Tag Archives: health

Depressing News: Antidepressants are not Always Effective

Posted on September 28, 2015 by | 1 comment

What is depression? Depression is a medical condition which affects a person’s emotional and physical states. It is something that can be dangerous and deadly. Some common symptoms of depression are feeling hopeless, fatigue, difficulty with concentration, change of appetite, and there are many more.  Depression or mental illness often has a stigma surrounding it. However, depression is very common and antidepressant medication is often prescribed. Here is a quick video explaining what depression is:

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The Science of Depression
Credit: Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown

Recently, there has been reports  that pharmaceutical companies have been “selectively publishing” clinical data from their clinical trials of antidepressants. However, it is fundamental that findings from evidence-based medicine are unbiased and complete,  otherwise the effectiveness of any drugs become unrealistic. Through selectively publishing, companies have deceived many people to believe that antidepressants do more than the drug actually does by only publishing the studies with positive outcomes.

Currently, the most commonly prescribed antidepressant medications increase the levels of serotonin and they are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). In recent literature, the usefulness of the SSRI antidepressants have been disputed that they are only as effective as the placebos given during the clinical trials for treating minor depression.

SSRIs block the reuptake of serotonin which in theory will improve mood. Credit: Thomas Splettstoesser

SSRIs block the reuptake of serotonin which in theory will improve mood. Credit: Thomas Splettstoesser

Moreover, in The New England Journal of Medicine, a group of researchers reviewed the studies of 12 antidepressant drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and they found that studies with negative or questionable outcomes were not published. They discovered that in published literature, the public is provided information that shows only the positives of the medication.  For example, if the public is informed that 94% of trials conducted had positive outcomes, then in reality only about 51% had positive outcomes.  These numbers arose out of analyses of both published and unpublished clinical trials.

Through further studies by other researchers, it was discovered that in 2012 GlaxoSmithKline was fined $3 billion for “selectively publishing” and fraudulently promoting drugs, including drugs for mental illness such as Aropax. They admitted that they promoted the use of an unproven antidepressant.

Those affected with depression should first turn towards natural treatments, many of which that can be easily found on reliable sites on the internet.  There are many self-help websites that can aid a person coping with depression and it is vital that these people get the support they need.  Here is a video that shows the perspective of a person suffering depression:

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What It’s Like Living with Depression
Credit: BuzzFeedYellow

– Maureen Lai

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“Asian Glow”: More than Embarrassment

Posted on September 21, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Have you ever gone out to the bar or had a couple of drinks with friends of East Asian heritage (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean)? If so, you would have probably noticed that at least one of their faces turned red after only a few sips of alcohol. This is called the “Asian Glow”. As the name suggests, it refers to the common reaction of Asians turning red after drinking alcohol.

Asian Glow: Before and After | Image: Brooks PJ, Enoch M-A, Goldman D, Li T-K, Yokoyama A

According to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, our body breaks down alcohol in two steps, facilitated by two enzymes that speed up the break down process. The enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) converts alcohol into a toxic intermediate called acetaldehyde (C2H4O), then the second enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) turns it into acetate (CH3CO-2) and releases the toxic compound out of the body.

Breakdown of Alcohol in Two Steps | Credits: ethanol, acetaldehyde, acetate molecules from Wikimedia | Edit: Even Zheng

Unfortunately, about 80% of all East Asians are born with overactive ADH in their stomach and liver, breaking down alcohol up to 100 times faster into the toxic acetaldehyde. In addition, about 50% of East Asian have a deficiency in ALDH2 enzymes, which means it takes much longer for the body to clean out the residues of alcohol. Simply put, their body skips right past the pleasant effect of alcohol and experiences body rash, nausea, dizziness, and all the “hangover symptoms” much faster. Now we know who to blame, it’s all because of genes!

I remember a time I was at my friend’s place for a small gathering. It was only half an hour into the chitchat when my friend pointed at me and said, “Your face looks like a stop sign!” followed by everyone’s laughter. At that time, I literally had half a can of beer. If anybody can relate, someone has probably also told you to practice and increase your tolerance level, but you might want to give that a second thought.

What most people don’t know is that the toxic acetaldehyde is actually a cancer-causing agent. An article published by The New York Times revealed that researchers believe the condition of turning red after drinking alcohol may link to increased risk of throat, stomach, and esophagus cancer, which are some of the most deadly types of cancer. This is especially dangerous for people who have developed a high tolerance to acetaldehyde and became heavy drinkers.

A Time Magazine article suggested that the hereditary trait may have evolved in the ancient Chinese population as a survival strategy to allow people to drink alcohol made from fermented rice, while protecting them against alcoholism. Regardless of its credibility, there is indeed a lower rate of alcoholism among people with the deficiency, for obvious reasons. Before we find any way to replace the inactive enzyme or develop safe medications, it is the best to just avoid drinking altogether. It might make your parties a little “lame” on Friday nights, but on the bright side, you now have a good excuse to tell your friends when they want to go out for a drink right before your exam.

Here is a video to help you understand the metabolism of alcohol: YouTube Preview Image

Credit: Science of Nutrition

-Even Zheng

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Should I invite “coffee” and “Red Bull” to my late night study sessions?

Posted on September 20, 2015 by | 1 comment

We all know the feeling. After working into the night on a term paper, sipping coffee and dazing into the backlight of your laptop screen, your head finally makes its way to the pillow. You lie in your pitch dark room but you just cannot fall asleep. Why? You did have that coffee a mere three hours ago which is the cause of your wakefulness but could that really delay your entire circadian rhythm?

Your circadian rhythm is a natural body cycle that runs over a 24 hour period to match up with the hours in a day. Generally, this cycle controls your wakefulness and sleepiness by regulating the hormone melatonin. For more information about your circadian rhythm, please check out the video below:

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Credit: SciShow

Just a few days ago, the Journal of Science Translational Medicine published an article that stated what happens inside and outside of you when you consume caffeine just before bed. After approximately 49 days, scientists at the University of Colorado in the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory discovered that individuals who consumed the equivalent of one double espresso three hours before bed caused a delay of approximately 40 minutes in their circadian rhythm. They found that the hormone melatonin which is normally at a high level before bed, was abnormally low in these individuals. Additionally, they assessed the effect of bright light exposure on the individuals and similar disruptions in the circadian rhythm were documented. In fact, it was found that bright light exposure had about twice the negative impact on the circadian rhythm than caffeine, delaying it by over an hour. 

According to Science Daily, caffeine is a psychoactive drug and we now know that it alters the natural circadian rhythm. Below is a list of common beverages and the amount of caffeine in each. It makes me wonder why so many individuals consume these beverages on a regular basis and why are there no regulations in place to monitor consumption?

Caffeine drinks graph

Credit: https://smithlhhsb122.wikispaces.com/Gabriel+S.

I think that if our generation started consuming caffeinated beverages as early as high school, the disruption in the circadian rhythm cycle could accumulate and cause long term issues such as chronic sleep deprivation, insomnia and other sleep maladies. This could cost millions of dollars in pharmaceutical drugs and other treatments to fix so it is important for us to take a stand now for our own well-being.

In conclusion, I believe that next time you are up late to study, it is best to choose beverages without caffeine. I think that the emerging research about caffeine consumption is incredibly important since caffeine is consumed on such a frequent basis. I would like to see some further research advising individuals of the best time of day to consume caffeine in order to minimize the impact on the circadian rhythm.

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Credit: geobeats

Rosalyn Desa

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