Shutterstock.
