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A new study by researchers found that lower initial cortisol levels may serve as a predictor for retention in treatment programs for substance use disorder. The prospective observational study examined the salivary cortisol, stress exposure, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and treatment retention of males enrolled in abstinence-based, residential alcohol and drug recovery programs. Cortisol levels reflect a physiological response to stress. In this case, researchers found that participants who remained in the treatment program less than 90 days had significantly higher initial cortisol levels than those who remained in the program longer than 90 days. Further, a Cox proportional hazards...

The American Heart Association has issued its yearly reminder that incidents of heart disease and stroke go up at daylight saving time — a biological "clock shock" thus far unexplained. Changing the clock changes up our body's production of hormones, including melatonin, the night-time hormone that affects sleep; cortisol, the stress hormone; and serotonin, the "feel-good" hormone that helps keep depression and anxiety at bay. It's especially important over the next few days to try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even, as difficult as it is to hear, on weekends. Bhat says...

Primates and guinea pigs are unable to synthesize vitamin C. In contrast, almost all other mammals produce vitamin C in their livers with production increasing during stress. Furthermore, largely to metabolic consumption, a high percentage of critically ill patients are deficient in vitamin C. In an observational study, Carr et al. found that 75% of critically ill patients had plasma levels of vitamin C that were abnormally low [1]. The degree and incidence of deficiency were most pronounced in those patients with sepsis. Several trials have shown that administration of vitamin C to patients with sepsis is associated with better...

Tests show that dormant herpes viruses reactivate in more than half the astronauts who travel on the Space Shuttle and International Space station, according to new NASA research - a phenomenon the space agency says could pose problems for deep space missions. ..."In keeping with this, we find that astronaut's immune cells - particularly those that normally suppress and eliminate viruses - become less effective during spaceflight and sometimes for up to 60 days after."

"NASA astronauts endure weeks or even months exposed to microgravity and cosmic radiation—not to mention the extreme G forces of take-off and re-entry," says senior author Dr. Satish K. Mehta of KBR Wyle at the Johnson Space Center. "This physical challenge is compounded by more familiar stressors like social separation, confinement and an altered sleep-wake cycle." "During spaceflight there is a rise in secretion of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which are known to suppress the immune system. In keeping with this, we find that astronaut's immune cells—particularly those that normally suppress and eliminate viruses—become less effective during spaceflight...

The sight was not that unusual, at least not for Mosul, Iraq, on a summer morning: a car parked on the sidewalk, facing opposite traffic, its windows rolled up tight. Two young boys stared out the back window, kindergarten age maybe, their faces leaning together as if to share a whisper. The soldier patrolling closest to the car stopped. It had to be hot in there; it was 120 degrees outside. “Permission to approach, sir, to give them some water,” the soldier said to Sgt. First Class Edward Tierney, who led the nine-man patrol that morning. “I said no —...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government filed six lawsuits against companies it said had promised weight-loss regimens that were too good to be true, and it pressed the publications that advertised the programs to identify and reject them instead. It was the first time the Federal Trade Commission had paired a court complaint about weight-loss products with letters to media outlets, FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said Tuesday. For now, the agency is not seeking to punish those news outlets, she added. "We are having success, a great deal of success, with media companies in educating them about these media ads,"...