Cyclic sighing is more effective than mindfulness meditation for improving mood and reducing stress, new research suggests. In a randomized controlled study, daily breathwork — especially cyclic breathing, which emphasizes shorter inhalations and prolonged exhalations — was associated with greater improvement in mood and a slower respiratory rate than mindfulness meditation. “We were pleased that … Read more
An emerging trend in virtual reality – incorporating smell – could be exciting news not just for gaming but for health care as well. A growing number of hospitals across the country are using virtual reality to help patients manage pain, overcome phobias, and calm anxiety. Providers and patients report mostly good results, save for … Read more
A waning sense of smell among older adults may portend frailty as they age, according to research published January 10 in The Journals of Gerontology. The researchers say the association is independent of the link between waning olfaction and a greater risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Although everyone will experience some loss of smell … Read more
Antihistamines are superior to benzodiazepines for the immediate treatment of vertigo, results of a new systematic review and meta-analysis suggest. But antihistamines and benzodiazepines are no better than other medications for the acute treatment of vertigo, nor for treatment at 1 week or 1 month, the analysis showed. Dr. Benton Hunter Given that the study … Read more
Living with cancer can be emotionally devastating. Now, two expansive studies underscore the scale of the burden a cancer diagnosis and treatment can have on patients’ mental health and risk of suicide. In one, a meta-analysis of 28 studies that included more than 22 million patients, researchers found that among people with cancer, the suicide … Read more
Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Patients with COVID-19, especially those with an altered sense of smell, have significantly more axon and microvasculopathy damage in the brain’s olfactory tissue versus non-COVID patients. These new findings from a post-mortem study may explain long-term loss of smell in some … Read more
The study covered in this summary was published in medRxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed. Key Takeaways The burden of self-reported post-acute symptoms and possible sequelae, particularly fatigue and neurocognitive impairment, remains significant 6 to 12 months after acute, even among young and middle-aged adults after mild acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, … Read more
Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. It’s now known that tinnitus may be an unexpected side effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, and there is an urgent need to understand the precise and best treatment for vaccine-associated tinnitus mechanisms, researchers say. As of mid-September 2021, 12,247 cases of tinnitus, … Read more