Effective Way To Fight Depression

Healthy adults who eat a diverse diet, with at least 8-10 grams of soluble fibre such as grains, beans, lentils, nuts and some fruits and vegetables daily, have fewer antibiotic-resistant microbes in their guts, according to a study. Microbes that have resistance to various commonly-used antibiotics such as tetracycline and aminoglycoside are a significant source of risk for people worldwide, with the widely held expectation that the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) - the term that refers to bacteria, viruses, and fungi that are resistant to antibiotics - is likely to worsen throughout the coming decades. Antimicrobial resistance in people is largely based in their gut microbiome, where the microbes are known to carry genetically encoded strategies to survive contact with antibiotics. "And the results lead directly to the idea that modifying the diet has the potential to be a new weapon in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. And we're not talking about eating some exotic diet either, but a diverse diet, adequate in fibre," said research molecular biologist Danielle Lemay at the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. In the study, published in the journal mBio, the researchers found that regularly eating a diet with higher levels of fibre and lower levels of protein, especially from beef and pork, was significantly correlated with lower levels of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) among their gut microbes. Those with the lowest levels of ARG in their gut microbiomes also had a greater abundance of strict anaerobic microbes, which are bacteria that do not thrive when oxygen is present and are a hallmark of a healthy gut with low inflammation. Bacterial species in the family Clostridiaceae were the most numerous anaerobes found. But the amount of animal protein in the diet was not a top predictor of high levels of ARG. The strongest evidence was for the association of higher amounts of soluble fibre in the diet with lower levels of ARGs. "Surprisingly, the most important predictor of low levels of ARG, even more than fibre, was the diversity of the diet. This suggests that we may want to eat from diverse sources of foods that tend to be higher in soluble fibre for maximum benefit," Lemay added. On the other hand, those people who had the highest levels of ARG in their gut microbiomes were found to have significantly less diverse gut microbiomes compared to groups with low and medium levels of ARG. "Our diets provide food for gut microbes. This all suggests that what we eat might be a solution to reduce antimicrobial resistance by modifying the gut microbiome," Lemay said. (agency) Read More► 5 Healthy Breakfast Products to Start on A Happy Note

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which accounts for 8.7 per cent of all blindness worldwide, is the most common cause of anxiety, and depression seen among people older than 60 years, health experts said on Monday. AMD is a disease where abnormal blood vessels grow in the macula - centre part of the retina - causing damage to the central vision and making it difficult to cope. Recent projections estimate that globally the number of individuals suffering with AMD will reach 288 million in 2040. In India, the overall prevalence of AMD currently ranges from 1.4 per cent to 3.1 per cent. The earliest symptom of AMD is difficulty in seeing at night. At a later stage, AMD patients see blind spots and their ability to read, watch television, drive and recognise faces gets affected. It later progresses to blindness. The impaired vision disturbs the routine of the patients, makes them dependent and also increases functional disability. "People suffering from AMD, who have lost over 80 per cent of their central vision are more likely to have anxiety and depression. This is mainly as they have plans to retire smoothly, and find it difficult to read and perform recreational activities at this stage in life, which causes frustration and discomfort. Their life involves multiple visits to hospital accompanied with expensive treatments, which adds to deterioration in the quality of life," Dr. Indu Singh, Consultant Retinal surgeon and Director, Dr Daljit Singh Eye Hospital, Amritsar, told IANS. A recent study by International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health also confirmed that AMD has a negative psychological impact, and it reduces the quality of life to levels comparable to severe illnesses like cancer and stroke. While it is important to go for walks, supervise things at home, to manage depression, Dr. Vishali Gupta, Professor, Vitreoretinal and Uvea, Advanced Eye Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh suggested the patients to engage in activities that they can do within the comfort zone of their vision. "These patients should use magnifiers, iPads or other low vision aid devices that can help them read the script. Today there are apps that can read books to them. The idea is to keep oneself busy and feel useful," Gupta told IANS. Another way to fight AMD related stress is to go for regular screening in order to avoid worsening of vision. Early diagnosis of AMD can help early treatment and also halt progression to vision loss. Dr. Daraius Shroff, a retina specialist at Shroff Eye Centre in Delhi, suggested patients with AMD share with family and friends their anxieties to help relieve mental stress as well as to gain support to find solutions to alleviate depression. Read More► Fatty Liver Likely Causing A Surge in Serious Liver Diseases in India

New York: You do not need to hit the gym, and lift heavy weights, but small doses of physical activity, such as brisk walking, may substantially help lower the risk of depression, suggests a study. The study, led by a team of international researchers including from Universities of Cambridge and Sydney, showed that about 1.25 hours of brisk walking per week could yield an 18 per cent lower risk of depression compared with not exercising. "Most benefits are realised when moving from no activity to at least some," the study authors wrote, in the paper published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. "Our findings have important new implications for health practitioners making lifestyle recommendations, especially to inactive individuals who may perceive the current recommended target (of exercise) as unrealistic," they added. The team conducted a meta-analysis of 15 studies involving over 190,000 people to determine how much exercise was needed to reduce depression. The findings revealed that moving up to an "activity volume equivalent to 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week was associated with 25 per cent lower risk of depression. The findings are consistent with previous studies that found people who exercised had about 43 per cent fewer days of poor mental health. "Even just walking just three times a week seems to give people better mental health than not exercising at all," study author Adam Chekroud, an assistant adjunct professor of psychiatry at Yale University, was quoted as saying to CNN. Exercising in 45-minute sessions three to five times a week was the most beneficial for improving mental health, the 2018 study found. However, even doing household chores reduced poor mental health days by about 10 per cent, the study said. Another study published in 2020 found that even light exercise helped protect children against developing depression. The 2020 study revealed that 60 minutes of simple movement each day at age 12 was linked to an average 10 per cent reduction in depression at age 18. The types of movement included running, biking and walking, as well as activities like doing chores, painting or playing an instrument, CNN reported. Read More► How Exercise Keeps Dementia at Bay

London: A psychedelic compound found in psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms, can help to "open up" depressed people's brains, enabling brain regions to talk more freely to one another, finds a study. Psilocybin is one of a number of psychedelics being explored as a potential therapy for psychiatric disorders. Several studies have trialled a synthesised form of the drug to treat patients with depression and anxiety, with promising results. A team at Imperial College London's Centre for Psychedelic Research believes to have untangled how psilocybin exerts its therapeutic effects on the brain. The new results, taken from two combined studies including about 60 adults, reveal that people who responded to psilocybin-assisted therapy showed increased brain connectivity not just during their treatment, but up to three weeks afterwards. This "opening up" effect was associated with self-reported improvements in their depression. However, similar changes in brain connectivity were not seen in those treated with a conventional antidepressant (called escitalopram), suggesting the psychedelic works differently in treating depression. According to the team, the findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, are a promising advance for psilocybin therapy, with the effects replicated across two studies. They explain that patterns of brain activity in depression can become rigid and restricted, and that psilocybin could potentially help the brain to break out of this rut in a way that traditional therapies cannot. "The effect seen with psilocybin is consistent across two studies, related to people getting better, and was not seen with a conventional antidepressant," said Professor Robin Carhart-Harris, from University of California, San Francisco. "In previous studies we had seen a similar effect in the brain when people were scanned whilst on a psychedelic, but here we're seeing it weeks after treatment for depression, which suggests a acarry over' of the acute drug action," Carhart-Harris, who was former Head of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research. The researchers added that while follow-up data is still being analysed for participants, initial changes in brain activity one day following treatment were a good predictor of whether a person would still show improvement at six months. However, they cautioned that patients with depression should not attempt to self-medicate with psilocybin, as taking magic mushrooms or psilocybin in the absence of safeguards may not have a positive outcome. (Agency) Read More► Drinking Coffee Could Benefit Heart, Help You Live Longer: Study